Traditionally, private houses are built on a foundation. It can have a different height and recess, due to which mold and fungus from excessive moisture in the soil may form in the rooms. To avoid this, it is necessary to create high-quality ventilation of the subfloor. You can make an extract from the underground in a private house with your own hands, using the advice of experts and the norms of SNiP.
Purpose of ventilation under the floor
Ventilation of the floor and the underground space has an important protective function. The area closed on all sides has high humidity, which affects the formation of fungus and mold on the structure of the house. They can cause serious damage and material damage. To avoid this, ventilation is created, due to which excess water evaporates and does not settle on the building.
Water is formed from soil, which has a high degree of moisture. The top of the house has a concrete slab or wooden shield. This design contributes to the formation of condensate. Water vapor settles on cool surfaces (inner walls of the basement), microorganisms form in these places. Good ventilation will help to create a natural circulation of air masses and prevent the formation of fungi. The ventilation grill for the underground space will protect the cottage or bath from pests.
Particular attention should be paid to ventilation under the stove. It is a heat source; during its operation, a temperature difference is created. It also leads to condensation. Here you need to think in advance of a high-quality ventilation system, which should work with greater efficiency than in other places.
Ventilation scheme
A suitable ventilation system in the house depends on the individual characteristics of the structure. If the cottage has a large area, you can create forced-exhaust ventilation. In small and medium-sized houses there is enough passive ventilation of the space under the floor.
To create passive ventilation in the underground, you should make holes - ventilation. In the presence of load-bearing walls create ventilation passages. All this should be designed and created at the stage of pouring concrete foundation. In the case of creating a system after putting the house into operation, it will be necessary to remove part of the coatings, which will make installation difficult.
The products are made in random order, but experts advise using the following SNiP recommendations for design:
- The minimum distance from the middle of the hole to the ground should not be less than 30 cm. The average value is 50-100 cm.
- The pitch of the holes is no more than 3 meters.
- Ventilations should be positioned so that they are around the perimeter of the base for better ventilation.
- When angular placement of the product must be done at a distance of at least 1 meter from the inner corner.
- When placed in the inner base parts, the pitch should be 1.5 times less than in the external structures.
- The average diameter of the round hole is in the range of 120-150 mm. If the vents are in the shape of a square, its area should be at least 100 sq. Cm.
When creating the scheme, it is important to arrange the holes so that they are located opposite each other in opposite sections of the base. Then the total efficiency of the system will increase.
In the case of creating vents in a house that is already occupied, the number of holes is recommended to be increased by 1.5-2 times. For a bathhouse and rooms in which there is a stove or fireplace, this value can reach 2.5 times.
DIY hole making
At the construction stage of the building, problems with the creation of vents do not arise. In predetermined places, bars are laid that are wrapped in roofing felt or polyethylene. They will serve as air ducts. When the concrete sets, you can pull out the inserts for the holes. Instead of wooden bars, you can take pipe sections with a suitable section. They can be equipped with a grill that will protect the system from insects and rodents. There are also special lattice shutters that can be closed during the migration of mice and rats and opened at other times. But it is important not to completely cover them, but to leave a small clearance for ventilation of the floor in a wooden house.
When the system is created after the house is commissioned, holes will need to be drilled using a powerful punch. When working, the difficulty lies in the risk of getting on the iron reinforcement in the foundation, which can damage the tool. In this case, you will need a welding machine that will help clear the way from steel bars for the ventilated underground.
Winter operation
It is not necessary to close the products at sub-zero temperatures so that the floor does not cool. Even in winter, the soil has a positive temperature, so condensation forms. When the ventilation openings are completely closed, moisture will accumulate in the space under the floor, which can cause fungi and mold. For this reason, it is important to ensure that the ventilation of the underfloor in the private house is always open.
If the temperature in the room is low due to the openings, you should take care of high-quality thermal insulation of the house. It can be laid on the floor, which will solve the problem of cold surfaces. Insulation (material and thickness) is selected depending on the structural features and climatic conditions of the region.
Ventilation of a wooden house
An important role in the ventilation system is played by the foundation. In the case of creating a house on a concrete tape basis, products can be made using the methods described earlier. In the case of piles, you can do without products. Such foundations already have a ventilation gap that cannot be completely blocked. The holes themselves need to be made only in the basement sheathing. Ventilating the underground in a wooden house on stilts is straightforward.
If there is a basement or cellar in a summer cottage that is used to store food, ventilation should be carried out using pipes. Two pipelines are enough, one of which is placed half a meter from the floor and discharged above the house on the roof, and the second starts at the floor and has a meter in exit from the soil surface. You can create such a system yourself, without turning to a specialist for help. It is only important to pick up stainless steel or plastic pipes. Iron is not suitable, as they form corrosion. When choosing the right materials, the basement will maintain the optimum temperature and will become a good storage of products in the winter.
