Clay castle for a well. Do-it-yourself clay castle for a well made of reinforced concrete rings. Pros of using a clay castle

Good afternoon. We decided to get our own well in the country. They hired craftsmen who dug out a shaft and placed concrete rings. When compacting the soil outside around the rings, a controversial situation arose. We know that in order to protect the well from perched water and precipitation, an earthen castle is made from above. But the craftsmen said that this was not necessary, and offered to replace it with a soft blind area made of sand, gravel and a waterproofing film. Advise what protects better: clay or the second option?

Disadvantages of a clay castle

If you entrusted the case to a professional team, then it makes sense to listen to their recommendations, and here's why. It is very rare for a clay castle to be made perfectly tight. To do this, the clay must have good plasticity, be crushed in the hands and compacted so tightly that no voids and air bubbles remain inside. In most cases, the owners do not crush the clay, but simply throw it around the first ring and trample it with their feet or with a rammer. With this laying, the clay does not create a solid waterproof layer, but simply blocks the penetration of moisture from the soil surface. But through the voids under the castle, perched water easily penetrates, which seeps through the ground, and not along the surface of the earth, and thus enters the mine itself.

If the sealing of the seams of the rings is well done and all the walls are missed, then the top water is unlikely to spoil your water. The problem is different: the moisture accumulated under the clay castle will turn into ice in winter. And if your area is characterized by heaving soils, then the earth will begin to increase in volume and put pressure on the first well ring with force. As a result, the seams may break and horizontal displacement of the upper part of the shaft may occur. This means that all the garbage brought with precipitation and groundwater will begin to get inside. Clay castles usually have such consequences, not covered from above with waterproof material (concrete, tile), but simply covered with earth.

Apparently, the masters know these nuances and decided to replace the old grandfather's method of waterproofing with a more modern one. Perhaps the quality of your clay is not very good, and the soil freezes a lot in winter. In addition, it is recommended to make a clay castle a year or two after digging the mine, so that the soil near the walls is compacted and settled naturally. And before that, the top is covered with some kind of temporary waterproofing. Your team does not want to wait so much time, therefore it offers a completely reasonable way out - to lay a soft blind area.

Features of waterproofing with a soft blind area

Let's figure out the features of this version of waterproofing. A soft blind area is created around the second ring from the top, because the first one is located on the surface. The width of the structure is 1.2-1.3 meters. The main materials are sand and a waterproofing dense film. The most durable version of the film is the one used to create ponds. Geotextiles and decorative coatings such as tiles, stone, gravel or grass can be added to them. In your case, the masters were going to lay rubble as a decorative top layer.

The waterproofing film is stretched with one edge over the concrete, covering the seam between the first and second rings, to create an additional blockade for the seepage of the top water.

Laying technology

The whole structure resembles a layer cake, where the film is laid out first, then sand, on top - geotextiles (if it is necessary to block the germination of weeds) and decorative material.

Subsequence:

The entire fertile layer of the earth is removed (to the level of the depth of the second ring).
The film is laid out so that one of its edges covers the soil near the wall (more than a meter), and the second one is wound onto the ring itself, closing the seam between the second and first rings.
The film must be pressed against the well so that it does not slip. To do this, cut out a metal tape and wrap it around the wall of the first ring, pressing down the film. Fix directly to the concrete with screws.
You can simplify the task: fix it with tape by wrapping it around the ring several times. True, in the second case, it is necessary to hide the pasting place under the decorative material.
A sand cushion is poured over the film with a slope from the well and a decorative coating is laid out.

With this method, no heaving of the soil will break the seam, because it is covered with a dense, loose-fitting film that can adapt to soil movements.

The clay castle around the well is a structure that protects the source from getting perched, that is dirty water through the walls of the well shaft. With a sufficient depth of the well, it is not necessary to make a clay castle, but if it is shallow, you cannot do without it.

The construction process itself clay castle quite laborious and requires a significant amount of clay. After all the work, you need to clean the well to be sure of the quality of the water.

All measures for the construction of a clay castle can be divided into three stages

A recess is made around the well shaft by 150-180 centimeters and a width of 50-60 centimeters.
Clay is poured into the resulting trench and periodically compacted.
A small tubercle of 15-20 centimeters is made from above with a slope from the well.

Now let's look at some of the nuances associated with the organization of a clay castle.

Is it possible to use other materials instead of clay

For a castle around a well, it is best to use clay

There are now a sufficient number of companies on the market that offer to replace clay with sand or sand and gravel mix. But, first of all, they want to simplify the task for themselves, and not to help you. Let's think logically. Sand does not retain water, but only passes it through and cleans debris. Then the water gets to the walls concrete rings and if there are cracks in them, then flood water enters directly into the aquifer.

Now about clay - this is a waterproof material that prevents the penetration of water, but at the same time it can get wet on the surface, therefore, in winter period in case of significant frosts, a slight movement of the well rings is possible. At the same time, clay prevents the ingress of surface water and soil moisture, which is fraught with serious consequences.

Despite the existing variety of various mixtures for well locks, they cannot replace clay.

How to protect well rings from displacement

To reduce the coefficient of adhesion of clay and the surface of the rings, non-woven plastic materials are used that are not subject to decay.

To prevent displacement of the rings, you can mount an additional fastener, for this, stainless plates and anchor bolts are used. In addition, to reduce the coefficient of adhesion of clay and the surface of the rings, non-woven plastic materials are used that are not subject to decay. Their laying starts from the surface of the earth, and ends 20 centimeters below the second seam of the well shaft. Thus, we get additional protection against getting perched, as well as from spilling clay in case of non-tightness of the seams.

We tamp the clay correctly

To achieve the best effect, rammers with a small sole, but with a significant mass, should be used.

This process must be carried out in several stages, after each laying of 15-20 centimeters of clay. To achieve the best effect, rammers with a small sole, but with a significant mass, should be used. There were cases that it was from a poor-quality seal that everything had to be redone anew.

When preparing clay for arranging a castle, pay attention to its moisture content. It has been laboratory proven that clay is most plastic at a moisture content of 15 to 30 percent.

An important point: after you have dug out, you should not immediately equip a clay castle. The soil around the mine must stand and settle. Otherwise, you simply will not close all the cracks in the ground, which makes the clay castle useless.

You can do all the work yourself, but the best option- contact a specialist or at least get an assistant.

What is a clay castle and what is it for? The clay castle provides protection during the construction of walls, the foundation of the house (foundation) or basement. Clay castle, or otherwise clay screen. A clay screen is a clay layer that is compacted and compacted, it also protects the structure from the influence groundwater. Crumpled clay creates an obstacle to the penetration of water, thanks to this general design stays safe.

Clay castle, like all designs, has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's take a look at all the benefits first:

the clay castle around the well is completely protected from groundwater and rainwater;
you will not need to seal the seams on the structure every year;
you can save money, as clay is a free and environmentally friendly material. You do not have to spend additional money on the purchase of other materials.

Since there are advantages, therefore, there are also disadvantages:

although a clay castle is protected from moisture, clay waterproofing is still the wrong step. For this, other materials must be used;
the clay layer, located in the zone where the freezing of the soil cover occurs, the clay begins to increase in volume. This happens in the spring every year. After a certain time, it may happen that the structure begins to gradually collapse;
due to the high content of sand, clay sedimentation will decrease after the installation of the clay castle.

Disadvantages of a clay castle

Consider the disadvantages of a clay castle in more detail. This design it is almost impossible to make it perfectly dense. The material used, i.e. clay, must have excellent plasticity, be compacted tightly so that no air bubbles form.

Clay must be constantly compacted, if this is not done, then a layer of insulation against moisture is not created. But most often, the owners do not carry out this procedure. Thus, water will not penetrate from the surface of the earth, but groundwater will certainly seep and enter the mine itself.

If liquids are impermeable (sealed) at the seams of the well rings and all walls are smeared, then underground moisture will not be able to affect your drinking water. The nuance is different: the water that accumulates under this structure will become ice.

If in your area the earth contains a huge amount ground water, then all this will put pressure on the first ring of the well. As a result, all seams are deformed and there will be a large advancement of the top of the well shaft, all debris, dirt and much more will begin to penetrate into inner part. To prevent this, this structure must be covered with a waterproofing material, namely concrete or tile.

The disadvantage may be the poor quality of the clay or your soil layer freezes heavily in winter.

It is better to install a clay castle two years after the digging of the well shaft was carried out. During this huge period of time, the earth near the walls will become dense and settle. The upper part is covered with a temporary waterproofing layer. But if you do not want to wait two years, then you have to make a soft waterproof coating around the well.

All these shortcomings can be eliminated.

The process of making a clay castle

Since the foundation is the foundation of the house, it must be completely isolated from the influence of groundwater and rainwater. The device of the clay castle and its width depends on the depth of the base of the house in the ground. If the depth of the foundation is two meters, then the width at the bottom of the clay castle is 40-50 centimeters, and at the top - 25-30 centimeters. A clay castle around the foundation is not often installed.

Before starting the entire installation, a pit of the required width is dug. Crumpled clay should be laid in layers in the pit.

The layer should be ten centimeters.

If you did not have time to do all the work in just one day, then the entire structure must be covered with a membrane that will protect the structure from moisture. In order to make a waterproof coating around the building, it is necessary to wait about half a month after the construction of the clay castle.

In order to provide complete protection from any moisture, a waterproofing membrane can be placed between our structure and the base of the house.

Clay lock for a well

An important point is the insulation from the moisture of the well. This is necessary because the drinking water in the well can become contaminated when groundwater enters it. The most common procedure is to create a clay castle around the well.

The whole process is quite laborious, all work requires a huge amount of material. As soon as all the work is completed, do not forget to clean the well.

During all work, it is necessary to follow a certain algorithm of actions. Mounting procedure:

There is a long deep ditch over the entire surface of the well shaft. The dimensions of this trench: width - 600 millimeters, depth - 1700 millimeters.
The trench is filled with clay. Clay is constantly important to tamp.
A small waterproof coating is created at the top of the clay castle. This blind area should tilt from the well, and its height should be two hundred millimeters.

Mounting technology

There is a certain technology:

To create a castle, you need to use a material that has natural humidity. When it is mined from the ground cover for future storage, this material should be soaked in water and then covered with something. In order to check the quality of the created material, try to mold something from this clay. If the quality is poor, then the clay should crumble in your hands. The material should slide off your hands. All this will help you understand whether the material is ready to start using. Since clay contains a huge amount of sand, twenty percent lime can be added to it.
You can achieve the best result when compacting the material in an auxiliary structure (formwork). To install the formwork, you will need wooden shields. It is necessary to install so that the thickness of our clay castle is two hundred millimeters. The tamping should be carried out in layers, the height of which should be an average of 250 millimeters.
Geotextiles should be placed on the outside of the clay castle. This canvas will become an obstacle to the erosion of the structure by groundwater.
The process of making a clay castle resembles the process of creating a blind area for a building. The width of the clay castle can be different, it starts from one meter, the depth starts from 50 centimeters. It is most desirable that all these indicators were greater. The clay is covered with a geotextile sheet, you can put a cobblestone on the sheet.

As you can see, clay is suitable material, which can be used to isolate the well from underground moisture. The cost of clay as a material is low, and may be completely absent, since the clay is right under your feet. Any procedure that involves clay can be done on your own. This work does not require any specific skills and efforts. But at the same time, the work is quite laborious.

Clay replacement

To date, many companies offer materials that can replace clay. Such materials include a mixture of sand and gravel or ordinary sand. But can all this be a substitute for clay?

Sand, as a material, is not designed to retain water. Sand is a filter for water, that is, this material simply passes it through. After the sand passes water, it comes into contact with the rings of concrete and penetrates into the well shaft through possible cracks.

Clay, although it can get wet, is completely waterproof. Due to the fact that clay can get wet, during severe frosts in winter, you can observe a slight displacement or advancement of the well rings.

Although today manufacturers offer us various materials, clay is indispensable. It will not wet the soil layer.

Ensuring protection of the well rings from displacement

In order to prevent any advancement of the deck rings, it is necessary to install an additional fastener. To install additional fastening, you will need plates that are not affected by corrosion, as well as fasteners that are fixed in the supporting base and hold any structure (anchor bolts).

Stainless plates must be started from the soil surface. It is necessary to finish laying when you reach a height that will be two hundred millimeters below the second seam.

The best option for this work is the use of non-woven plastic materials, since they do not rot.

Proper earth tamping technology

This procedure must be carried out in several approaches, as soon as you have laid two hundred millimeters. If a poor-quality seal is made, then the whole process must be carried out again. Clay, which is used for a clay castle, should have a moisture content of 20-30 percent.

For tamping efficiency, use a sole with a small area, but with a large mass.

When to install a clay castle for a well? As soon as you made a well, do not install a clay castle, the prepared land should settle.

Otherwise, cracks and crevices will appear in the ground, the clay castle in this case will be useless. This work can be done with your own hands or with someone together. It is best to entrust the work to specialists.

Outcome

This structure (clay castle) is a protection for the source of drinking water (well), which protects it from the penetration of groundwater. Do not use other materials than clay. Because they do not have the necessary characteristics. To create a lock for a well with your own hands, you need to follow some nuances, and then you can get excellent result. But if you have enough Money then entrust the work to professionals.

The whole procedure is quite simple, but at the same time time-consuming. During installation, it is necessary to follow a certain sequence of actions. Most important point- This is a tamping of clay and earth. The soil must be settled. This procedure must be approached with all seriousness, because the health of your body depends on it. Drinking water must remain clean. Get the job done and enjoy clean drinking water. We wish you success!

After the well is dug, so that the walls do not burst, it is necessary to complete the arrangement. Masters recommend using a clay castle for a well made of concrete rings. This technology is popular due to the high degree of protection of the reinforced concrete structure in the ground.

Why do you need a clay castle

The difference between concrete well structures in that, unlike wooden ones, reinforced concrete ones are harder to seal. And in order for the water to remain clean for years, you need to equip a castle for a clay well. wooden structures are mounted tight, and the wood after swelling additionally seals the gaps. With concrete, things are different.

There are special reinforced concrete rings on sale, the design of which has special cavities for filling with waterproof materials. Seams and joints are smeared with mastics.

But clay remains the most popular material because it:

retains ground and flood waters;
durable and does not require annual maintenance;
It is inexpensive and available to everyone.

Clay castles around the well - effective protection structures from the ingress of melt water in the spring, rain - during the warm season.

Where are clay castles used?

The technology is applicable to solve a lot of problems, the main of which are:

Sealing the walls of wells from the ingress of groundwater containing contaminants that enter the upper layers of the soil. It can be mineral fertilizers, decay products of biological compounds and other harmful impurities.
The device of an artificial reservoir. Here another problem is solved. Water from the reservoir does not go into the ground. If it is assumed that people will walk along the bottom, then the construction of a clay castle is necessary so that it is pleasant to walk on it.
When backfilling the foundation. This is necessary so that flood waters do not seep through the soil into the basement, and do not heat up the zero cycle of the building. Technology involves compaction mechanically.

In order for the blind area around the source to last for decades, the work must be done two years after the installation of the rings. But during this period, you can use the soft blind area technology. It assumes that the top layer is covered with an elastic material that serves during a period of natural compaction.

Features of waterproofing with a soft blind area

The use of temporary waterproofing in the soft blind area around the well has a variety of technological aspects that must be taken into account during the installation process:

The entire structure is laid at the level of the second ring.
The materials used are waterproofing film and sand.
The edges of the film strips are thrown over the well rings.
Decorative material is laid on top of the film and sand.

At the same time, all technological requirements must be met.

Laying technology

Before you make a clay castle, you need to dig the soil to the level of the 2nd ring. The selected soil is no longer used and must be removed and disposed of. A film is laid on the bottom. The size of the site to be closed is at least a meter from outer wall concrete ring.

One end of the film is thrown over the well over the seam. It needs to be fixed, for which a metal belt, adhesive tape or self-tapping screws are used, which are screwed directly into the concrete. In the case when adhesive tape is used, it is necessary that several turns be wound. After that, the cavity is filled with sand over the film.

Backfilling is not carried out to the very top, if, as decorative coating FEM or rubble is used natural stone. When laying, it is checked that there is a slope away from the well of at least 1.0-1.5 degrees. But this is a temporary method, and in order to ensure the tightness of the well, a clay castle is a must. But not every type of clay can be the material.

How to choose clay for a castle

For the construction of the lock, fatty varieties of red clay are used. The deposit doesn't matter. Another thing is the content of impurities. Clay is used, which contains no more than 15% sand. Absolute cleanliness is not required, but an excess of solid particles that cannot serve binder in an aqueous solution is a factor sufficient to reject the material.

Clay must be free of stones, debris and other contaminants.

If there is no oily clay, and there is nowhere to bring it from, then you can apply a different type. In preparation, it is soaked and kept. Usually they act as in the old days: they are soaked in the fall, and laid in the winter. At the same time, make sure that the clay does not dry out. So it becomes plastic, and all the particles are combined into a single mass.

Periodic freezing and thawing is allowed during the soaking process. This is even good, since moisture permeates the entire volume. The main thing is to make sure that the mixture does not dry out and does not crack. And in order to improve plasticity, lime is introduced into the composition in a ratio of 1: 5. 5 parts of clay are put on one share of lime.

How to lay a soft blind area around the well + video

Some "specialists" argue that this type of protection against water pollution is an atavism and a relic of the past. In fact, such claims are justified by two tricks:

Few people say that you need to wait two years, and then proceed to the improvement of the well. This is to put the source into operation as early as possible.
It is beneficial for them that the client turns to them every year. After all, as a rule, the same people are engaged in cleaning the wells from dirt, and it is beneficial for them that the garbage in the water appears as early as possible.

The technology involves laying a film that covers the soil for a meter around the walls of the well. The overlap that fits over the seam between the first and second ring should cover it. The cavity obtained after excavation of the soil is filled with clay. It cannot be simply filled and compacted mechanically. The laying technology is better to see.

Disadvantages of a clay castle

The poor quality of the work performed is due to the fact that people who decide to lay the clay castle on their own do not adhere to the technology.

If the clay is not sufficiently cured, not properly mixed, dry or inhomogeneous, it is impossible to achieve the desired plasticity. People do the backfill as is and just compact it with a mechanical rammer.

As a result, the top water, which lies in the upper layers of the soil, freezes in winter. The resulting ice, when expanding, exerts excessive pressure on the rings and the seam and leads to a violation of the integrity of the structure. Another drawback is the two-year wait for natural soil settlement. But this problem is solved by a temporary castle of compacted sand.

Conclusion + useful video

Summing up all of the above, we determine that all work related to the installation of a clay castle can be done independently. Teams that claim that this is not necessary cannot be considered professional, or they are cunning in front of the customer. The described procedure is one of the mandatory measures for the improvement of sources of natural drinking water.

The only thing to consider is that the clay castle is installed two years later, after the well is put into operation.

This means that in some cases decoration will have to be postponed. And during the biennium, sand will be laid instead of clay. Otherwise, there are no difficulties, and the water in the well will remain clean and transparent for years.

Owners of summer cottages and private households, deprived of the opportunity to connect to the general water supply network, have no alternative but to dig a well on their land. The problems of arranging life do not end there, because the water source needs care and protection.

The layout of the clay castle

What should the well be protected from?

To not fall into the well surface water after the snow melts or heavy rainfall, a special protection is built for it - a clay castle. Verkhovodka is not recommended to drink or cook from it, because it has not been filtered through the soil. Mixing with water from a well, it worsens its qualitative composition. Therefore, the surface of the earth along the perimeter of the head of the well must be securely sealed with a clay castle.

What is a protective clay structure

In the text of SanPiN, the device of a clay castle is described as follows: a structure framing a well 1 meter wide and 2 meters deep. It is important that the layer is dense, so it is carefully rammed. Not every material is suitable for construction. Clay and greasy loam are kneaded before laying, in no case should they be replaced with sandy loam or soil dumps. A real castle around a well is only made of clay, made of pre-prepared material with a sand content of 5 to 15%.

stone,
brick,
asphalt
or concrete blind area. It forms a ring with a radius of 2 meters with a mandatory deviation from the well wall of 0.1 m. From such a slope, water is discharged into a cuvette or tray.

Before making a clay castle for a well, it is necessary that the mounted shaft stand without this structure for at least a year (while the process of natural shrinkage of the soil is in progress) . This precaution will help prevent the formation of voids and loose areas, because the lock prevents the soil from settling.

Caverns are dangerous because water accumulates in them. Rodents and insects that live in the ground can get into them and die. And the substances formed during the decomposition process and getting into drinking water will add to it by no means useful properties. The duration of the process of natural shrinkage of the soil is affected by the composition of the soil, which must be taken into account when choosing the waiting time before starting work.

It is worth postponing the creation of a clay castle if a water supply is led from the well. After the installation of water supply communications, they return to waterproofing work.

It is forbidden to equip a clay ring around the well on soils prone to seasonal heaving. There is a risk of rupture of the mine shaft or displacement of the seams between the rings. There is no guaranteed protection against this. The screed of the rings with the help of anchor bolts and metal plates so it's best not to risk it.

Procedure for carrying out work

If there is no possibility or desire to use the services of a team of professional builders, it remains to make a clay castle for.

Dig in. A trench is dug along the perimeter of the well to a depth of 150 - 180 cm. As a result, the second seam of the connection of the rings should be visible.
All connections must be protected from the ingress of clay into them. Any hydrophobic material that does not rot or decompose will do, such as plastic wrap.
Material preparation. For a clay castle, it is allowed to take clay with a sand content of up to 15%, but the lower the index, the better. If you follow all the recommendations, then the clay is aged before use (usually left for the winter). To add strength to the lock, lime is mixed into the solution at the rate that its content does not exceed 20% of the total mass of the mixture. The more sand in the clay, the more lime you need to add.

The automatic tool effectively handles the rammer quickly and easily

It is important that the clay is mashed and not stirred. Previously, such an operation was performed with the feet, today they use concrete mixers. small size or use a drill with a nozzle.

Water is gradually added to the clay and lime and the ingredients are kneaded to a plastic state. You can determine the desired consistency as follows: make a clay lump. If it does not disintegrate, then the resulting mass can be rammed into a trench.

Clay is laid out gradually, in layers of 15 or 20 cm. Each laid out layer is compacted with a heavy rammer with a small sole. It is important that the structure of the clay change, the purpose of tamping is to transform soft material in monolithic slab. The sequence of actions is repeated until the entire pit is filled. If the work cannot be completed in one day, then at night the unfinished castle is covered with a film.

The next step is to create a blind area over the castle. And without the recommendations of SanPiN, it is clear that after rains or snow melts, even a tightly packed clay castle will turn into mud. The "limp" top layer will get wet and dry, which will gradually lead to a violation of tightness. Therefore, the construction of a blind area is considered a logical completion of the process of creating a protective castle.

The coating material is selected based on personal preferences, both stone and paving slabs. And the technology of creation does not seem complicated:

the castle is covered with geotextile or other material with similar properties,
the selected material is laid on top of the screed.

You can assemble a low formwork and pour the castle from above cement mortar. The main thing is that the bias is observed, because the task of the bridge is not just protection from moisture, but also its removal.

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for bacterial and chemical composition of water on the site, the construction of a clay castle will not have an effect, but it will help keep it clear and usable, if it was originally such. Therefore, in resolving the dilemma "for" or "against" clay castles around the well, it is worth tipping the scales in the direction of a positive answer.