How to fill a plot of land for several meters. Raise a plot of land with soil and sand in the Moscow region

The need to increase the level of a land plot is most often dictated by various unfavorable conditions of its use.

The most common reason for raising the level of a site is the need to level it.

In such cases, it is very important to correctly plan and implement a set of measures that will simultaneously raise the level of land area and increase its operational capabilities.

The main situations when it is necessary to raise the level of a land plot can be considered:

• high in this particular area;
• the low location of the land plot in comparison with neighboring areas, which causes regular and unwanted accumulation of water on it;
• with an uneven surface.

Let's consider a set of works that will help correct the situation in all of the above cases.

Required materials and tools:

• shovels, buckets, rakes, cord, hose;
• water, sand, cement, crushed stone, gravel;
• measuring tape, hydrostatic level;
• wooden board 30-40 mm thick (for formwork);
• vibrating plate, concrete mixer.

Preliminary activities and preparation

Before leveling, it is necessary to clear the area of ​​debris, roots, and dry branches and let it sit for a week in dry weather.

A preliminary study of the land plot will provide the necessary information for drawing up a plan for its improvement. To do this, you need to study the topography and soil of the site, assess the depth of groundwater, and the proximity of reservoirs.

It will be useful to monitor neighboring areas: perhaps somewhere holes are being dug for fence posts, drainage channels are being laid, someone has dug a foundation pit for building a house. It is worth looking carefully at where the water flows and where it stands, at what depth it is concentrated in the wells. What kind of soil was removed from the pit: sand, clay or peat. Such information will allow you to carry out the planning correctly in the future and avoid the mistakes that were made by your neighbors. It would also be a good idea to consult with specialists.

Before carrying out any subsequent work on the site, it is necessary to remove debris, roots, stumps of old trees and weeds. After removing debris and weeds, it is better to let the area sit for a week in dry weather.

The strip foundation is stable in unstable soils.

During the period of settling of the site, it is time to carry out work on the construction of a strip foundation along its perimeter. The height of the foundation must exceed the ground level of neighboring plots. To do this, a trench with a depth of 20 cm is dug along the perimeter of the site and wooden formwork is installed. For formwork, a wooden board 30-40 mm thick is used, fixed with stakes at a distance of 50-100 cm.

Cement-gravel or cement-crushed stone mortar is poured inside the formwork in a ratio of 1:3:5, where for 1 unit of cement there are 3 units of sand and 5 units of gravel (crushed stone). At an ambient temperature of 15-20°C, the strip foundation will gain 70% of its strength within 7 days, which is sufficient for the next stage of work.

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Surface layout

After carrying out preliminary activities, you can move on to the goal of making the required changes to the topography of the land site. The optimal planning result is a flat surface with a slight slope to improve soil drainage. The slope difference in the desired direction should be approximately 3 cm per 1 m of length.

Before starting work, it is necessary to remove the top fertile layer of soil and place it in one place.

Before carrying out work on leveling and raising the site, the fertile layer of soil, which is on average 10-20 cm, is carefully removed from its surface. It must be placed in a separate place on the site before the final stage of work begins.

To locally level the ground level on a site, you can use wooden pegs placed along the strip foundation and across the site at a distance of about 2 meters, with a cord stretched between them. Level adjustment is carried out by removing or adding soil between the pegs to the level of the guy wires. The uniformity of the required height of the land plot is controlled by the hydrostatic level.

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Leveling and raising the ground level

Having carried out all the preparatory activities and site planning, you can get a general idea of ​​​​the scope of the upcoming work. At this stage, it will be necessary to correctly distribute the areas for the upcoming soil laying. Where the lawn or beds will be located, you can raise the level by adding sand. In places with utility rooms, paths and not intended for growing plants, sand mixed with clay and sandy loam can be used for backfilling, and construction waste can also be used for deep filling.

If it is necessary to raise the ground level by more than 30 cm, it is reasonable to use sand backfill.

If there is a general rise in the ground level to a height of up to 30 cm, then it would be reasonable to get by by adding imported soil in layers of 5-10 cm, compacting it with a vibrating plate and filling it with water for a day. The next day the procedure is repeated, and so on until the surface is leveled and the required level is reached. When adjusting the level, you should take into account the thickness of the removed fertile layer, which is laid last on top of the compacted layers.

In situations where the thickness of the bulk layer is expected to be above 30 cm, leveling and raising the site begins with the use of sand and gravel (“leveling”) mixtures, and ends with adding sand and laying the fertile layer. The sand and gravel filling is also laid in layers of about 5 cm and compacted. It is recommended to place small layers of fertilizer in the form of a peat pad in the middle of the bulk layers.

Please note that the final height of the laid soil layers should be slightly higher than the required level, because the resulting layered “pie” will shrink over several months. The shrinkage period depends on the thickness of the laid layers, the amount of precipitation and other factors.

Today, suburban construction is developing with increasing intensity, this issue is becoming relevant, as is the acquisition of land for the construction of cottages or dachas. But it often turns out that with insufficient study of the terrain, owners are faced with a problem, which is expressed in the location of the site on two levels. This may lead to problems with the construction of structures and landscaping. However, it is possible to deal with such a nuisance, and before starting work you need to familiarize yourself with the most popular methods of solving the issue.

Types of plots

Before you fill a site for construction, you need to familiarize yourself with the main types of sites; they may differ in geological features and topography. Among them are:

• areas above sea level;
• areas below sea level;
• areas below ground level;
• areas above ground level.

When it comes to areas that are located above sea level, you must remember that this is an area that is located in a mountainous or elevated area. This causes more precipitation and low average annual temperatures. The soils in these cases are podzolic, sandy or clayey, but sometimes you can find podzolic chernozems or carbonate soils. The relief of such an area can be flat or hilly. In the latter case, there is no way to do without lifting, and noticeable depressions will have to be eliminated.

Features of work in areas below sea level

Before raising the level of a plot, you must determine what territory you are in. It may be located below sea level and be characterized by significant swampiness. In some cases, salt marshes form on the territory, but silty and fertile soils are not so rare. For this reason, experts do not recommend immediately abandoning the acquisition of such territory; however, the level should be raised to prevent flooding of the foundations of buildings and to provide suitable conditions for growing vegetable and horticultural crops.

Features of work in areas below ground level

Before you lift the area with your hands, you should examine it. It may be located below ground level. In this case, lifting is mandatory, since the territory is located in a lowland, and water from neighboring areas will flow into it. You may experience soil washout and a decrease in the lifespan of buildings. High groundwater levels can have a detrimental effect. It also happens that it is located above ground level. Such territories, at first glance, have no disadvantages, but uneven terrain can create difficulties when cultivating the soil and caring for the garden. Among other things, moving around such a territory is quite problematic. Raising the level of the site here is required to smooth out unevenness.

The need to raise the territory

Before you raise a plot in your dacha, you should familiarize yourself with the factors that indicate the need for such work. If the difference in levels is not so pronounced, then you may want to save money by upgrading without raising the level. But there are several cases when experts advise thinking about these manipulations. Among them, the close location of groundwater, the presence of pronounced depressions and hills, and the location of neighboring areas are much higher.

If they lie close to the surface, this can cause waterlogging; the top layer is usually washed away. If the territory has depressions and hills, then construction may be difficult; this also applies to landscaping the territory, for example, installing lanterns, planting flowers or vegetables. If neighboring areas are located higher, this will mean that heavy rains and floods have caused regular stagnation of water.

Ways to solve the problem

If you are thinking about the question of how to raise a plot of land at your dacha, then you should consider the most popular methods of carrying out such work. In practice, it turns out that there are not many such technologies, but all of them have proven themselves to be the best. Their difference is that the technique is selected depending on the height to which the territory needs to be raised. If the indicator is no more than 30 cm, then it is best to use soil taken from the hills or imported. Additional compaction is carried out with a vibrating plate, and a previously extracted fertile layer of soil is laid on top.

If the above parameter exceeds 30 cm, then it is best to use leveling mixtures that are prepared by combining gravel with sand. The material must be laid in layers, between which fertilizers are placed, and on top there is a fertile layer of soil, without which growing plants will be impossible. Before you raise a plot of land in your country house, you should think about whether there will be a lawn on it. In this case, the situation should be approached with special attention. If there is water on the lawn, then before raising the soil you need to make sure that there is no clay layer inside. Otherwise, the operation will not achieve a positive result, even if the groundwater is deep.

If you are convinced of the presence of clay, then you should get rid of it and replace it with sand. Black soil is laid on top, then the moisture will drain away more efficiently. If there is a road above the area where the lawn is located, and this causes flooding of the area, it is best to raise the level using porous soil. They can use river sand.

Solving the blur problem

In order to prevent erosion of the soil, the lawn is fenced with a concrete fence, the height of which is a limit of 3 to 4 cm. But the installation depth of this structure in the ground should not exceed 20 cm. If you have determined that groundwater lies at a depth ranging from 1 to 2 m, then care should be taken to have a drainage system. In addition, a layer of sand or earth is poured on the area where the lawn is planted.

Preparatory work

If you will be filling the site, then at the first stage it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. To do this, the topography of the territory must be well studied, which will make it possible to determine the type of soil and the depth of groundwater. It is also important to know how close the bodies of water are. It is useful to observe the neighboring areas; pits for the foundation of a house can be dug there, drainage systems can be laid, or holes can be dug for fence posts. This way you can determine the depth where the water is in the well. It is important to know in which direction the water flows and where it stagnates and forms a swampy area. After getting your bearings, you should clear the area, ridding it of tree roots, weeds and debris. It is advisable to let the soil sit for a week, however this is true if the weather is dry.

Preparing tools

If you are thinking about how to raise a plot at your dacha, then at the next stage you need to prepare tools, including:

• shovels;
• hose;
• buckets;
• crushed stone;
• gravel;
• vibrating plate;
• yardstick;
• cord;
• rake;
• sand;
• water;
• cement;
• hydrostatic level;
• concrete mixer.

And in order to turn the territory into a flat surface that has a slight slope of 3 cm per meter, you need to perform the following operations. First, the fertile layer is removed, and it is necessary to go deeper by a maximum of 20 cm. The soil is laid separately until the work is completed. If leveling is carried out locally, then wooden pegs should be installed across the zone along the perimeter, with a two-meter distance between them. A cord is stretched between them, which will allow you to adjust the soil level by removing or adding soil between the pegs.

To ensure that the height is uniform, it is controlled using a level. Filling the area should involve filling the depressions with suspension or clay. If the level differences are large enough, then construction waste can be placed in the pits. Further actions will depend on the thickness of the layer that needs to be added to raise the level. If the latter needs to be raised to a height of no more than 30 cm, then earth is brought to the site and laid in layers, their thickness can vary from 5 to 10 cm.

After laying one layer is completed, it is compacted with a vibrating plate, filled with water and left for 24 hours. Then you can begin laying the next layer. The procedure is repeated until the desired height is achieved. It is important to take into account the thickness of the previously removed layer that is returned to its place.

The soil on the site is poured in a mixture if the relief is far from a perfectly flat surface, and the difference in levels is more than 30 cm. The algorithm remains the same, the thickness of the layer should be approximately 5 cm. It is recommended to place fertilizers, which are peat, in the middle of each mixture. The layer, which consists of gravel and sand, is compacted and left for 24 hours. At the final stage, the height of the layers of earth or mixture should be higher than the required level, this is due to the fact that the soil shrinks. Its duration will depend on the amount of precipitation, the thickness of the layers and many other factors.

Leveling large areas

A large swampy area can be leveled using special equipment. At the first stage, the fertile layer is removed, high mounds are cut off and the depressions are filled. Using a bulldozer, it will be possible to level areas with complex terrain, where there are stream beds, ravines and hills. At the next stage, the area is plowed twice, in this case it is necessary to move in the longitudinal and transverse directions, after which the area is cultivated with a cultivator, also twice. The next step will be compaction, for this a barrel of water is used. At the final stage, seeds are sown and sprinkled with soil. You can also raise the area with sand using the same technology. Its surface is rolled with a barrel again. Excellent results can be achieved by installing a drainage system; it can prevent flooding of the area; for this, trenches are dug along the perimeter, the slope of which should be approximately 4 cm per meter.

Why you shouldn't use crushed stone

Filling the area with crushed stone, although it is done, is quite rare. This is due to the fact that this building material is relatively expensive. Its cost is approximately 3 times higher than sand and 5 times more expensive than construction waste. If we compare the cost with the prices of soil and black soil, then crushed stone will cost 2 times more than any of these materials. Despite the fact that there are certain advantages to using crushed stone, most country property owners prefer to use sand or soil.

Sand cost

Sand, the price of which is 250-380 rubles. per cubic meter, is also quite often used when dumping. However, it is not suitable for this; this must be taken into account before starting work, because it will be labor-intensive and voluminous, but subsequently may become an obstacle to planting cultivated plants.

Conclusion

Filling the area can be done not only with sand and soil, but also with wood chips and bark. In terms of originality, these materials are the best, but they cannot always be called practical. If the entire area is covered with wood chips or bark, then this technology cannot be called correct. Sometimes soil is laid on top of the bark, but in this case the bark may begin to rot, and inside the soil these processes will go faster. In this case, the top fertile layer will become suitable for planting only after a few years, when the bark in the layer has completely rotted. Therefore, these alternative solutions, like sand, the price of which is quite high, cannot always be called suitable.

After acquiring land for development, it often turns out that the terrain and geology of the area are not entirely suitable for long-term use and agricultural activities. We will talk about raising and leveling the soil, from marking to protective landscaping.

When does it make sense to raise a site?

One of the worst geomorphological conditions is considered to be a rise in groundwater level above the depth of soil freezing. In such areas, heaving is especially pronounced, which is why there is a need for complex types of foundations, for example, pile-grillage. Shallow foundations do not work in such conditions, and full deepening requires support on a layer of soil 2.5-3 meters from the surface; above that, the foundation remains unstable and can be subject to precipitation due to high soil moisture.

It cannot be said that geodetic site planning is a cheap method to get rid of soil problems. However, the usefulness of such a solution can be expressed economically in favor of the developer, if raising the soil eliminates problems with waterproofing, insulation and stabilization of the foundation and the associated costs. This is usually true: planning allows you to solve the problem of poor geomorphology cheaper and, most importantly, faster, ultimately significantly reducing the period of foundation shrinkage. This solution is especially indicated when building a log house or installing prefabricated foundations.

But raising the level on the site does not always solve the problem. With a large slope (more than 5-7%), terracing should be done rather than raising the soil, and this is a completely different technology. On such slopes, even using special equipment to pour bored piles costs less money, but among foundations this is one of the most complex. There may also simply not be a dense enough layer of soil in the area to support the construction of the required mass. Raising the site in such a situation will not give anything at all; in any case, you will have to make the foundation floating.

Is drainage needed?

Drainage systems are indicated for artificially leveled areas with significant elevation differences, where, as we know, conventional elevation cannot solve the problem. However, the phenomena of erosion and washout can be expressed even on small slopes, so minimal backfilling and surface drainage will have to be done.

Along both boundaries of the site, located along the slope, you need to dig rain trenches, one of which (the lower one) receives water from a cross-section arranged along the upper border of the site. The bottom of the trenches is filled with crushed stone, and shrubs are planted along the slopes. Periodically, the trenches will have to be cleaned; usually the owner of the site will have to clean the one that is higher in level. The depth of the trench should reach the upper aquitard and cut it slightly - about 20-30 cm. In order to disturb the terrain less, the depth of the trenches can be adjusted with hygroscopic material - the same crushed stone or construction waste.

If the direction of the slope and the trenches diverge by more than 15º, you should be prepared for increased water flow. The bottom of the upper trench should be paved with bricks, or even better - with trays. In such areas, it makes sense to level the soil locally exclusively for buildings. In this case, the plot for the garden is simply protected from erosion by a trench across the slope, along the upper slope of which willow or several birch trees are planted. It is recommended to fill the bottom of the trench and its upper slope with crushed stone to prevent siltation.

There is no point in covering the entire layer of the embankment with black soil, just as there is no point in throwing clay on top of the fertile layer. The top layer will have to be removed to clean clay, and then returned to its place. If only part of the site is to be leveled, the excess soil is simply thrown onto the adjacent territory. If the site is planned completely, the work is carried out in two stages.

Soil excavation is carried out in order to eliminate the plastic washable layer between two dense layers, since there is a high probability of the embankment sliding under its own weight. The only exception is when the site is located simply in a lowland without a slope 20-30 cm below the adjacent territory. Here it is reasonable to limit ourselves to increasing the thickness of the fertile layer.

After the dense formation is exposed, a series of geodetic measurements are carried out. Knowing the configuration of the upper aquifer, you can determine the required volume of soil and begin its delivery. At the same time, they calculate the volume of crushed stone for backfilling and plan the installation of a drainage system.

How to fill the hill

To create an embankment, hard-plastic clay in a swollen state, loam or sandy loam is used. The ability of the bedding to pass water is determined by geomorphology: if, when there is an abundance of water, it is not possible to fill a tightly compacted terrace or the bedding is carried out on top of a porous layer, the embankment should have limited water permeability. It is optimal if the load-bearing capacity of the clay matches the underlying layer, so don’t be lazy to take samples.

In places where the site plan rises above the adjacent areas by more than 30-40 cm, it is necessary to backfill with road crushed stone of a fraction of 70-90 cm. It is also used in surface drainage. Crushed stone is dumped immediately after excavation under the formed edge. The width of the fill in the lower part must be at least half the height of the crushed stone shaft. On the sides of the site along the slope, crushed stone can be used to immediately form the bottom of drainage trenches.

Supports more than a meter high are covered with geotextiles, which are immediately pressed down with a small layer of clay. After this, imported soil is brought in and distributed throughout the site. The simplest route for laying is starting from the shaft, laid from the point of entry of the equipment to the opposite point, and then into the dump in both directions.

It is not recommended to pour more than 0.7-0.8 meters of clay embankment at a time. If it is necessary to raise more, you should wait for heavy rain or give the embankment time to overwinter. But with the use of compaction and excavator equipment, you can quickly create more impressive dumps.

Is compacting or rolling necessary?

It is optimal if the imported clay is sequentially unloaded completely at the upper level of the dump, and then pushed into unfilled areas with a bucket. This is how high-quality compaction occurs, in which the final shrinkage takes place in one or two wettings.

Tamping is used when there is a need for high speed of work, for example, when the optimal time for filling an embankment is limited by season or weather. With alternate tamping, you can pour 0.6-1.0 layers of pure clay one after another without prior wetting. Let us note once again that only swollen clay is suitable for compaction; dry clay will not acquire water-resistant properties until swelling and subsequent compaction.

Layers of 30-40 cm can be compacted by rolling, but wheeled vehicles are not suitable for these purposes. A crawler excavator is indispensable if the site is being raised to a height of more than a meter; in other cases, it is wiser to resort to manual transportation and leveling, and to entrust compaction to precipitation.

Please note that it is often not necessary to manually grade the site. Due to the movement of surface water, the fresh embankment will eventually take on a natural slope. If there is an abundant supply of water, sometimes it is even necessary to slightly raise the embankment at the bottom of the slope in advance.

If you rush and bring in chernozem before the final compaction of the clay, erosion will quickly have a detrimental effect and the area will greatly lose its fertility. Unfortunately, only plowing the soil in spring and autumn can save you from this phenomenon, and even then only partially.

It is better to pour the chernozem or fertile layer dry and not roll it, preferably manual distribution and leveling of the soil. The equipment must import chernozem in the reverse order from the order in which the clay was poured. The area from the edges to the center is filled. At the end of the backfill, it is also filled.

This is the most labor-intensive stage of raising the site: in addition to the fact that it is necessary to level the soil not only in one plane, but also with uniform compaction, the top bulk layer may not be uniform. Usually, before unloading chernozem, formwork is installed, the foundation is cast and waterproofed, and then covered with crushed stone. Surface support mounds are also installed before the fertile layer is formed.

Protection against erosion, strengthening the embankment on the slope

In addition to backfills and drainage, there are other ways to prevent soil erosion. Of these, the most famous and quite effective is planting plants with a developed root system along the upper and lower boundaries of the planned area, and in the upper part - actively absorbing water.

Shrubs are planted along the slopes of drainage trenches to strengthen their walls. Plants from blackberries and rose hips to reeds are suitable here: they do not create much shade and at the same time pump water out of the soil well. From the highest tier, in addition to birch and willow, you can use low-growing elderberry and sea buckthorn. On steep slopes, it is recommended to strengthen the embankment with geogrids and an underground drainage network.

But with a small difference in soil level, backfilling and protective landscaping will be quite sufficient.

The content of the article:

Raising the level of a land plot is the filling of soil in order to eliminate problems associated with the unsuccessful location of the plot. Sometimes they are located in lowlands, wetlands or areas full of construction waste. In this case, the arrangement begins with measures to raise and level the terrain. We'll talk about how to do the job correctly in this article.

Reasons for raising the level of the site

In many cases, the need to raise the soil is not always obvious the first time. To make a decision, you need to study the following points:

• The proximity of groundwater to the surface and the danger of waterlogging or erosion of the fertile layer.
• The presence of hills and deep depressions that complicate operation. For example, lamps in the lower part of the territory do not reach the top, and plants on a hill are likely to die from periodic sliding of the soil.
• The site is located on a large slope.

There are also plots that require mandatory elevation. They can be divided into the following types:

1. Landscape with hilly topography above sea level. It is most often found in the mountains. To solve the problem it is necessary to fill in large depressions.
2. Land below sea level. It is characterized by swampiness and the presence of salt marshes. The soil is raised to prevent water from reaching the foundation and to preserve the productivity of the garden. But it is necessary to carefully weigh all the pros and cons, because wetlands often have a thick layer of silt and are rich in elements beneficial to plants.
3. Plot of land below ground level. Such plots must be improved to avoid flooding from high neighboring areas. After the rains, the area will be constantly in water. Another trouble is the release of groundwater to the surface.

There aren't many lifting options. Backfilling is done in two ways:

• Surface. The soil is poured onto the prepared site, leveled and compacted.
• With excavation. Part of the soil is removed, and the vacated space is filled with brought material. A fertile ball, removed at the beginning of work or brought in, is poured on top of the plot.

Technology for raising the site level

The work of arranging the allotment is usually carried out first, even before the construction of the house begins. If such a decision is made after many years of operation, the task becomes more complicated, because you have to take into account the location of already constructed buildings, paths, green spaces, etc. Let's consider the simplest case of raising a section, when nothing interferes with the process.

Selecting soil for backfilling

The technology for performing the work depends on several factors, the main ones being the height of the site and its purpose.

Rules for choosing soil for backfilling:

1. If the additional layer is less than 30 cm, the best option is to use fertile soil taken from neighboring hills. It is poured in the right place and compacted with a vibrating plate.
2. If it is necessary to pour more than 30 cm of earth, create intermediate layers of sand and gravel. They are laid in layers, between which fertilizers are poured. The stones are covered with a fertile layer on top.
3. The foundation for outbuildings or paths is made of sandy loam or clay. If the intermediate ball turns out to be very high, construction waste can be used. In this case, it is necessary to remember that large waste will settle, and not always evenly.
4. If there are parking lots or roads, use crushed stone that can withstand heavy loads. If no trucks are expected, fill in cheaper excavated soil.
5. Create a sand cushion under permanent buildings, without gravel.
6. Based on the experience of construction work, it is recommended to fill the first ball with the same soil that is on the site. In this way, a strong connection is created between the new and untouched land. If you pour construction material waste onto soft soil, it will simply fall through and the sand will be washed away with water.
7. To prevent one material from absorbing another, geotextiles are used. But this coverage is not cheap and will require large financial investments.
8. When lifting to a height of up to 1 m, it is uneconomical to use only expensive fertile soil. You can first fill in construction waste - broken bricks, pieces of concrete, which will ensure the drainage of excess water. Waste can be collected free of charge if there is major construction going on nearby. Very often, builders do not know how to get rid of garbage, and quickly agree to bring several truckloads of unnecessary junk.
9. Pour soil to a level that is slightly higher than the cords stretched at the beginning of work. This is due to soil shrinkage, which will appear after the first rain. The amount of subsidence is also influenced by the density of the layers, their thickness and other factors.

Preliminary work

If you cannot decide how to raise the level of a land plot, analyze it - study the topography, soil composition, the presence of groundwater, the distance to the nearest body of water.

The most qualitative research will be carried out by surveyors, but the main characteristics can be determined independently:

• Often, to make a decision, it is enough to drill a well and inspect a section of the soil.
• If possible, observe the construction work taking place nearby. The presence of water in technical recesses will make it possible to determine at what depth it is located and in what direction it flows. Also, observation will allow you to determine the type of soil without excavating on your own territory.
• It is recommended to create a site map showing elevations and depressions. Using it you can determine how much soil is needed for backfilling, in what place to add it and at what height.

Before raising the level of the area, clear it of debris and remove any remaining trees. Build a foundation around the perimeter of the sector that will not allow water to wash away the fill material. It is possible to refuse it if the ground level of the nearest plots is higher than yours.

The foundation is built as follows:

1. Dig a trench at least 20 cm deep along the edges of the area.
2. Install wooden formwork. It is made of boards 30-40 cm thick, which are fixed with stakes every 0.5-1 m. The height of the fence should ensure that the foundation protrudes above the neighboring area (the difference in height is at the discretion of the owner).
3. Fill the formwork with cement-sand mortar, for the preparation of which the components are taken in the following proportion: cement - 1 part, sand - 3 parts, gravel 0.5 parts. Within a week, the solution will gain up to 70% strength if the ambient temperature is 15-20 degrees.

Sprinkling soil

To roughly calculate the amount of soil required for backfilling, you can use our recommendations: to raise one hundred square meters by 1 m, you will need 100 m 3 of soil (loam with sandy loam). On smaller areas, the consumption is different: to raise a platform of 10 m by 2-10 cm you will need 1 m 3 of soil. When determining the backfill height, it is necessary to take into account that over time the earth will settle by 30-60%.

To create a new site level, perform the following operations:

• Remove the fertile layer of soil and move it outside the area to be leveled. Save it, and in the future you will not have to spend money on buying new fertile land. If useful soil is missing or covered with debris, it is better not to remove it, but to fill it with an intermediate layer.
• When finalizing part of the territory, place pegs along its perimeter and across this area in 2 m increments, aligning their surfaces in a horizontal plane. Stretch a cord between them, along which you can adjust the surface. Further work depends on the thickness of the poured soil.
• If the estimated height does not exceed 30 cm, lay the soil in layers of 5-10 cm, compact it with a vibrating plate and fill it with water. A day after watering, pour in the next ball and repeat the procedure. The top layer should remain fertile soil, removed before starting work, or brought.
• Tilt the surface at a slight angle (no more than 3 degrees) so that water does not linger.

If the problem area occupies a large area, it will not be possible to complete the work without heavy equipment. You will need a bulldozer with a hinged blade that can cut the earth from one place and move it to another.

In this case, the work is performed in the following sequence:

1. Remove the top ball with a bulldozer and move it off site.
2. Cut off the protrusions with a knife and fill the depressions to the specified marks.
3. The advantage of using a bulldozer is that it performs the task on any difficult surface, on hills, in the beds of dry streams, etc.
4. Plow the area twice - in the longitudinal and transverse directions.
5. Cultivate the area with a cultivator, also in straight and transverse directions.
6. Compact the top layer with a barrel of water.
7. At the final stage, sow the plot with grass and cover it with a thin layer of fertile soil.
8. Then compact again.

This completes the process of raising the allotment. Over the course of several months, the land will still settle, but the territory can already be exploited - construction work can be carried out, trees can be planted, and a vegetable garden can be arranged.

Lawns are very common in summer cottages, and at first glance they are very easy to create. In fact, creating a beautiful grass area is not such an easy task. Before raising the ground level of an area to create a lawn, examine the condition of the plot to determine the feasibility of raising it.

If there is constant flooding, you should make sure that there is no clay under the fertile layer. It will not allow water to escape, even if the groundwater is deep. If a clay layer is detected, it must be removed and covered with sand and chernozem on top. If the clay layer is very thick and cannot be removed, create a good drainage system.

If there is a road above the lawn area, it is better to raise the level with sandy soil. To prevent it from being washed away, dig concrete slabs around the perimeter of the lawn to a depth of at least 20 cm, and they should protrude 3-4 cm above the soil.

First, dig a hole 30-40 cm deep, then pour sand in a layer of 10-12 cm. It should be strongly compacted using a vibrating plate. The loose mass helps to quickly remove excess moisture. Pour the previously removed soil on top, as a result of which the level will rise by at least 5-6 cm. To plant grass, fill the area with special fertile soil into which the seeds are poured.

The total thickness of the layer under the lawn can reach 20 cm. Under the garden beds, the layer should be at least 30 cm.

Drainage for a swampy area

Raising the level of a site in marshy areas may not lead to the desired result. To get rid of excess moisture, you will need an effective water drainage system. In our case, it is performed in the form of trenches through which moisture is drained outside the plot.

There are open and closed drainage. An open system is the simplest option for draining a site. These are ditches up to 0.7 m deep and about 0.6 m wide with a slope in one direction. A layer of crushed stone and sand 10-15 cm thick is poured onto the bottom. Water seeps through the walls of the trench and flows out independently in the desired direction.

A closed system is more complex to implement. It will require factory-made drainage pipes. The trenches are made with a slope of 7 cm over a length of 1 m. It is recommended to direct the water towards the lowest place or into the pool.

Near buildings, ditches are dug along the perimeter of the buildings. They can be placed frequently in garden plots, especially if clay soils are present. The depth depends on the composition of the soil. For clays and loams, ditches are dug up to 1 m. In any case, they should be located below the freezing level of the soil characteristic of the area. It is better to dig ditches in the form of a “herringbone” - one central trench and several additional ones that connect to it. The main line carries water outside the site.

A cushion of crushed stone and sand is poured onto the bottom of the ditch. After installing the pipeline, cover it with geotextile to protect it from dirt getting inside. From above everything is covered with sand, crushed stone and fertile soil. Highways are usually decorated to provide an aesthetic appearance.

How to raise the level of a site - watch the video:

The disappointment of an unsuccessfully located site quickly passes if you approach the problem correctly. To obtain a beautiful and comfortable recreation area, it is necessary to study the features of the technology for raising the level of the site and make considerable physical efforts to implement the plan.

How to raise a site or level the terrain before construction? Typically, such work is carried out before the start of construction work or for landscaping if the terrain has a slope or other defects.

Leveling or adding soil in this case can significantly reduce the cost of further work and eliminate the problem of too high groundwater.

Planning. Where to begin?

Before raising the soil on the site, you need to plan future work. To do this, the location of the future home and existing buildings, the presence of lawns, flower beds, garden paths, and requirements for the territory itself are taken into account. Planning makes it possible to answer the following questions:

• What volume of bedding is required?
• What soil or other mixtures will be used?
• Is it necessary to drain swampy soil?
• Will there be drainage?

Site leveling is usually required in the following cases:

• when located in a low-lying area with regular flooding and high groundwater;
• in the presence of voids and depressions that interfere with construction and can significantly increase its cost or cause serious problems in the future;
• if there are wetlands on the site;
• if neighboring areas are located on a hill, which causes constant flooding during bad weather or thaw;
• in case of severe soil contamination;
• if there is a slope.

The site should be leveled before construction or landscaping work begins, as otherwise the work will simply be useless or too expensive. It should also be taken into account that when leveling the terrain, you should definitely take care of drainage.

Soil selection

When choosing what to fill the area with, you need to consider the following parameters:

• Required filling height. For example, it is necessary to raise the soil level by 20-30 centimeters. In this case, ordinary fertile soil is suitable, which will not take much for a small area. But for a large plot, this option is only suitable for flower beds and lawns, since the cost of fertile soil is quite high.
• If it is necessary to raise the soil by a meter, it is necessary to use a combined backfill. To do this, drainage is arranged, the bottom layer is made of sand and gravel mixture, crushed stone or broken brick. Fertile soil is poured only on top in a small layer.
• For the lower layers, it is recommended to use moisture-permeable materials, for example, crushed granite or broken brick. This ensures good drainage and saves on work. The top layer is selected based on the purpose of the fill. For example, only fertile soil is used for a garden; for a construction site, you can use regular soil, but not clay soil.

Preliminary work and filling

Before you begin raising the ground level, you need to draw up a work schedule, which will include:

• planning, mixture selection;
• demolition of structures (if they are subject to dismantling);
• clearing the area of ​​debris;
• drainage (if work conditions require it);
• backfill.

Before starting work, it is recommended to carry out a survey, for which surveyors are involved. This makes it possible to determine the working conditions as accurately as possible and select the right type of soil. If the top layer of soil is good, then it should be completely removed and temporarily folded for further work. In this case, you can perform leveling with less expensive materials, and then return the fertile soil to its place. If the natural soil layer is heavily littered or is completely unsuitable for gardening work, then you can not remove it, but fill it directly on top of it.

If there is swampiness or a clayey base of the soil, if possible, remove the clay, which does not allow moisture to pass through. It can be replaced with a sand or sand-gravel cushion, followed by backfilling with ordinary soil. This makes it possible to solve the problem of waterlogging and create a solid foundation. If the clay layer is too thick, then a drainage device is necessary, otherwise all the work will be a waste of money. The preparatory part of the work is taking into account the features of the relief and calculating the amount of material. On average, up to 100 cubic meters of soil are needed per square meter, if you take ordinary loam with sandy loam. For a more accurate calculation, you can use this simple formula: when raising a site by 10 centimeters with a total area of ​​10 square meters, a cubic meter of soil is required. But during compaction and over time, settlement will occur by approximately 30-60%, which means the work will have to be repeated.

In order to carry out all the work correctly, it is necessary to carefully prepare the area. Backfilling is carried out only on the prepared surface, in order to prevent the soil from scattering; it is necessary to first make a low strip foundation around the perimeter. Drainage is recommended for any site; it is an important part of the overall improvement. The type of such a system depends entirely on the working conditions and soil, but it must be installed before the material is poured, and not after. Filling is done in layers of 10-15 centimeters, each layer should be leveled and compacted. After laying the first layers of loam or sand-gravel mixture, you should take a break for a couple of weeks for natural shrinkage, after which the top layers should be poured. The finished bedding should be protected from spreading, for which you can use sowing of any plants with a branched root system, for example, winter rye.

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