Underground cisterns have been around for many centuries around the world. They are used to direct water flow away from a building\’s foundation and can do so for your home too. The construction of an underground cistern can be done on your own without the need of expert help.
What is an underground cistern?
Underground cisterns are built to help water, you don\’t need, to nicely flow away without causing any disruption to your home or place. It works better in areas where the rainfall is heavy and flooding is likely to occur. Cisterns don\’t form part of today\’s technology, they are the inventions of our ancestors and cisterns were mainly very popular in Rome.
- First of all you will need a trench to direct water away from your house. The trench should slope downwards away from the house\’s foundation to do so. You can either use a trench digger or even a shovel to dig the trench. To ensure that the trench is graded downwards from the house\’s foundation, use a level to measure the rise and run. This will also ensure that you do not remove too much dirt and end up with too deep a trench.
- Once you have your trench dug out, level the ground inside it. Next, pour a layer of concrete mix into the trench and lay a 2 x 4 wood inside it at equal distances to form breaks in the concrete slab. This will ensure that the concrete has place to expand and contract due to the weather. If you do not crate breaks in the concrete, the expansion and contraction will cause the concrete to crack and you will have to start all over again. Wait for the concrete base to dry before proceeding to the next step.
- Next, cover the sides of the trench with concrete to set the terra cotta tiles. Make sure that you complete one side of the cistern before starting on the other to ensure that the tiles are placed properly and that no adjustment is needed. Once both sides are completely dried, your underground cistern is now ready to direct water away from the house.
Consider your property saved and not wasted as soon as you have finished building your own underground cistern.
Additional Reading:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-build-an-underground-cistern
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerbell/4099013619/
