How to fill an inspection hole in a garage. DIY inspection hole in the garage: dimensions, waterproofing

Many people try to do maintenance or minor car repairs themselves. To avoid lying on your back under the car, you need an inspection hole in the garage.

Dimensions of the inspection hole in the garage

This is far from dogma. Everyone does as they see fit. Some people find deep holes inconvenient and they make them almost exactly tall, and sometimes even lower - 1.5 meters. If you take into account the car's ground clearance, from the floor of the pit to the bottom of the car it will be about 1.7-1.8 meters. You can do it this way.

Another point about length. Sometimes it is not possible to make a long hole. Then it is made approximately half the length of the car, driving it in front or back, depending on which part of the car needs inspection or repair.

Now about where to place the pit in the garage. Usually it is shifted slightly towards one of the walls, leaving a wide side for installing equipment, storing spare parts, etc. In this case, there must be at least 1 meter from the edge of the pit to the near wall.

That's all the parameters. Just note that we were talking about the final dimensions of the pit. When marking the pit, you will need to add thickness to the walls, and dig deeper to the height of the floor screed (if you make one).

What materials are they made from?

Inspection hole in the garage (its walls) are lined with bricks, heavy building blocks, made from monolithic concrete. If we talk about brick, it is better to use ceramic brick: it is not afraid of humidity. The walls are made of half a brick or brick. The wall thickness, depending on the laying method, is 12 cm or 25 cm. This must be taken into account when marking the pit.

Brick can be used on dry, dense soils. The groundwater level must be low. If the water comes high, better than walls pits should be made of reinforced concrete.

Building blocks also need to be chosen those that are not afraid high humidity. These are concrete blocks. The rest, if used, must require external waterproofing, and this is not a guarantee that they will not crumble, especially if groundwater is located close.

With a concrete inspection hole, everything is simpler: concrete is not afraid of moisture, it only makes it stronger. To fill the walls, concrete grade M 250 is used; for the floor, M 200 is sufficient. Why is this so? Because during winter heaving the main load falls on the walls. To prevent them from “collapsing”, a margin of safety is required, which is achieved by reinforcement and the use of high-strength concrete. By the way, to avoid heaving of the soil under the garage, you need to make a good blind area so that the water leaves and does not soak into the soil.

The wall thickness when filling the inspection hole with concrete is from 15 cm. Stacks must be reinforced. To do this, use a ready-made mesh with a wire thickness of 5-6 mm and a pitch of 150 mm (if the groundwater is deep) or knit a frame from reinforcement with a diameter of 10-12 mm. The reinforcement installation step is 20 cm. For greater strength, you can make a single rod for the bottom and walls, bending it accordingly.

Waterproofing methods

An inspection pit in a garage can be protected from moisture penetration in two ways: with the help of external waterproofing, which is carried out exclusively during the construction process, and internal, which can be done during operation.

External protection

If in the place where the garage is being built the groundwater is deep, lower than 2.5 meters, and even in the spring or after heavy rains it does not rise higher, you can do without waterproofing. On the other hand, the hydrological situation is constantly changing, and where it was previously dry, water may appear. If the inspection hole in the garage has already been built, external waterproofing cannot be done. All that remains is to use deep penetration impregnations to reduce the hygroscopicity of the walls. Therefore, if possible, do external insulation in any case.

How to prevent moisture from entering the inspection hole in the garage? Most often, waterproofing films or membranes are used (butyl rubber, aquaizol, etc.). They are laid in sheets, covering the pit from one edge to the other, with 10-15 cm released from each side of the pit onto the garage floor. The panels are laid overlapping. They must overlap by at least 15 cm. To obtain a more airtight joint, they are glued together with double-sided tape, possibly in two stripes - at the beginning and end of the “overlap”. The film is well straightened so that it fits snugly against the walls of the pit. At further work It is important not to damage the membrane.

Internal waterproofing

Internal waterproofing is usually the impregnation of walls with coating waterproofing. If possible, use a composition for swimming pools. It creates a waterproof, dense film that closely resembles rubber. It is blue in color and washes well after hardening. It is better to treat the walls with this composition twice, or more.

Another option is a cement-based deep penetration primer. The polymer particles contained in it block the capillaries through which moisture penetrates through the thickness of the material. One such treatment significantly reduces the hygroscopicity of the material. In the case of water in a garage pit, at least twice the treatment is required (and preferably more).

Caisson device

There is another option to escape from the ground - to make a metal caisson. Brewed from sheet metal a box of appropriate dimensions is treated with anti-corrosion compounds, then installed in a pit. If welds made hermetically, there will be no water, but another problem may arise. At large quantities water can squeeze out the caisson. They say that it "pops up".

To avoid such a situation, corners and rods are welded to the sides of the caisson from the outside, which go 1-1.5 meters into the ground. So that the volume earthworks It wasn’t very big (the pit, taking into account these spacers, turns out to be large), you can cheat. Before installing the caisson, drive corners or metal rods into the ground, letting their ends out. You can weld them to the caisson body after installation. The pit will still have to be made larger (you need to cook it from the outside), but its dimensions will still be smaller. The second advantage of this method is that the rods will be driven into dense soil, which means they will hold the caisson better.

Another way to prevent the caisson from “floating up” is to make a hole in the wall at a certain height. If the water rises to its level, it will begin to pour inside. The water can subsequently be pumped out, the main thing is that everything remains in place. An inspection hole in the garage, built according to this principle, stood for more than 20 years - until the metal rusted.

Water collection pit

If the pit has already been built, and coating waterproofing or the impregnation did not give the required result, it is necessary to either install a drainage system around the garage, or collect the water in one place. To do this, a pit is made in the garage inspection pit, at one of its ends. Water accumulates in it, from where it is pumped out. In order for the system to operate in automatic mode, a water presence sensor is installed, which, when triggered, turns on the pump.

Formwork is made under the pit and filled with concrete. Then they waterproof the pit along with waterproofing the entire pit. For reliability, you can also put a metal caisson inside.

Since it is not possible to completely get rid of dampness in this case, a boardwalk is knocked down onto the floor of the pit. To prevent the boards from rotting, they can be soaked in waste. If you don’t like its smell, take a special impregnation for wood that has direct contact with the ground (Senezh Ultra, for example).

Insulation of the inspection pit in the garage

If you spend a lot of time in the garage, then you will most likely have heating. To warm everything up faster, it makes sense to insulate the pit. EPS (extruded polystyrene foam) is best suited for these purposes. It can withstand significant loads, is not afraid of dampness, does not rot, and fungi and bacteria do not multiply on it.

The thickness of the EPS to create a noticeable effect is from 50 mm. Place it between the soil and the wall of the pit. Then from the outside to the inside the pit will look like this:

Expanded polystyrene can also be placed under the screed at the bottom of the inspection hole. A reinforcing mesh is usually laid on top of it, and then concrete is poured.

How to make a viewing hole in the garage

Once you have decided on the dimensions and what material you will make the walls from and how thick they will be, you can begin marking the pit. This can be done using pegs driven around the perimeter. The second option is to stretch a twine/rope between the stakes driven into the corners. According to the markings, we begin to dig a pit. The earth is usually taken out and temporarily stored near the gate.

Made of brick: step-by-step photo report

While excavating, monitor soil moisture. If you have reached the design depth (required + thickness of the floor screed), but there is still no moisture, you can do without waterproofing. Those who do not want to take risks can be advised to immediately lay down the film.

We level the walls. There is no need to achieve ideal geometry, but there should be no noticeable humps or holes. We also level the bottom of the pit and tamp it, compacting the soil well. A hand tamper is usually used. A layer of crushed stone is poured onto the bottom (twice 5 cm each), each layer is also carefully compacted. Next comes a layer of sand. 5 cm is enough. The sand is moistened and compacted to a high density so that the foot does not leave imprints. Next we lay the waterproofing film.

We even it out well, tucking it into the corners. We lay the panels with an overlap of 15 cm, which we glue with double-sided tape. To prevent the edges from rolling, we press with available materials - boards, stones.

We lay a layer of insulation on the bottom, and a reinforcing mesh of wire on top of it. We fill all this with concrete grade M 200. The thickness of the layer is at least 5 cm. To make it easier to navigate when laying, we make marks on the film by which you can control the thickness of the layer.

If you use Portland cement M 400, the proportions will be as follows: 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, 5 parts medium and fine crushed stone.

An inspection hole is being built in the garage: the floor is filled with concrete

We wait several days until the concrete gains 50% strength. Exact date depends on temperature. If it is around +20°C, you will have to wait 5-6 days. If +17°C is already two weeks.

Let's start laying out the walls. It was decided to make it in half a brick. We used used bricks, about 850 pieces were used (pit size 4.2 * 0.8 * 1.7 m). The walls were laid out in a circle up to the level of the elbow.

It was decided to make a niche for the tool at a level of 1.2 meters from the floor. Its height is 3 rows of bricks, the top is covered with a treated board.

To avoid having to lay out a brick niche, a metal liner is inserted. A box is welded to suit the size.

Next, the walls were driven almost level with the garage floor. Part of the walls was replaced with two sections of channels. If necessary, jacks rest on the bottom. A metal corner with a 50 mm shelf, steel thickness 5 mm, is placed on the top row.

The corner is unfolded so that one of its shelves hangs down, the second covers part of the upper surface of the brick. To prevent the wall from collapsing under load, embeds are welded to this corner, which are then connected to the reinforcing belt of the concrete.

Pouring the floor in the garage - concrete level along the upper edge of the corner

Features of making concrete walls

When casting concrete walls, it is necessary to make formwork. It's easier to make it from sheet material— construction moisture resistant plywood thickness from 16 mm, OSB. Shields of the required size are knocked down and reinforced with bars on the outside. They are necessary to prevent plywood or OSB from bending under the pressure of concrete. First, the outer parts of the formwork are installed. If the walls of the pit are smooth, there will be no problems. You simply lean them against them and place them level.

Then the internal formwork panels are installed. There should be a distance of at least 15 cm between them. To prevent the walls from deforming during the pouring process, spacers are placed between them.

It is advisable to fill the filling at one time. The poured portions must be bayoneted or treated with a submersible vibrator for concrete. The formwork is removed after two to three days. Afterwards, you can install a corner with welded embedded rods (strips) and begin pouring the floor.

It would seem that building a viewing hole + in the garage is as easy as shelling pears. However this event involves a lot of different subtleties, ignorance of which often leads to disastrous consequences, for example, corrosion of the underbody of the car. To avoid unpleasant surprises, you should approach both the planning stage, preparatory work, and actual construction very carefully.

Planning the inspection pit

As strange as it may seem, before building an inspection hole it is necessary to think through a number of details that have a significant impact on the comfortable conditions for inspecting or repairing a car.

pit dimensions

An inspection hole, the size of which does not allow you to straighten up to your full height or move freely even when inspecting a car, has no value, since renovation work can last quite a long time, and the lack of minimum necessary comfort will lead to frequent breaks for rest, or contacting a car service. Based on this, the dimensions of the pit must correspond to the following parameters:

The depth of the inspection hole consists of the height of the car owner + 15-20 cm;
Width depends on the make of the car, so to determine it you need to measure the distance between the front or rear wheels. In this case, the width of the hole should be slightly less than the obtained value in order to safely drive into the hole without fear of falling into it. In addition, you should not ignore the fact of a possible change of car to another model. Based on these considerations, the optimal width of the inspection hole is 70-75 cm;
Length - calculated from the length of the car + 1 m for free descent into the pit and ascent from it. At the same time, it is not worth making the length of the pit less than 2 m.

When constructing a pit, the obtained data must be increased by the amount of allowances, including the width of the waterproofing and thermal insulation layer, as well as the thickness of the concrete layer or brickwork. On average, the allowance varies between 20-30 cm.

waterproofing

The variety of waterproofing materials differs in both the method of installation, service life, and cost. In addition, the thickness various types waterproofing is not the same, so it is necessary to select a waterproofing material at the planning stage in order to leave the necessary allowance when determining the dimensions of the pit.

The following materials can be used as waterproofing for the inspection pit:

Bitumen, represented by roofing felt, euroroofing felt, rubemast, etc. in this case The material is laid on bitumen mastic in 2 layers. In this case, the joints are overlapped by 20-25 cm and glued with hot bitumen. The service life of this category of waterproofing is 10-15 years;
Polymer single-layer or multilayer membranes have a longer service life, exceeding 50 years. Laying membranes requires a reinforced frame with 10x10cm cells, covered with geotextile. In this case, the membranes are overlapped by 10 cm if there is a self-adhesive base, or by 30 cm if there is none. The resulting joints must be glued using special equipment. Relatively recently, polymer geomembranes appeared on the market, already including a geotextile layer;
Penetrating compositions are represented by dry mixtures diluted with water before direct use. They are applied on top of the concrete layer, penetrating deep into its structure and blocking the seepage of water to the surface. However this method often used as an additional waterproofing layer;
A mixture of fatty clay in combination with oil refining waste as an independent waterproofing agent is used quite rarely against the background modern materials, significantly superior to the clay mixture in both operational period, and in terms of the degree of tightness. However, in combination with other types of waterproofing it often occurs.

thermal insulation

For insulation of the inspection pit, polystyrene is an ideal heat insulator, since it has excellent thermal insulation characteristics and a minimum water absorption rate. At the same time, humid conditions do not in any way affect the reduction in the level of thermal insulation properties.

niches in the wall of the pit

Inspection, and especially car repair, involves the use of various types of tools. In order not to have to go up to the garage every time to get the necessary equipment or to avoid tripping over the tools scattered at the bottom of the pit, along the entire perimeter of the pit or in some places, you can arrange niches of various sizes where the devices and parts necessary for repairs will be located. Thus, the presence of niches contributes to the speed and convenience of repair work.

lighting

If a portable lamp is used for lighting, then planning in this case is eliminated. However, illuminating the inspection pit with stationary lighting devices requires wiring into the pit and the presence of a recess in the wall for installing an outlet, so here it is worth deciding on the location of the light device and its power source.

ventilation

Even a heated garage will not save the inspection pit from condensation. In addition to creating a certain microclimate in the pit, ventilation promotes the influx of fresh air and outflow essential oils and other chemicals used in car repairs. The easiest way to build ventilation for an inspection pit is to install a small-diameter flexible air duct from it to a height of 25-30 cm from the garage floor. In this case, the removed end of the ventilation must be covered with a mesh and a lid to prevent various debris from getting into it.

Based on the above, preliminary accounting of even the smallest details will significantly save time and financial resources.

Technology for constructing an inspection pit

After the details of the future structure have been thought out and the necessary materials have been purchased, you can proceed to the implementation of the plan, observing the following order of work.

pit preparation

We mark on the surface of the floor or ground the area intended for the inspection hole.
We remove the soil to the required depth and level the bottom of the hole.
We take out soil for niches in the wall or along the perimeter of the walls.
We compact the bottom of the pit.

floor arrangement

On earth soil lay a 10 cm layer of crushed stone and compact it.
Pour a 5 cm layer of sand on top of the crushed stone and compact it as well.
Apply fatty clay 20-30 cm thick.
We lay reinforced mesh.
Mix a concrete mortar of sand and cement, maintaining a 3:1 ratio, and fill the floor with a thickness of 6-7 cm.
After the concrete has hardened, apply a layer bitumen mastic and lay the roofing material, not forgetting to glue the joints with hot bitumen.
Lay a layer of polystyrene foam.
Fill it with concrete mortar 10-15 cm thick and let it dry completely.

arrangement of walls

We coat the walls with greasy clay and cover them with polyethylene.
We put roofing material on top of the film and glue its joints with hot bitumen.
We attach foam plastic to the walls using adhesive.
We erect formwork from boards or plywood at a distance of 6-7 cm from the wall.
We reinforce the walls around the perimeter.
We fill the walls with concrete mortar gradually, pouring the mixture daily to a height of 15-20 cm.
After the concrete has completely hardened, the formwork is removed.

arrangement of niches

The top, bottom and walls of the niches are reinforced with wire and coated with clay, after which the niches have dried, they can be lined with brick or ceramic tiles.

safety

We make the inspection hole protected from accidental collision by a car by installing a T-shaped iron rail at the level of the main floor of the garage. In addition, this rail will serve as a frame when covering the pit during idle periods with separate boards, or you can immediately put together a lid from the boards.

So, the inspection hole + with your own hands is ready. All that remains is to arrange ventilation, install light and lower the ladder into the pit. In addition, a month after the last pouring of concrete, it will be possible to line the inspection hole with ceramic tiles, bricks, or other finishing materials.

For ease of execution preventative work and car repairs from a good owner, the garage is usually equipped with an inspection hole. This is not surprising - the mentality of most of our men is such that almost every car enthusiast prefers to monitor the condition of the car himself, and, if necessary, to repair it. Having invested in such arrangement of the garage once, in the future you can save a decent amount on after-sales service, since it will be possible to carry out such simple but necessary procedures as changing the oil or coating the bottom with an anti-corrosion compound, as well as a number of other works related to the underbody or suspension of the car.

However, it must immediately be noted that optimal location An inspection pit is considered to be a place under a canopy next to the garage, or in the garage, but next to the area intended for parking the car, since wet vapors accumulating between the bottom of the car and the bottom of the pit often contribute to the activation of corrosion processes. But, as you know, most often space in the garage is limited, so the inspection hole is installed in the middle part of the room. Based on this circumstance, we will further consider how an inspection hole can be made in a garage with your own hands.

In relation to design features the inspection hole can be:

complex, consisting of a pit and a cellar;
narrow, in this case, a small staircase is enough to go down into it;
the recumbent option involves staying in a pit, exclusively in a lying position.

In addition, these options differ in various modifications of the pits. The size of a standard inspection hole in a garage depends, first of all, on the number of people who will be in it, on the size of the garage itself, on the type of car or other equipment that will be in the garage.

If you have several cars, it is better to use classic version, which assumes the following dimensions:

the width of the inspection hole in the garage is from 80 to 100 cm;
the depth of the inspection hole in the garage is about 170-200 cm;
the length of the inspection hole depends on the length of the garage and is at least 160-200 cm.

Before planning the inspection pit, you should take into account the individual characteristics of the structure, which will affect the determination of the size and configuration of the pit. The hole is dug with allowances that are about forty centimeters in length and width, and about twenty in height. If it is necessary to insulate the walls, you should increase the size of the pit by the size of the material from which the insulation will be made.

The position of the ditch can be different: in the center of the gate or offset. In this case, the car stands away from the underground with its damp air. To inspect or perform any work, you will have to maneuver to enter the ditch. For more convenient entry, the inspection pit in the garage can have an L-shaped configuration. You can go up and down the stairs without rolling over the car.

At first glance, the presence of a hole in own garage is a big plus, but there are also nuances that you need to know about when arranging it. The advantages of the solution primarily include the ability to inspect the above-mentioned parts of the car without resorting to the help of specialists. It's simple, free and even interesting for many car owners.

Next, repairs and Maintenance without the participation of a professional car mechanic allows you to save quite a lot large amounts. If you calculate over a year how much an oil change and other actions cost in a workshop, the benefits become obvious. And the repair skill itself will be useful more than once.

In addition, if the pit is spacious enough, repair kits and spare parts for the car are often stored in it. This is especially true for a small garage where there is a shortage of free space.

What could be wrong with such a useful corner? The most important danger when building a garage with a pit is nearby groundwater. In general, excess moisture is the enemy of a car, and if the inspection hole is poorly waterproofed, then even in the absence of flooding, water will accumulate on the walls of the structure due to temperature changes during the cold season.

Attention! Any inspection hole can lead to the formation of condensation on the bottom of the car due to temperature differences at different levels of the structure.

However, it is worth noting that an inspection hole will become a disadvantage only if it is made in violation of construction technologies and without taking into account the engineering and soil features of the site.

All work must be done in a strict sequence of steps:

Before making a hole in the garage, you need to mark the area. After the pit has been dug, its bottom can be covered with a raised floor or constructed comfortable stands. If the soil is unstable, it must be strengthened with boards and spacers. Remember that loosened earth is 25–30% larger in volume than the dimensions of the pit. It should not be removed immediately, since part of the soil will be needed to compact the space between the wall of the pit and brickwork(concrete, metal sheet, boards). Another part of the earth will be needed to level the floor throughout the garage.
At the stage of forming the pit, it is necessary to take care of equipping niches in the walls. They are comfortable to hold lighting, tools, materials. It is recommended to place niches at elbow height. You don't have to bend over for the tool.

When the pit is dug, it is necessary to level and compress its bottom. For this, a tamper is used, which can be constructed using self-tapping screws, thick (100 to 150 mm in diameter) and thin timber (for the handle). To do this, attach a thin one to the end of one side of a thick beam. The design will resemble the letter “T”, with the striking part at its base. Pour medium-sized gravel onto the prepared surface and compact it.
Then you need to prepare concrete mixture for filling the floor. To make the base more durable, it must be reinforced with metal mesh or rods. The dimensions of the cells in the metal frame should not exceed 15 cm. The grating should not be allowed to touch the bottom of the pit.

Pour concrete, completely covering the metal frame. It will take from 7 to 21 days for the mixture to harden. It depends on the air temperature.
When the concrete has completely hardened, you can begin building walls in the inspection pit.

Features of installation of partitions depend on the material used.

Concrete inspection pit

Before pouring the mixture, it is necessary to make formwork. The best way to do this is to use OSB boards. This material does not allow the poured mixture to pass through and does not deform over time. The plates are fastened together using boards and screws so that the distance between them is at least 15 cm.

To maintain shape wooden structure it must be secured with spacers. Gaps in the joints of the slabs should be absent or minimal. A reinforcing mesh should be installed inside the finished formwork.

There is an option for pouring concrete with one-sided formwork. To do this, it is necessary to cover the walls of the pit with waterproofing material. Next, OSB boards are installed along the inner perimeter of the pit. Between them and the waterproofing is placed metal grid. Concrete is poured inside this structure.

Brick inspection pit

A waterproofing sheet is placed in the finished pit. It should completely cover the floor and walls. The canvas must be laid with an overlap. To prevent the edges of the material from lifting up, they are pressed down with boards. A half-brick masonry is made on top of the waterproofing. When the wall reaches a height of 135 cm, you can make niches and then continue the laying to the top edge of the pit. It is recommended to install a metal frame from a corner on the last row, and it should be welded in such a way that one shelf on each side is parallel to the floor. Thick boards will be laid on it to cover the pit. Next, they pour the concrete floor in the garage.

Inspection pit made of metal sheets (caisson)

This design resembles a large box. During its manufacture, the sheets must be joined by continuous welding. Ready design must be carefully treated with anti-corrosion coatings. The box should be equipped with fasteners. They are welded metal corners that rest 100–150 cm into the ground. They are attached to the body on four sides. They will hold the box in place. If this is not done, the entire structure will simply float up when the level is raised. groundwater.

Inspection pit made of wooden planks

Without proper treatment, wood quickly rots. Therefore, the material must be impregnated with special antifungal substances and additionally waterproofed. It is better to take thick boards for walls. The material is installed horizontally. Spacers are secured along the edges of the narrow sides of the inspection hole.

When arranging a garage with your own hands, you should pay great attention to waterproofing, especially if groundwater is located nearby. It is carried out as follows:

the waterproofing film is laid on the entire surface of the floor with an overlap of about 15 cm on the walls, it is important not to damage its integrity;

only after this can you start concreting the floor;
if groundwater is close to the groundwater, well-compacted fatty clay can be used instead of a sand cushion;
experienced builders recommend adding water-repellent additives when mixing concrete mortar, which will prevent the destruction of walls and floors under the influence of moisture. Waterproofing must be of high quality, therefore, when choosing materials, special attention should be paid to their characteristics.

Going down into the pit using the ladder is inconvenient and dangerous. The staircase must be stationary, at the same time comfortable and safe. The best option is the manufacture of steps simultaneously with the construction of the enclosing structure. At brick walls and it is advisable to make the steps from brick. Filling the walls with monolithic reinforced concrete, the steps should be cast at the same time. If for some reason they were not made at this stage, then the stairs can be made later with your own hands, when the inspection ditch is being constructed. The staircase is made of wood - with the steps fastened on bowstrings or stringers, as well as metal - with treads made of corrugated iron.

Important details when arranging an inspection pit

Work carried out in a pit must be safe for humans, so some recommendations should be followed:

When working on unstable ground, you should Special attention pay attention to strengthening the walls, otherwise in the future they may collapse at the most inopportune moment. Instability will be noticeable even at the stage of digging a hole - the earth will crumble, sag or crack.
Work must be carried out using personal protective equipment - work boots, durable gloves. When using an angle grinder, welding machine or a jackhammer, wear safety glasses to prevent damage to the eyes from flying particles of metal, soil, rocks or dust.

If you follow detailed instructions, there is nothing complicated in arranging a pit. For ease of work, there should be two people. If you correctly calculate the size of the pit and properly strengthen its walls, you don’t have to worry that there will be no room left for the car to maneuver or that the floor will sag under its weight.

The fact that a full-fledged garage should be equipped with an inspection pit used for periodic inspection and repair of the car is beyond any doubt. It makes sense to make a pit for inspecting the bottom of a car even if its owner does not have the skills to independently maintain the equipment he owns. As for experienced drivers, the latter, without any doubt, only benefit from the presence of a pit. Indeed, in the case of self-service of the car, they receive quite significant advantages, which include the following:

production costs associated with machine repairs are significantly reduced;
the performer, as a rule, receives moral satisfaction from the work done with his own hands.

In addition, in a permanent garage, an inspection hole is very convenient in that through it it will be possible to organize access to the cellar.

Arguments for and against the inspection pit

And, nevertheless, before making a viewing hole in the garage, you should familiarize yourself with both the arguments in favor of its arrangement and the arguments against it. The following weighty arguments speak for its arrangement:

the ability to conduct periodic preventive inspections of the vehicle’s chassis and identify possible technical faults;
significant savings in money spent on Maintenance machines by performing it on their own;
exclusion from the process of possible costs associated with service deficiencies in a car service center.

Note! Arguments against the inspection pit include the possibility of flooding the garage, as well as the danger of condensation appearing on its walls and on the car.

In case of insufficient development of the design of the inspection pit, which does not take into account the characteristics of the soil at its location (in particular, the expected level of soil water), problems with its operation are guaranteed. The only way out of this situation is to use a special drainage system capable of draining groundwater from the bottom of the niche.

As for the condensation that forms on the bottom of a car that is constantly in the garage, this drawback is eliminated by covering the inspection niche with a multi-section lid.

From all of the above, it follows that when arranging an inspection pit with your own hands, special attention must be paid to the current building regulations that regulate the procedure for constructing this element of garage architecture, taking into account its main characteristics.

Dimensions of the viewing niche

For effective use areas allocated for garage development, it is advisable to work out the issue of zoning the site at the design stage, suggesting its optimal division within the perimeter of the building.

It is quite logical that when carrying out this work, close attention should be paid to work area with an inspection hole located within its boundaries. In addition (provided that the area of the building is large enough), it is necessary to include in the design a parking area located away from the viewing niche. This will allow you to protect your car from the accumulation of condensation, which can have a destructive effect on its bottom.

When choosing linear dimensions The future viewing niche should be based primarily on the dimensions of the car itself, as well as on considerations of the convenience of working in it, i.e. take into account the physical characteristics of people working in the pit).

Note! When preparing a pit for an inspection hole, its length is selected with a small margin necessary for arranging several descent steps. In garages big size the steps can be stationary, while in small garages a more economical option is used - the so-called extension ladder. For safe descent into the pit, the length of the projection of the ladder to the bottom of the pit should not be less than 1 meter.

To determine the width of the pit, one should proceed from the parameters of the vehicle’s wheelbase, taking into account possible modifications. If you have not yet decided on the car model, choose the average value of this size (about 75-80 cm).

The depth of the pit is selected taking into account individual characteristics owner, which allows you to create enough comfortable conditions work in it. In this case, the optimal value of this parameter is established by the formula: human height +12-15 cm.

Additional requirements for dimensions

When carrying out repair work in an inspection pit, you will certainly need a set of tools, access to which should not arise any difficulties. That is why special niches should be provided in the inspection hole in which the most popular tools can be stored, as well as part of the ancillary equipment used when servicing the car (fuel containers, rags, etc.)

In addition, it is advisable to provide a multi-section “lid” for the pit, which would allow it to be closed as needed. As such a cover, it is allowed to use prefabricated panels made from edged boards, made to the size of the pit with a slight overlap.

Arrangement of the bottom and walls of the pit

The final dimensions of the prepared pit are determined taking into account the thickness of the walls and the improvised floor of the future pit, consisting of alternating layers of well-compacted sand and gravel.

If the soil at the location of the pit has high humidity, a thick layer of clay is laid on top of the sand layer, which is then covered with gravel. In this case, the clay layer plays the role of waterproofing, protecting the niche from moisture fumes. In this regard, it should be noted that clay mixed with petroleum oil processing waste has good waterproofing properties. A plastic film is laid over the clay, and only after that the concrete solution is poured.

Before pouring concrete, the walls of the pit are also finished with clay and then fixed to it polyethylene film. Then formwork is constructed along the entire perimeter of the pit. prefabricated type, collected from ready-made shields or knocked together from edged boards. To increase the reliability of the structure, additional spacers and struts are necessarily used in the manufacture of formwork. In order to increase the strength of concrete walls, special reinforcing elements (chain-link mesh, for example) are often used when pouring them.

After the formwork is ready, all free space behind it is filled with previously prepared concrete mortar with aggregate. During pouring ready solution thoroughly compacted using a special “tamper”.

Note! Most in a convenient way arrangement of the walls is considered to be the use of pre-welded metal frame or frames. Such a frame base can be made from metal corners or channels independently; Moreover, it is fixed in the formwork using special fastening elements (anchors).

The upper cut of the frame should rise slightly above the floor level, which ensures reliable protection from accidental vehicle wheels hitting the inspection hole. The formwork should be removed no earlier than after a couple of weeks, after which the walls should “settle” for at least another month, which will allow the concrete to gain the necessary strength.

Another possible way to finish the inspection pit is to lay out its walls from ordinary brick. But if for some reason all of the listed wall finishing methods do not suit you, you can choose the most cheap option, consisting of covering the bottom and walls of the pit with roofing felt and then covering the entire surface with oiled boards (as an option - ordinary flat slate sheets).

Waterproofing

Before you build a viewing hole, you will need to decide on waterproofing material, whose choice is modern market big enough. At the same time, among the endless range of insulating materials, the following positions stand out:

penetrating type waterproofing;
waterproofing protection made on the basis of polymer membranes;
bitumen waterproofing.

Penetrating waterproofing is sold in the form of a liquid lubricant, which can be applied even to a damp surface. Her protective function consists of deep penetration into the concrete (brick) finishing material and blocking the process of moisture formation.

The membrane method of waterproofing surfaces and fences is used only when carrying out internal finishing works and is considered the most optimal. True, the decision to use this method should be made only after you have assessed the costs associated with its implementation.

The fact is that applying a membrane-type protective layer is possible only with special spraying devices, the cost of which, as a rule, is quite high. In addition, even before working with these devices, you will need to master the techniques of soldering individual sections of the membrane coating. If all these conditions are met for you, you will receive ideal waterproofing, the service life of which has practically no restrictions.

Waterproofing inspection pit based on bitumen roll materials(rubemast, roofing felt, etc.) is the cheapest way to protect the surfaces of structures from penetrating moisture. During the installation of materials roll type Individual workpieces must be laid on the surface to be protected with a slight overlap of about 15 cm.

In this case, the joints of adjacent rolled sheets must be soldered using special heating devices or glued together using ready-to-use compounds.

Pit insulation

It is clear that a necessary condition The effectiveness of the work carried out in the inspection pit is to maintain it comfortable temperature. That is why, before making an inspection hole in the garage, you should thoroughly consider the issue of its insulation. Among other things, reliable thermal insulation will allow you to save on electricity spent on heating the entire garage as a whole.

Most experts believe that the most suitable material for pit insulation with a good price-quality ratio is the well-known polystyrene foam. Moreover, it has a number of advantages inherent in most polymers used in construction:

high resistance to rotting;
good water resistance;
Possibility of reliable adhesion to brick or concrete bases.

Suitable for wall insulation synthetic material type PSB-S-25, and for the floor, polystyrene grade PSB-S-35 with a thickness of 50 mm is usually used. On top of the insulation, the walls and floor can be finished with ceramic tiles, the material of which is resistant to reagents and moisture.

Lighting and ventilation

When making an inspection hole with your own hands, you should definitely make sure that it has electric lighting, without which repair work under the bottom of the car is simply impossible.

The necessary illumination at the work site must be provided by special portable lamps powered by a transformer with an output voltage of no more than 36 V. In this case building codes do not imply the installation of any sockets within the viewing area, which is a gross violation of safety requirements.

It will be possible to increase the comfort of living conditions in the inspection pit by arranging the simplest ventilation system, consisting of flexible hose supplying fresh air to the work area.

Video

The love of cars is in men's blood. Whatever his financial situation, it is a matter of honor to look under the hood in the evening. You can change oil, spark plugs and other minor repairs yourself, without asking for help. service center. To solve more serious problems, an inspection hole is needed. It will not be difficult to build it; it is only important to organize the process correctly and calculate the dimensions.

An unpleasant moment that can be prevented

Besides obvious advantages, which makes no sense to list, the inspection hole can cause harm to your car. In lowlands, the humidity is excessively high, and if the car is constantly standing over an uncovered pit, this can cause corrosion of the bottom. Problem high humidity and the formation of condensation occurs everywhere, and this does not depend in any way on the size of the inspection hole in the garage.

You can solve this problem using high-quality waterproofing, which must be taken care of during the construction process. Initially, it is necessary to find out the level of groundwater. If it does not exceed a depth of 2.5 meters, then you will have to equip it, which will drain water into a specially designed well. When pouring walls, be sure to add a waterproofing compound to the concrete, which will prevent the formation of condensation. It is also possible to insulate the outside of the walls with a waterproofing membrane, but this must be done at the stage of installing the formwork.

inspection pit drawing
diagram of an inspection pit with niches

How to calculate the size of an inspection hole in a garage

The determining criterion when determining the size of the inspection hole is the car, or rather its dimensions. But what if you change cars often? Don't redo the hole after each new purchase? Of course not, you just need to calculate right away optimal width. It directly depends on the size of the car’s wheelbase and the size of the owner himself. A width of 70-80 cm is as close as possible to the universal value. With depth, things are even simpler. Here everything depends on the height of the owner, and he should be able to reach the bottom without any problems. It is also worth paying attention to the comfort of the position, because if you have to stretch out or, conversely, bend down while in a hole, productive work will not work. To make it easier to calculate, add 10-15 cm to your height and you will get the optimal depth. These dimensions of the inspection pit in the garage are basic, but small changes can be made to them.

plan of an inspection pit with niches for tools
pit pit

Construction of an inspection pit

The process of constructing an inspection pit will not last for long term, but it will turn out to be very labor-intensive. First of all, this concerns earthworks, that is, digging a pit. It is calculated taking into account the depth of the pit itself, the thickness of the floor, walls and waterproofing. You will have to add another 50 cm to the width, which will go to the walls.

waterproofing, formwork and reinforcement
vibrating concrete pouring

Now that the pit is dug, let's proceed to the floor. It is necessary to pour a 10 cm layer of crushed stone onto the bottom and compact it well. Pour half as much sand on top of it and compact it as well. This “pie” needs to be covered waterproofing film, on which the reinforcing frame will then rest. Everything is ready, you can safely pour the concrete. At the stage of its preparation you need to add special remedy, which will give the dried floor waterproofing properties. The solution is poured into the formwork in a layer of 10 cm, leveled, and left until completely dry. As a rule, with favorable weather conditions This takes about 3 days.

After the floor was completely dry, it was the turn of the walls. For them, formwork is also constructed, laid waterproofing membrane and a reinforcing frame is installed, which will add strength to the walls. At this stage, you can adjust the thickness of the walls to the finished dimensions of the inspection pit in the garage.

It is carried out along the dried walls finishing. They can be plastered, finished with tiles or gypsum fiber boards. A frame welded from metal corners is installed on the edges of the pit and secured. Subsequently, it will serve as a support for boards or other panels covering the pit. They can be covered with film, which will serve additional protection from condensation.