A viewing hole in the garage is an invariable attribute for a car owner who independently maintains his own car. Therefore, the construction of a garage often begins with the arrangement of the pit. How to build it according to all the rules?
General rules for performing work
Digging a hole in the garage is half the battle, because it should be comfortable for work. To do this, you should take into account some of the nuances during construction:
- It is important to pay attention to the interior decoration of the walls, it should be done so that groundwater does not penetrate into the pit. Often, for this, internal waterproofing is installed under the finish.
- The material for the floor of the pit should not be slippery, as oil and other automotive fluids are often spilled on it.
- When calculating the size of the viewing hole, the size of the entire garage and the car itself should be taken into account.
- For comfortable work, you should take care of the lighting. Portable equipment is often used, which is mounted on one of the walls.
- If necessary, the pit should be closed, so you should think about what material to make the cover from, it should be strong enough and stable.
All the nuances of construction should be thought out even before it starts, and only after that start work.
Marking the pit
Experienced builders recommend taking time to mark on paper with dimensions before starting work. The viewing hole must have the following parameters:
- The width of the inspection pit should be 70-80 cm, this will be enough for the track of an average car and even leave room between the wheel and the pit for maneuver.
- The length of the pit is determined by its own convenience, as well as the size of the garage. This parameter has nothing to do with the size of the car. The standard length is about 2 meters.
- The depth of the viewing hole is determined from your own height - standing on tiptoe or bending your knees, you can’t do much. Therefore, the best option is a distance of 25-30 cm between the head and the bottom of the car. For example, with a height of 180 cm and a car clearance of 16 cm, the depth of the pit should be 170 cm.
Observing these parameters, you can build a pit in which it will be comfortable to work.
Earthworks
Digging a hole is considered one of the most time-consuming activities in the arrangement of the garage. In this case, it will be necessary to dig out approximately 9 cubic meters of earth. If you do not want to do it yourself, you can hire workers. At the same time, it is important to make markings using pegs for orientation in size.
Earth work in progress as follows:
- when digging a hole, part of the earth (about half) is neededleave to fill the sinuses that will appear during construction, the rest can be taken out;
- it is important to level the floor with a building level so that the depth of the pit is uniform;
- then a layer of crushed stone about 5 cm high is poured onto the floor, it needs to be rammed into the ground;
- at this stage it is possible to arrange niches in the walls for storing tools and other necessary things.
The future convenience of the pit and its functionality depend on the correct execution of earthworks.
Pit wall equipment
For the construction of walls, there are two common materials - monolithic concrete and brick. Experienced builders recommend paying attention to concrete, it also performs the function of internal waterproofing, and its cost is much less.
Work is done as follows:
- To prepare a concrete mix for one cubic meter of wall, you will need 300 kg of cement, 680 kg of river sand, 120 liters of water, 1200 kg of fine gravel. To prepare a homogeneous mixture, it is important to use a concrete mixer, since it is quite difficult to mix such a quantity of materials on your own.
- The size of the viewing hole should be calculated taking into account the filling of walls, the thickness of which is about 5 cm.
- Mesh is often used as reinforcement.
- To fill the walls, you need to build an OSB formwork, which can then be used for sheathing gates, assembling shelving and shelves.
- After pouring, the concrete must dry for 14days, after which you can proceed to other work.
Forming walls out of concrete is a painstaking job that cannot be rushed.
Arrangement of the floor of the pit
Like the walls, the floor is also formed with concrete mortar. In this case, the following nuances should be taken into account:
- It is important to make a substrate before pouring the floor. To do this, a layer of sand 5 cm thick is poured onto the rubble and carefully compacted.
- Then, as in the formation of walls, reinforcement is placed, the role of which is played by the building mesh.
- Concrete is poured onto the grid, the layer of which is 5 cm.
- Use a building level to level the floor while the mortar is still liquid.
- It takes 2 weeks for the floor to harden, and it is important to periodically wet the surface with water to avoid cracking.
When arranging the floor of a viewing hole with your own hands, you should take into account the level of groundwater. With their close location, more attention should be paid to waterproofing.
Lighting in the pit
For comfortable work in the pit, lighting should be provided. often its role is played by a portable lamp, which, if necessary, can be hung anywhere. Also, lighting can be made stationary; for this, niches for lighting fixtures should be provided at the stage of excavation. The size of the viewing hole significantly affects the number of fixtures.
Fixing the wire thatstretches to a portable lamp, should be carried out using clamps. If it is not fixed, then it can interfere during work in the pit. You can also purchase a portable tripod that can be used to direct the light in the direction you want.
Forming steps
The entrance to the viewing hole is most often carried out with the help of steps. They can be built from wooden boards or poured from concrete mortar. The optimal number of steps is 6-8, the height between which is about 20-25 cm. In this case, the lower step is made lower and wider than the others for a comfortable descent.
For the construction of steps, a wooden formwork is made, between which reinforcing bars are fixed. The composition of concrete for the construction of stairs repeats the solution for walls and floors. Since the width and depth of the steps are quite significant, the filling takes place in several stages. It is important that the previous layer of concrete has time to dry completely.
When building a garage with their own hands, many people prefer to use an ordinary portable wooden ladder instead of building steps. This option is very convenient if the dimensions of the viewing hole, or rather its length, are insufficient to accommodate a stationary ladder.
Waterproofing
When arranging a garage with your own hands, great attention should be paid to waterproofing, especially if groundwater is close. It is carried out as follows:
- waterproofing film is laid on the entirethe floor surface with an overlap on the walls of about 15 cm, while it is important not to damage its integrity;
- only after that you can start concreting the floor;
- when groundwater is close, well-packed greasy clay can be used instead of a sand cushion;
- experienced builders recommend adding water-repellent additives when mixing concrete mortar, which will prevent the destruction of walls and floors under the influence of moisture.
Waterproofing must be of high quality, therefore, when choosing materials, special attention should be paid to their characteristics.
Conclusion
The work that is carried out in the pit must be safe for humans, so some recommendations should be followed:
- When working on unstable ground, special attention should be paid to strengthening the walls, otherwise in the future they may collapse at the most inopportune moment. Instability will be noticeable even at the stage of digging a hole - the earth will crumble, sag or crack.
- Work should be carried out using personal protective equipment - work boots, durable gloves. When using a grinder, welding machine or jackhammer, wear protective goggles that prevent damage to the eyes from flying particles of metal, soil, stones or dust.
If you follow the detailed instructions, there is nothing difficult in arranging a pit. For the convenience of performing work, there should be two people. With the correct calculation of the dimensions of the pit and the correctstrengthening its walls, you can not worry that there will be no room for the car to maneuver or the floor will sag under its weight.
