How to make a caisson for a cellar with your own hands

Before each person who is engaged in cultivation of various vegetable crops and collects a crop, there is a question on its storage and winter conservation prepared for the winter. Most often, they always used cellars for this, but unlike modern variants, they previously resorted to the help of ordinary pits lined with bricks. And today there are more convenient and profitable solutions to such problems, and they have become caissons for the cellar. What kind of device is this, and what is more profitable than a normal pit? What are caissons, and how to make them yourself?

Caisson. What is it?

Storage of raznosolov, vegetables, root crops and fruits is customary in sub-fields, cellars, sheds and storages. Preference is still given more to the cellars, the options for erecting which has always been quite a lot, but each of them has its drawbacks. Whether it is a pit made of brick, wood or concrete, the durability and tightness of these materials leaves much to be desired. Over time, brick and concrete lose their properties and deteriorate, and the tree is exposed to mold and fungus. And often there is a problem of groundwater, which can penetrate the cellar and spoil the reserves.

But the modern world does not stand still, and today an excellent solution and a worthy alternative to the old designs - a cell for a cellar - is invented. It is a completely sealed dry cell, which, while in the ground, saturated with water, or completely under water, creates an air pocket.

The caisson for the cellar can be round or rectangular with a neck and a hatch. To counter the groundwater and the impact of the soil, the thickness of the walls of the caisson can reach sixteen millimeters. Inside the structures, ventilation is provided, protecting against excess moisture and dampness.

Advantages of the caisson

Caissons have a number of advantages:

• Complete tightness, which allows you to install the device even on site with high groundwater, without fear for the safety of products;
• Do not undergo fungus, which always happens with ordinary cellars;
• Do not give the products stored inside, a specific smell.

The cellar for the cellar can be equipped in any place both under the house, shed and garage, and under the open sky. Correctly carried out waterproofing will be a guarantee of protection against rain, sewerage or water and groundwater. And also the caisson has a more reliable level of protection against thefts than a normal cellar.

Varieties of caissons

So, there are several types of caissons:

1. The most expensive and laborious right is considered to be the caisson of reinforced concrete rings. A good base is required to install such a structure. Then the rings are placed and the top cover is installed. An excellent waterproofing must be carried out. The main disadvantage is the large weight that makes installation and waterproofing difficult, and a considerable price.
2. The most popular option was the caisson metal. Such structures are made of steel sheets, welding them in a sealed device with a ladder and a hatch. Such caissons are necessarily treated with a coating against corrosion and equipped with a bypass valve, in the event of entering the pit of groundwater. In this design, the optimal temperature for storing the pickles and the harvest is always maintained.
3. The caisson for a plastic cellar does not need a treatment procedure against corrosion. Due to the fact that the structure has a low weight, it will not be necessary to attract equipment for installation. Models of plastic caissons are exceptionally tight and do not require the establishment of waterproofing protection. The caisson for a cellar plastic will serve its owners for more than fifty years.

Caisson for the cellar with their own hands

Acquiring popularity and popularity, the caisson is increasingly used by summer residents. Since periodically the groundwater table can rise and threaten the preservation of the crop, the owners build the caissons for reliable protection against water. And besides, the correct storage of the harvest will allow it to remain until the next season in its original form, and it is more than one year to keep it for many years. The caisson can be purchased as a finished product along with the installation service or make and install it yourself. For those who are inclined to an independent decision, we will tell you how to make a caisson for a cellar.

The location of the caisson

Choosing a place for the location of the caisson, it should be remembered that for the constant blowing of the walls with fresh air, it is desirable to place the device in the middle of the underground. A more common option is the underground under the kitchen, with the entrance across the floor. It should be remembered in advance that the hatch of the caisson should be closed with a tight lid, placed on one level with the floor.

The most successful equipment caisson on the site before the construction of the main room. It is necessary to carefully study the place where you plan to install the caisson with your own hands. If the terrain on which the site is elevated and dry, there should be no problems with the arrangement. If the soil of the site is marshy, it will be necessary to make efforts and work hard. Recommendations of experts are inclined to install metal caissons due to their greater reliability. But a large number of owners choose a caisson made of plastic for the cellar, which also has good user reviews.

Manufacture of caissons for metal cellar

To become the owner of a good caisson for storing the crop, there are two solutions. In specialized stores you can buy a ready-made caisson metal. And also you can order a model according to your size. But if you have certain skills and abilities, it is possible to make a caisson metal for the cellar yourself. There are many variants of the shape of the future caisson. The main thing is to remember that all seams should be welded inside and out to exclude the possibility of water ingress. Poorly welded seams threaten rapid corrosion damage and labor-consuming repairs. The walls and floor of the caisson should be made of metal, and the upper part can be made of concrete or wood.

The pit for the caisson

After the caisson is ready, you need to calculate the size of the excavation and make markup on the territory. The metal caisson is set to a depth of at least 2.5 meters. When making marking, it is worth considering that between the walls of the caisson and the foundation pit should be a distance of 0.5 meters along the entire perimeter.

In order to avoid shedding the walls of the excavation, you should try to save the sod. During the work, after removing the top layer, clay may have problems with groundwater. If this happens, in the middle of the excavation dig a hole deep into the bayonet of the shovel to collect water. After completion of the digger, the bottom of the pit is covered with sand by a layer of 10 centimeters. The tar, smeared on the walls and bottom of the excavation, will serve as additional protection.

Waterproofing caisson

Since the metal is susceptible to corrosion, before installing the caisson in the pit, it must be treated with an anti-corrosion coating. Or, by purchasing a special compound, use the paint waterproofing. After it is necessary to cover the caisson with bitumen. To do this, you can weld bitumen mastic in the boiler yourself. Taking the amount of bitumen, equal to one third of the volume of the boiler, install it on the fire. After the bitumen ceased to foam, it is poured into a pre-prepared tank of gasoline and mixed with a thin stream. For the treatment of external walls, proportions of one part of bitumen to three parts of gasoline must be observed. For primary painting - in equal parts, for re-painting - three parts of bitumen to one gasoline. Coating of the caisson with such a composition should be continuous, with an emphasis on sharp spots.

Insulation of the caisson

So, from the penetration of water, the caisson is protected, but now it has a high temperature, which means that water will drain from its walls, because of which the crop in the caisson will rot. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to install thermal insulation. It is necessary to isolate the walls and the bottom of the cellar as best as possible.

To make the cellar unit for the cellar as ideal as possible, it is recommended to make its insulating layer of clay with a thickness of at least 20 centimeters. The same layer of clay should be isolated and external sides. To achieve better reliability, with cement mortar, the floor and inner walls of the cellar are plastered with a layer of 2 centimeters. For this, a steel wire mesh with a diameter of 0.06 cm is set up with a steel mesh with cells, fixed and plastered. Next, cover the floor with a layer of 3.5 centimeters and allow the composition to dry out. Internal walls can be insulated with glass wool or warm blankets.

Installation of the caisson

After completing the preparation, you can lower the caisson for the cellar in the pit. To install the caisson at the center of the excavation, it is first lowered vertically from both sides of the log, which will act as limiters and guides for the caisson. The installation can be carried out using a winch, the cable of which must be constantly weakened and controlled by one person. The other participants in the process guide the caisson and keep it from swaying.

If the installation takes place in an area with constantly incoming water, the caisson will float up. To overcome this problem, a water trap is installed. Fill the distance from the walls of the caisson to the cellar with clay, it is well rammed. The device of the water seal should be below the freezing level of the ground. But even its installation does not give a full guarantee.

Arrangement of the caisson

After the caisson is installed, it needs to be equipped for ease of use. The modern market is full of variety of all kinds of boxes and shelves for storing food. Places of installation will depend only on the preferences and imagination of the owners. You can also make wood racks yourself, which are installed on racks made of timber.

In addition to the caisson's equipment, various shelves and drawers, you need to take care of its ventilation. Therefore, in each metal caisson, ventilation pipes must be installed, which will prevent dampness in the device.

To access the caisson was convenient, you must use a ladder. It can be made of metal or wood, the main thing is its good strengthening from two sides, protecting from movement and reeling.

Of course, for the convenience of using the caisson it should be illuminated. It can be electric either with candles, a flashlight or a kerosene lamp. The main thing is not to forget about fire safety, and if the lighting method is chosen as a kerosene lamp, it is desirable to remove it from the caisson after use in order to avoid a specific smell of the products.

After filling the caisson with harvest and pickles, it is recommended to top the caisson with a material intended for thermal insulation, for example, slag or expanded clay. If moss, peat or sawdust is chosen for this purpose, they should be covered with a layer of earth or sand from above, since they have increased combustibility.