Hozblok for giving – we build ourselves

Recommendation points

• Hozblok can be bought ready-made
• How to properly position the utility block on the site
• Do-it-yourself wooden utility block
• Foundation
• Frame (grillage)
• Hozblock frame
• Rafters
• Sheathing and interior arrangement

In this article: types and costs of ready-made utility units; rules for placing a utility unit; stages of construction; necessary materials; device of a columnar foundation; frame design; roof installation.

A rare dacha can do without an outbuilding – a utility block. The purpose of the suburban utility block can be very different – a change house during the construction of the main suburban structure, a warehouse for placing garden tools and accessories, a poultry house, a pantry or a bathroom, which includes a toilet and a summer shower room. Let’s agree that this building is necessary for a country house and we will figure out how to get it.

Hozblok can be bought ready-made

Domestic manufacturers offer summer residents ready-made utility blocks (cabins), made both in the form of a monoblock (module) and in a collapsible structure. Monoblock cabins, as a rule, are made on the basis of a metal container or on a welded metal frame; in the corners on their roof there are metal lugs for moving and positioning in place using a lifting truck crane. Collapsible utility blocks are delivered to the location in disassembled form, assembled by the manufacturer’s team of installers.

The advantages of modular cabins in 99% readiness already in the workshop, including the complete installation of internal communications – you just need to put such a utility block at the installation site and connect it to external communication networks, which will take no more than two hours. The disadvantage of any modular buildings is that a container truck and a truck crane are required, without which their transportation and installation is impossible. Collapsible cabins are easier to deliver to the dacha, while no special equipment is required – all their structural elements are compactly packed and marked, installers only need to assemble the utility block on site like a Lego constructor. The disadvantage of collapsible utility blocks is the presence of an assembly team, assembly and, if necessary, construction of communications will take several hours, perhaps more than one day.

The general advantage of factory-made utility blocks is their low weight and careful design calculation, which allows them to be placed on a columnar foundation or concrete blocks. The cost of factory-made modular and prefabricated utility blocks depends on their size, on average, a modular change house 6000 mm long and 2300 mm wide will cost 36,000 rubles, collapsible of the same length and width – 45,000 rubles.

How to properly position the utility block on the site

Building an economic block on your own is attractive from the standpoint of saving money, but the process itself will take time and effort. However, before starting construction, you need to determine the position of the future building, based on the requirements of SNiP 30-02-97 and the purpose of the utility block:

• if it contains cattle, poultry, or there is a latrine, then the minimum distance from its wall to a residential building is 12 m, to the border of a neighboring summer cottage – 4 m;
• if it is supposed to arrange a shower room in it, the minimum distance to a residential building should be at least 8 m, to the border with neighbors – 1 m.

Ignoring the requirements of the aforementioned SNiP will result in serious problems in the event of the sale of a summer cottage with buildings, since government agencies will refuse to complete the deal until the layout of the site meets the building standards in force in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Do-it-yourself wooden utility block

For the construction of a utility block 6 m long, 3 m wide and 3 m high under a pitched roof, consisting of two internal rooms, the following basic materials will be needed:

• 0.65 cubic meters of timber 150×150 mm
• 0.37 cubic meters of timber 150×100 mm
• 1.2 cubic meters of timber 100×100 mm
• 0.15 cubic meters of timber 50×100 mm
• 2.2 cubic meters of 30 mm edged board
• 0.73 cubic meters of 40 mm floorboard
• 28 m² plywood
• 28 m² roofing material
• 7.2 running meters of asbestos-cement pipe with a diameter of 150 mm
• cement, sand and gravel

Foundation

Having decided on the location of the future utility block, we mark the perimeter of its base and the point where the columnar foundation will be laid – it is laid at the end corners and in the middle of the wide sides of the building. Preliminary and before starting work on the columnar foundation, we cut off the fertile soil layer inside the perimeter under the utility block by 150-200 mm, then ram it, pour the sand in a 100 mm layer and ram it again. For the foundation for our utility block, six pillars will be needed, for each of them it is necessary to drill holes with a diameter of about 200 mm and a depth of 1200 mm, while the length of each pipe section for the foundation pillar is 1200 mm.

A 100 mm layer of sand or fine gravel is poured onto the bottom of each hole and rammed. Sections of asbestos-cement pipes are lowered into the prepared pits, their vertical position is set in level, sand is poured into the free space between the walls of the pipes and pits to fix them, and compacted. The next stage is the first stage of pouring the foundation pillars – cement mortar is poured inside the asbestos-cement pipe segments exposed in the pits, but only to 1/3 of the internal volume of the pipe. After that, the pipe must be raised 100-150 mm up, fixed at a level and wait two to three days – this measure will allow the formation of a concrete base at the bottom of the pits, the diameter of which will be greater than the diameter of the pipe section, so that it will prevent the columnar foundation from rising during winter heaving soil.

Before the final filling of the pipe cavity, it is necessary to prepare four pieces of reinforcement with a diameter of 10 mm, which will allow fixing the grillage from the timber on the foundation pillars at the corners of the structure. The length of each piece of reinforcement is at least 350 mm, of which 150 mm will go to immersion in the solution, and 200 mm will protrude outward. If you do not trust the reinforcement fixation, you can fix the anchors in the columnar foundation, then place the frame on them and fasten with nuts (the nuts and ends of the anchors must be sunk into the grillage). Then we prepare the solution, fill the capacity of each pipe segment completely, accompanying the casting with bayonetting and reducing the likelihood of air sinuses formation, place the embedded fittings in the center. Complete hardening of the columnar foundation will take two weeks, during which it is necessary to cover the columns from sunlight and, in case of dry weather, moisten with water.

Frame (grillage)

It is assembled from a bar with a section of 150×150 mm, the length of two sections is 6000 mm, respectively, the other two are 3000 mm. The timber forming the frame is connected to each other by a “half-wood” groove with fixation between themselves by two (if the frame is mounted on the anchor) or four (if on the reinforcement) galvanized self-tapping screws for wood. For installation on foundation posts in the frame, grooves are marked and drilled for the protrusions of the reinforcement or anchors. When installing the frame on the foundation, a layer of roofing material is laid between it and the pillars, the protruding edges of which should be bent down so that moisture does not accumulate under the beam. Before final installation, the wooden frame, like all subsequent wooden elements of the utility block, must be treated with an antiseptic – at least two layers of drying oil. Along the length of the perimeter of the wooden grillage, three logs from a bar of 100×100 mm, with a step of 1350 mm, are mounted “half-wood”.

Hozblock frame

To build a frame, you will need a wooden beam with a section of 100×150 and 100×100 mm. It is more convenient to install a frame beam of various lengths – on the front side of the frame with a length of 3000 mm, on the back side of 2400 mm, thereby significantly simplifying the construction of rafters of a single-pitched roof.

First, we collect end frames identical to each other, each of which will have a window opening. All connections of vertical posts with the grillage frame are made on reinforced galvanized steel corners (size 105×90 or 130×100 mm) and self-tapping screws. The first is the front side stand (length 3000 mm, section 150×100 mm, with the narrower side to the end of the utility block), in which, before installation, you need to drill a hole with a diameter of 10 mm and a depth of 50 mm for landing on protruding reinforcement, if it was used to connect the foundation with a grillage – similar holes are prepared in each of the corner posts before their installation. At a distance of 1000 mm from it, two posts with a section of 100×100 mm and a length of 2400 mm with a 600 mm distance between them are attached. The last post (length 2400 mm, section 150×100 mm), which is 1000 mm apart from the previous one, finishes the installation of the end of the utility block. To achieve greater diagonal rigidity between the first and second, as well as the third and fourth posts, struts with a section of 100×100 mm are installed. The ends of the struts are cut at 45 °, their attachment to the struts and the frame is carried out by bolting with the obligatory installation of a washer before tightening the nut. Between the 2nd and 3rd pillars, window beams with a section of 100×50 mm are placed – the first at a distance of 1000 mm from the grillage frame, the second at 1000 mm from the first. The second end frame of the utility block is assembled in the same way..

We proceed to the assembly of the front facade frame – we expose the main racks with a length of 3000 mm. There are four of them – two have already been exposed when assembling the end frames, two middle ones must be installed, while the step between any near posts should be 1800 mm. So that the racks do not “walk”, we temporarily connect them together with a board on nails or screws. The total internal area of ​​our utility block will be divided into two separate rooms, so it is required to arrange doorways and a window opening in the middle of the front facade. The width of each of them will be the same and equal to 850 mm, the height is 2000 mm – respectively, we set the racks with a length of 2400 mm and a section of 100×100 mm at 850 mm from the end racks of the front frame. We set diagonal braces between the second and third uprights, counted from the ends of the front frame. We take up the window pillars – we install a bar 2400 mm long with a section of 100×100 mm at a distance of 375 mm from the third (long) pillar, stepping back from the installed pillar 850 mm, we set the next one, of the same length and section. Between these posts it is necessary to place horizontal window crossbars – the first one at a height of 800 mm from the grillage frame, the second crossbar 1000 mm from the first.

The frame of the rear facade of the utility block is performed in the following sequence: there are already end posts, you need to set two intermediate ones (length 2400 mm, section 150×100 mm – with the narrower side towards the ends) with a step of 1800 mm, after installing the braces between the first two and the last two posts.

The crossbar (upper strapping) is made of 100×50 mm timber at a height of 2000 mm from the grillage frame. It consists of segments equal to the distance between the vertically set uprights, connected to it with a conventional butt joint and fixed through a reinforced steel angle on self-tapping screws.

Rafters

Their assembly is carried out on the ground, so it is much easier, installation on the rack of the utility block is already made in an almost finished form. Rafters with a length of 5000 mm are made of a bar with a section of 100×50 mm, they are connected to each other by a sheathing of 30 mm edged boards, the pitch between the rafters is 850 mm. The distance between the lathing depends on the mass of the roofing material with which the roof will be covered – for example, if a metal tile or roofing material is used, then a continuous lathing is not required. The difference in height between the racks of the front and rear sides of the utility block creates a roof slope angle of 10 ° – at this angle you need to cut grooves in the racks on which the rafters will rest. Before installing the roof, it is necessary to sew up its eaves and overhangs with a 30 mm edged board, sheathe the floor of the utility block with a 40 mm floorboard and temporarily fix the corner posts of the frame diagonally with a bar or board, having previously verified their position with a building level and a plumb line. To mount the rafters on the racks, it is necessary to pre-drill holes for self-tapping screws in them. Then the roof structure is placed on the logs behind the utility block with the front side up and along them, with the help of stops, it rises up to the location, with the rafter factory into the prepared slots on the racks.

Sheathing and interior arrangement

External sheathing with clapboard is carried out, the roofing is installed, windows are inserted and doors are hung, internal frame-panel partitions are formed by connecting “half-wood” and the ceiling is sewn up with plywood or fiberboard – in all cases, fastening is performed with a self-tapping screw. The basement can be sewn up with an asbestos-cement sheet, if such a sheathing is made from the outside and inside, followed by filling the gap between the sheets with expanded clay, then it can be insulated. Installation of mineral wool or expanded polystyrene with subsequent sewing with plywood or fiberboard will allow you to get a warm utility block and significantly expand the possibilities of its use.