Cellar and basement: differences
It is important to understand that a cellar is significantly different from a basement. The second option is a room located in a residential building under its first floor. As a rule, its area is the same as the main building, so it can accommodate a couple of farm blocks. Storerooms, a laundry room, and even a swimming pool and garage can be located here.
The cellar has a specific purpose, which is to store various products. The room has many racks and shelves, a ventilation system, and thermal insulation to create the necessary conditions for storing various fruits and vegetables.
For a certain category of products, the cellar is equipped with a natural freezer. The cellar is located both in the basement of a residential building and in an above-ground special structure.
Building a modern cellar with your own hands is just as easy as building a bathhouse, especially if you have some experience and the required tools.
Hobton style
Do you remember what houses the hobbits lived in? You can build your own Hobbiton in your garden if your site has hills and uneven surfaces. Yes, even if he doesn’t have them, but you have a great desire to build such a cellar, build it too! Of course, such a cellar requires space, so take a critical look at your space first.
Construction of a cellar
One of the common types of cellars for summer cottages is semi-buried. Thanks to such a construction, it is possible not only to improve the area with a high-quality structure, but also to create suitable conditions for the long-term storage of various food products.
The structure has several parts that differ in size, one of them is located above the ground surface, and the other is recessed under the soil.
The desire to build an above-ground cellar arises mainly when the existing basement in the home does not allow storing the necessary products, especially since there is a need to build an additional structure, for example, a summer kitchen.
Of course, you can’t do without a plan for the upcoming work. Any building materials are suitable for wall surfaces, since their construction is similar to the construction of an ordinary home with a basement. In most cases, stone, brick, or concrete is used, while for the above-ground part the best choice would be a natural massif.
The floor surface is poured using concrete, sometimes using clay. Wooden beams are used as flooring.
Wall and floor surfaces are covered with a special heat-insulating layer using available materials, for example, clay lubricant. The best option is to use mineral wool, polymer, and bitumen coatings.
Several tiers are combined with a hatch; its size is determined based on the container: cans, bags, and so on.
Construction rules:
- Construction work is carried out only when it is warm outside.
- A fairly elevated area is suitable for arranging this building.
- An indispensable condition is the presence of a ventilation system inside the room.
- An antiseptic must be applied to wood elements.
- The entrance is located from the north.
DIY cellar at the dacha step by step: tips and tricks
For the construction of a semi-recessed, and especially a recessed cellar, it is very important to accurately determine the location of construction, and more precisely, to determine the level of groundwater. To do this, you can use the help of professionals (expensive, but reliable), or you can try the folk method, which gives a fairly accurate result. To do this you will need a glass cap, a piece of wool and a fresh egg. In the place where you planned to build a cellar, place a piece of wool on the ground, an egg on top of it and cover them with a glass cap. Leave this “construction” overnight, and evaluate the results in the morning:
- wool and eggs in dew - the level of groundwater is insignificant, here you will have to limit yourself to an above-ground cellar
Fairy-tale style cellar
The cellar may well become one of the decorations of your site
- there is dew on the wool, and the egg is dry - groundwater lies deep enough to build a semi-buried cellar
- Dry eggs and wool are an excellent place to build a deep cellar.
Cellar located under the veranda
Advice! The best time to build a cellar is in the summer, when the groundwater level is lowest.
It is best to build a cellar in the summer
If the construction of a cellar is planned in a house (more precisely, under the house), then it is better to place it under non-residential (unheated) premises, ideally under a veranda (the temperature there is lower than in the rest of the house, it is easier to arrange ventilation, and in winter the veranda will protect from frost). If the layout of the house allows you to arrange a cellar only in the heated part of the building, additional thermal insulation of the ceiling will be required (for example, lay foam plastic 5 cm thick on the ceiling) and good ventilation, otherwise it is impossible to ensure optimal storage of food.
If the cellar is located under a heated room, then you need to take care of its thermal insulation
Cellar interior in the style of oriental fairy tales
After this, you can begin the practical part of construction.
Underground part
First of all, you should make a pit with a margin of 50 cm in all directions. These supplies will be needed when you need to carry out the necessary communications or waterproof the wall surface. Walls are made of stones, blocks or bricks.
If logs are used, they must be pre-treated with an antiseptic to prevent them from rotting and mold in the future. Often a monolithic structure is created from concrete as a plinth: formwork is prepared, a mesh of reinforcement is erected, and concrete is poured.
To protect joints, as well as corners, roofing felt is used. After dismantling the formwork is completed, a cement mixture is applied to the wall surface.
What material is the greenhouse made from?Tents for garden swings
DIY canopy - step-by-step instructions for beginners. Canopies made of different materials: wood, metal, polycarbonate (200 photos)
Regardless of the size of the future cellar, it is a great idea not to wait for a long time for the solution to dry. Instead of pouring from a monolith, you can use special asbestos-cement sheets fixed to a wood sheathing.
Bitumen mastic is applied to the structure from the outer part. The drainage layer will protect the building from groundwater. Crushed stone, gravel, or broken brick can be used as drainage material. The base of the structure should be protected with a waterproof cushion.
Floor construction
When constructing ceilings and ventilation in the cellar with your own hands, you must be extremely responsible. The floor must be strong enough to withstand heavy loads, the pressure of the soil embankment, as well as weather conditions. To manufacture the structure, it is recommended to use a monolithic block and a frame made of reinforcement.
The walls of the cellar act as load-bearing supports, so the roof area traditionally exceeds the area of the pit. To construct such a structure, you will need enough experience in the field of construction. Therefore, it is recommended to entrust this stage to specialists.
Installation of a ventilation system
To prevent gases that are hazardous to health from collecting underground in the room, and to avoid excessive moisture from condensation, a ventilation system should be created, which consists exclusively of a galvanized pipe approximately 10 cm in diameter.
One end of this pipe is led indoors, the other - outdoors. An improved solution provides for the presence of several pipes, one of which is located under the ceiling surface and is designed for effective exhaust, the other, above the ceiling surface, for supplying air from the street.
Options for using the basement floor
Options for arranging the basement floor can be very different. A sauna with a swimming pool, additional living rooms for guests, a home laundry, a music studio or a workshop are often located here. Some grow mushrooms and vegetables in their basements.
Sauna with swimming pool
Relaxation area in the basement with sauna
Guest area
Storage area with built-in wardrobes
Music studio
Workshop
But most often the additional area is used as:
- Gym or sports hall. In this case, a fairly simple decorative finish is performed, and the main emphasis is on high-quality flooring, good ventilation and lighting. Such a room should have a sufficient number of mirrors and sockets for connecting exercise equipment.
A personal gym is the dream of many people.
- Billiard room . In addition to the billiard table, you can place a tennis table and a court for darts and other games. As well as comfortable places to relax - armchairs, sofas. The decoration of the room can be anything you like.
The billiard room in the photo is decorated in a modern style
- Wine cellar and bar . The room is finished with stone, brick, wood or materials imitating them. Forged ceiling lamps suspended on chains will look harmonious in such an interior. There is also a bar or area for wine tasting with a table and chairs.
Wine cellar in the basement of the house
Advice. If the cellar is used to store food supplies, vegetables and pickles, you can save on heating and finishing, and make the racks metal, treating them with compounds that protect against corrosion.
- Home cinema. Sometimes only in a spacious basement room can you equip a full-fledged cinema hall with a projector and a large screen, high-quality sound. Here you can organize not only family movie viewings, but also invite large groups of friends. And even in a rather modest area you can install a large widescreen TV. The “auditorium” can be either a set of comfortable upholstered furniture or chairs with armrests arranged in a row. Any design style is allowed, from retro to ultra-modern.
Arrangement of the basement for a home cinema
- Library, office . The cost of converting a basement into a library can be quite high, since in this case you will have to take care of high-quality climate control and maintaining normal humidity in the room. And also about equipping it with a large number of shelving. They can be installed from the floor to the ceiling, and a stepladder can be used to access the top shelves. It is necessary to allocate a place for working and reading with a table, a chair and several chairs or ottomans for guests.
A large home library can be placed in the basement
- Children's playroom. A large separate playroom is a royal gift for children. If space allows, you can place here not only shelves with toys and a soft carpet, but also a sports corner, a dry pool, a place for board games and for creativity: drawing, modeling, modeling, etc. You can also select a relaxation area for children and parents with cozy sofas and a TV.
Place for children's leisure
Advice. It is advisable to have heated floors in a playroom for children, since children spend most of their time on it.
It is not at all necessary to devote the entire basement floor to one thing. It can be multifunctional and serve as a place for the whole family to relax. In a large space, it will not be difficult to allocate areas for active games, reading, hobbies, storage and wine tasting, etc.
Recreation area for the whole family
Pogrebnitsa
The above-ground part is being developed upon completion of the main work related to the construction of the cellar and the creation of backfill. There are many options for constructing a cellar; the catalog of ready-made cellars offers both small vestibules and large rooms.
- Do-it-yourself tandoor - step-by-step instructions for quick production at home (100 photos)
Do-it-yourself bathhouse made of timber - 120 real photos of ready-made solutions. Step-by-step instructions for beginners
Country cabins - an overview of the best options. 100 real photos + DIY construction instructions
If the main purpose is to protect exclusively the hatch leading underground, then it is enough for the structure to equip it with high-quality waterproofing, as well as a good-quality door. But if you want to create a room for temporary residence, then it needs to be more thoroughly equipped.
It is important to build a good roof, design the wall surface and thermal insulation. The last stage of the construction process relates to the interior arrangement of the premises.
Design of the ground part
There are a huge number of types of cellars for summer cottages. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish such a building from an ordinary gazebo or summer kitchen. Some buildings cannot be called anything other than a cellar, since their entire appearance indicates that winter food supplies are hidden behind the door leaf.
Such buildings have an original design: rough stone masonry, exclusive roofing, fairly massive doors made of natural oak.
Ready to use
The operational period of such a design is no less than 50 years. It is made of special plastic. The set includes a steel door, lighting, ventilation system and much more.
To install such a building, you need to build a pit of the required size in order to place the structure there and fill it up. Only the hatch remains on the surface.
Digging a pit
First, you need to mark the area for the foundation pit, adding from 50 to 100 cm to the estimated dimensions in order to waterproof the structure.
After extracting the top fertile layer of soil, which can be profitably used for the formation of flower beds or alpine slides, digging a pit begins.
To avoid falling off the earth, the walls of the pit are dug with a slope. If water leaks in any place in the pit, you should dig holes to a depth of up to half a meter and fill them with compacted fatty clay.
Barrel
To create such a product, the best quality fiberglass is used, which allows you to create a sealed structure that can be installed on any soil. The service life of such a building is designed for a long time.
A barrel cellar for a summer residence, as in the photo, is perfect as a food storage facility because it maintains a stable temperature. To install the product, dig a pit of the required size, place a barrel there, and then fill it with soil.
Waterproofing basement walls
To ensure water resistance, concrete and brick walls are additionally plastered with cement mortar. After the layer of plaster has completely dried, bitumen mastic is applied to the outside of the wall, onto which roofing material is glued (Fig. 11), after which soil is backfilled.
To ensure the watertightness of your building, it is necessary to waterproof the walls
Advice! To improve waterproofing, instead of backfilling with soil, you can make a clay castle. To do this, clay is mixed with water and coarse sand until a plastic mass resembling plasticine is formed. The resulting mass is placed in a pit between the walls and the ground, compacting it very tightly.
Rice. 11. Waterproofing cellar walls using bitumen mastic and roll materials
Brick cellar
The construction of this structure begins with the construction of a foundation pit. Its depth reaches four meters. The finished structure will include rooms such as a vestibule, as well as a staircase.
When the issue with the pit is resolved, the wall surfaces, floors, and stairs should be sealed. Then the concrete is poured onto the floor surface. Once the concrete mixture has hardened, you can begin laying.
Rolled metal is mounted on the furnished walls, which is considered the basis for the future ceiling. Formwork is installed under the metal frame and the base is poured.
After the concrete mass has completely hardened, it is possible to equip the above-ground part, performing masonry, and also create a roof.
