People learned to build cellars a long time ago - when there were not only refrigerators, but even electricity. Natural conditions conducive to a good microclimate, constant temperature - all this contributes to the long-term preservation of vegetables and fruits (both their presentation and taste). Owners of suburban housing, especially those who grow their own vegetables and fruits, simply cannot do without it, and therefore anyone living in a private house will sooner or later have to think about how to build a cellar. Cellars are usually built under the house or garage even before the construction of the structure itself begins. Therefore, we will consider the issue of creating this utility room on a garden (suburban) plot.
How to build a cellar with your own hands
First of all, you need to decide on the construction site, based on the level of groundwater. The easiest way to do this is to drill a well at least two and a half meters deep at the site of the future cellar. After that, you need to deepen itpipe and make sure that no water appears in it. If there is no water, you can get to work. Otherwise, you will have to find another place, preferably on a slight rise.
After that, they start digging a pit. Usually its optimal dimensions are 2.5 meters in width and length and the same in depth. The pit can be dug both manually and with the help of an excavator.
The bottom of the pit must be carefully tamped, and then pour a gravel cushion 30 cm high, of which 20 cm is sand, and 10 cm is gravel. Metal reinforcement with 8 mm thick rods is laid on top of the pillow, after which it is poured with a layer of a mixture of sand and concrete in a ratio of 1: 3.
How to build a cellar with your own hands in compliance with all technologies? To do this, it is necessary to provide waterproofing to protect the floor and walls from moisture. For this purpose, any waterproofing materials are used. Roofing material is usually used, which is laid on hardened concrete, and then coated with tar. If the width of the roll is less than the width of the cellar, it is overlapped, and the edges are raised to then glue the roofing material to the walls.
Concrete or brick can serve as a wall material. And how to build a cellar with your own hands using the monolithic construction method? To do this, first of all, it is necessary to install a reinforcing cage made of rods with a diameter of 10 mm, and then build a formwork on both sides of the reinforcement. The width of the future wall should be at least 10 cm. After that, you can start pouring the mixture, which should be rammed to avoid the formationvoids. The drying time of the mixture in dry sunny weather is about ten days. The formwork can be dismantled no earlier than after three weeks.
After gluing the roofing material to the outside of the walls, you need to fill them with a layer of clay to improve protection against dampness and tamp. Overlappings can be made either with reinforced concrete slabs or wood. The latter option is much easier both technically and financially.
Now it remains to install the roof (single-pitched or double-pitched) with a manhole and build a ladder. The roof needs to be insulated. This can be done with turf or artificial insulation (natural material is still preferable). From above it needs to be covered with slate.
And how to build a cellar with your own hands so that the products are stored in it for a long time and dampness does not form? Naturally, this requires ventilation. For this purpose, you can use any pipe with a diameter of about 10 cm. You can even install two at different ends of the cellar. The lower edge of one pipe is made at a distance of 20 cm from the ceiling, and the other - 20 cm below the floor. From the outside of the cellar, they should rise about 30 cm above the roof level. For interior decoration, it is best to use hardwood.
Cellar maintenance
Knowing how to build a cellar (in the house or in the garden) is not a guarantee that the food in it will be stored long enough. The cellar must be cleaned, ventilated and disinfected annually. by the mosta simple way to disinfect the cellar is to whitewash it with lime mortar, prepared at the rate of: 1 bucket of solution for 5-6 buckets of water with the addition of copper sulphate (1 kg of vitriol for 1 bucket of solution). All disinfection work must be completed at least one month before the next harvest.
