How to make a foundation from sleepers. Do-it-yourself foundation made of reinforced concrete sleepers. Strip foundation from sleepers.

In some cases, during the construction process at the stage of laying the foundation, it is found that it is impossible to use standard materials that are most often used to fill the foundation. Such materials include sand, gravel and cement. Therefore, the question arises: what can be alternative material for ?

But in the absence of supporting documentary evidence, it is important not to talk too much about the ethnic craft traditions of a particular log house. Historians have identified a number of traditional house plans and forms as prototypes. They were often repeated with simple variations. The basic unit of each of these types is a one-room enclosure formed by four log walls joined at their corners, called a single "handle" or "crib". The single nib has been improved by installing internal baffles or by adding another key fob.

Sleepers - inexpensive construction material, which is well suited for building a foundation.

You should know that such material is railway sleepers - affordable and very inexpensive material. The advantage of a sleeper foundation is that the material for its manufacture is easy to obtain. Another significant advantage is the price of materials, and if the sleepers are delivered to the house, the best material for the manufacture of the foundation and can not be found at all.

Design features of sleepers

The Continental Plan arose in Central and Eastern Europe and is attributed to 18th-century German immigrants in Pennsylvania. Not log internal partitions form a multi-room plan inside the exterior log walls. The saddlebag plan consists of two adjacent handles that have a central chimney. The bag saddle is often an evolution of a single feather with an end chimney, expandable by adding a second handle on the ridge of the chimney. The saddle bag was built in several different regions countrywide.

Many people speak out against the use of sleepers in the foundation of a house, because such sleepers in most cases have a long service life as a railway coating. It should be said that this is a myth. Sleepers, whose material is carefully impregnated with creosote, have an unlimited service life and are able to serve faithfully as a foundation for a residential building for many more years.

The birth plan can be seen with variability in many parts of the country, although it is sometimes perhaps erroneously considered the most typical of the south because its covered passage provides both air circulation and shelter from heat. All of these types of plans were generally built as one-story or one-story settlements. While front door to the earliest log houses, usually placed under the eaves, as a means of adapting to the heavier snowfall in the Rocky Mountains, here the entrance was placed in the gable part and sometimes protected from roof slides by a porch, two corner posts created by the extension of the roof behind the wall of the gable.

Strip foundation from sleepers for small buildings.

There is an option for making a foundation using wooden sleepers. This is the most the best option for the device of the base under greenhouses and baths. Advantages of the base of the sleepers:

From the late 18th to the mid-19th century, Americans also built many significant two-story log houses in towns throughout the eastern half of the country. In rural areas, two-story houses were sometimes built log houses, which replaced the previously settled first generation townships, but just as often the early hedge house was retained and extended. The second story was added by removing the roof and gables, building a second floor, laying additional logs and building new roof or reassembly of the old one.

The base of the sleepers for the house

Each generation of owners can expand the early sound log building by adding new log handles or frame or wooden frames. It is especially common to add a back ellipse or infill design to link a previously freestanding outbuilding, such as a kitchen, to the main house. This layering of changes is part of the evolution of many log buildings.

  • elasticity;
  • long service life due to impregnation with creosote;
  • low sensitivity to temperature changes;
  • low cost;
  • good grip with ballast;
  • the material will not be damaged by insects and rodents.

Disadvantages of this foundation:

  • rather large weight (45-80 kg);
  • limitation in size (maximum 2.75 m).

How to build a foundation of reinforced concrete sleepers correctly?

Corner notch and other fastening methods

A log to replace a worn window sill is hewn traditional way with a wide axe. Corner add-on is another one of characteristic features log structures. Most notching methods provide structural integrity by locking the ends of the magazine in place and giving stiffness and stability to the nib. Like the floor plan, the type of corner inscription can sometimes be a clue to the origin of the ethnic craft of a log building, but it is important not to draw conclusions based on the details of the notch alone. Numerous angled notching techniques have been identified throughout the country.

Strip foundation of sleepers for capital buildings.

Most of the opponents of the use of sleepers as a material for the manufacture of the foundation come forward with accusations against the impregnation, which is used in the production of railroad tracks - creosote.

It is known that the composition of this substance with a characteristic odor, which is difficult to tolerate, includes components that are poisonous to humans. Some people show concern when they are advised to build the foundation for a private house from sleepers that are soaked in creosote.

The notch method on some of the earliest east cabins and most 19th century west cabins, especially the saddle notch, left an extended log end or "crown". Crowns are especially pronounced or exaggerated in rustic structures, and sometimes they shrink when the wall is raised, creating a buttress effect at the building's corners.

Another method of fastening logs consists of fastening logs, which are laid without notches with spikes in vertical corner posts or using spikes or pins to attach them to vertical corner boards. Vertically placed logs were fixed at their upper and lower ends, usually on rooftops and on window sills.

You should know that this is actually the case. New sleepers that have just been made are not recommended for use in construction. However, this does not apply to sleepers, the operational period of which as a canvas railway came to an end.

Such sleepers spent a long time in the open air, therefore, Sun rays and numerous precipitations managed to remove most of the harmful impregnation from their surface. Therefore, the foundation of sleepers with a long service life is absolutely safe to use as a basis for the construction of private houses, which are manufactured according to frame technology. Such houses are much lighter than counterparts that are built from materials such as blocks or bricks.

Log selection and building assembly

Although the choice of wood was most likely determined by availability, chestnut, white oak, cedar, and fir were preferred because these trees could provide long, straight, rot-resistant logs. Pine, which also provided long, straight logs, was also used in areas where it was plentiful. The woods were often mixed, using harder, heavier, rot-resistant woods such as white oak for the foundation, "sill", and lighter, more easily hewn woods such as yellow poplar for the top logs.

To work, you will need the following items:

  • reinforced concrete sleepers;
  • cement;
  • crushed stone;
  • sand;
  • special equipment for lifting reinforced concrete sleepers;
  • metal staples;
  • metal pins;
  • bitumen;
  • composition with antiseptic properties.

Back to index

What do you need to pay attention to in the process of laying the foundation with your own hands?

One of the main advantages of log construction is the cost-effectiveness of the tools needed to complete the construction. The chopping ax was a traditional tool for lowering wood and cutting logs to length. For many frontier and western structures, round logs were debarked or used in their original form with the remaining bark, or one or more sides of the log were hewn flat with a wide strip or more finely processed with azed in the form of smooth thick boards. The cut was made with an axe, hatchet or saw; openings for doors and windows were usually cut after the loggias were installed, and during construction, door and window frames, in particular the jambs, to hold the logs in place.

Columnar foundation of wooden sleepers: 1 - Sleeper; 2 - Waterproofing, which should already be present on the sleeper; 3 - Concrete shoe (option 1), brackets (option 2); 4 - sand cushion(option 1), wooden support(option 2); 5 - sand cushion.

The construction of the foundation of a private house must be approached with special responsibility. This is due to the fact that today the market for services related to construction is rapidly developing, while some contractors do not quite correctly prioritize the construction of private houses, ignoring the basic safety rules. An unscrupulous attitude to laying the foundation in the future can easily turn into a disaster for all residents of the house.

The roof framing and floor beams were either hewn from logs or shredded lumber. A log cabin can be raised and pretty much completed in just two to four various tools, including chopping axe, wide axe, and hand saw or crosscut saw.

The upper gable walls were filled with logs if the roof was built with purlins, which is more typical of Scandinavian or Finnish structures, as well as rustic styles Western and 20th century. However, a vertical or horizontal opening shell was commonly used throughout the country to cover wood-framed gables.

In the process of choosing railway sleepers for the manufacture of the foundation, it is quite important to control the purchase of material and carefully analyze the roadbed that will go to the construction of the foundation of a private house.

If the sleepers are too worn out, they can turn out to be a poor-quality foundation, which will need to be restored over time, while spending a fairly large amount of Money. The savings that were achieved at the beginning may come to naught in the event of such a sad ending. It is necessary to carefully control the activities of an organization that plans to build a foundation of sleepers.

Stone or wooden strips served to fill in the shift areas on which the smear was applied. Horizontal spaces or joints between logs are usually filled with a combination of materials collectively referred to as "click" and "cheat". The kneading and daubing completed the outer walls of the logs, sealing them in from wind and snow, helping them to shed rain and blocking out vermin. Not all types of log buildings were cut. Corners, and sometimes sections of barns where ventilation was needed, were not cut.

While more typical of Swedish or Finnish methods, rather than common in American log construction, tight-fitting boards or cut round logs have little or no need for chipping and coating. Various materials were used for grinding and cheating, including what was most convenient. As a rule, this is a three-component system applied in several stages. Stirring has two parts: first, a dry bulky hard block such as wood slabs or stones is inserted into the joint, and then soft filler for packaging such as okum, moss, clay or dried manure.

Sleepers before laying must be additionally impregnated with moisture-repellent agents.

Some people mistakenly start the organization of all construction processes from the future structure. However, you should be aware that this is not the most rational approach, because it is first of all recommended to determine the territory of the site. After it's done suitable choice, you can save some money for further construction.

Instead of plastering, carefully fitted square posts or narrow strips of wood are sometimes nailed lengthwise across the log joints. Stirring, especially daubing, is the least durable part of a log building. It is prone to cracking as a result of freeze-thaw action, structural settling, log drying, and thermal expansion-contraction rates that differ from the logarithm rate.

Although outdoor log cabins in the west and 20th century village buildings are generally uncovered, many 18th and 19th century log homes east of the Mississippi, except for some of the simpler cabins and homes in the outlying or poorer areas were covered with an outer shell. The exterior of the log walls was covered for both aesthetic and practical reasons, either after construction was completed or after some time.

If you thoroughly approach the design and laying of the foundation of the future building, you can achieve maximum reliability and long period operation of a residential building.

It is best to lay a similar foundation on soils with a high degree hardness, otherwise it will not be possible to avoid precipitation under pressure of the total weight of the building. Foundations that can be built using sleepers are of different types:

Once the siding is gone, the logs can quickly deteriorate unless another protective treatment is applied. In some cases appearance magazines has been whitewashed. This served as a barrier to insects and sealed hair cracks in smears and cracks between salve and logs. While White's solubility allows it to heal some of its own cracked hair with a rain wash, such as a slather, it needs to be reapplied periodically. Usually a more permanent coating was applied to the walls, such as wood siding or plaster, which provided better insulation and protection, and reduced maintenance of the log walls.

  • columnar;
  • tape;
  • pile;
  • slab;
  • foundation on sand cushions.

Sleepers can be laid on a gravel bed, moisture will not linger on it, and the sleepers will not rot.

Of all given types load-bearing structures for the use of sleepers, tape and column bases are best suited.

Sometimes log houses were one-sided or stucco, trying to express newly achieved financial or social status. Many log houses were immediately one-sided and trimmed after completion to hide them. simple design under Georgian, federal and later architectural styles. Often log house was covered or restored when a new addition was added to match the whole, especially if the original core and its addition were made from various materials such as log and wooden frame.

During the construction of the strip foundation, the logs will be joined along the entire perimeter. If the sleepers are planned to be laid horizontally, the marking should be carried out according to the plan, after which it will be necessary to make 2-3 rows under the base. These rows should be connected to each other.

A layer of sand and gravel, well compacted and moistened, should be laid under the foundation from below. Next, sleepers are laid on top, which are placed with overlapping joints, as in brickwork. To fix the end joints, metal brackets should be used. To pull off the lower and upper layers, metal pins should be used.

Vertical strips for trimming wood are usually nailed to the logs prior to the application of xenophobia or plaster. This ensured that the walls would be sheer and provide a base on which to attach carts or nail a wooden lath for plaster.

When a greenhouse needs a foundation

The bases of log buildings differed significantly in quality, material and configuration. In many cases, the foundation consisted of a continuous course of flat stones, several piers consisting of ruble stone, single stones, bricks, short vertical pile logs or horizontal log "sleepers" set at level. Two "window sills" were laid directly on one of these types of foundations.

If you plan to install column foundation, logs will need to be placed vertically at a certain distance from each other. In the course of the preparatory work sleepers need to be processed special composition with antiseptic properties and coat with bitumen. This type of foundation has a long service life, which can be up to 50 years. The sleepers are installed on a concrete base. They will need to be gradually sprinkled, and then stitched with other sleepers, which are installed in exactly the same way.

Back to index

Strip foundation of reinforced concrete sleepers

For a two-story frame, wooden house or a one-story structure of brick or concrete blocks, in most cases, a strip foundation is made. Concrete sleepers are placed in wooden formwork, which can significantly reduce the cost of cement for pouring.

  1. First of all, it is necessary to dig a trench to a depth that will exceed the depth of freezing of the soil (there are some peculiarities in each locality).
  2. Next, the formwork is made. In most cases, it is made from boards. It must be securely fastened from the bottom of the trench to the top of the base (up to 1.5 m above the ground). In the case of hard soils that do not crumble, it is allowed to form formwork only for the basement.
  3. Next, backfilling is performed - a compensation layer of sand 15-20 cm high. This layer can protect the finished foundation from the influence of heaving forces that occur during thawing and freezing of the soil.
  4. getting ready cement mortar or concrete.
  5. Concrete is poured along the entire perimeter of the trench to a small height, after which sleepers are placed in it as a rubble. After that, the next layer of concrete should be poured and the sleepers should be laid again. They must not be laid one above the other, but with an overlap in relation to the previous row, that is, in a checkerboard pattern. In this way, the foundation can be poured up to the top of the formwork. This will make it possible to exclude cracking of the finished tape.

The foundation of reinforced concrete sleepers, which is performed in this way, can be quite strong and last a long time.

Sleeper foundation or just wooden foundation quite often used in private construction. And that's why. Sleepers, namely used ones, are quite cheap material, which is also protected from decay and damage by insects. Some developers get them for free. So the question arises, where to apply them?

I will say right away that it is possible to use sleepers for the foundation, and many developers have already checked this. Such a foundation will last about 50 years, of course, depending on the operating conditions. Sleepers in the ground rot more slowly than outdoors. Therefore, the ground part should be protected from the sun and precipitation. It will not be superfluous to check their condition every few years. Well, if it is possible to replace damaged sleepers, then such a foundation will last forever.

There are two ways to build a foundation:

  • horizontal laying of sleepers - strip foundation;
  • vertical arrangement of sleepers - columnar foundation.

Strip foundation from sleepers

Let us consider in more detail the device of the strip foundation from the sleepers. There are two options: to arrange a shallow or not deep foundation and a deep foundation. The first method is ideal for any household buildings, such as a barn, greenhouse, garage. The second is for more capital ones, for example, for a bath.

Before laying the sleepers, preparation must be made. To do this, we remove the vegetable ball of soil and backfill the trench with gravel 10-15 cm thick with tamping. Laying the sleepers. They need to be fastened both to each other, as well as to the ground. Between themselves, they are fastened with a strapping beam, and into the ground with the help of crutches. A support beam is laid on the strapping beam and then the wall is erected.


A deep foundation is carried out similarly to any other prefabricated foundation. That is, a trench is dug, preparation is made and piles are laid with dressing and fastening between them. The drawing above shows a detailed assembly of the foundation device.


1 - Sleeper; 2 - Waterproofing, which should already be present on the sleeper; 3 - Concrete shoe (option 1), brackets (option 2); 4 - sand cushion (option 1), wooden support (option 2); 5 - sand cushion.

With a vertical arrangement of sleepers, their laying depth should be below the freezing depth. At the top, the posts must be tied with a grillage (this can be a wooden beam).

Foundation examples

Here, decide to give some living examples.




The disadvantages of the foundation on the sleepers

Now let's talk about the bad. Why you should not use such a foundation for residential buildings. I impregnate the sleepers with a special poison - creosote, so that different bugs do not eat them. Creosote is considered a potential carcinogen, a substance that can cause the formation of malignant tumors in humans and animals. Yes and in hot weather there will be a peculiar smell.


Therefore, I do not understand people who, in addition to the foundation, build the walls of their house from the sleepers.

Fitting © 2022 Design and interior of apartments