Hello everyone,
perhaps someone here can help me based on their experience.
I want to build a foundation next week myself for our air-source heat pump. In the foundation plan from the company Vaillant, it says to fill about 80 cm (31.5 inches) of the approximately 1 m (3.3 feet) deep foundation with permeable coarse gravel, and the remaining 20 cm (7.9 inches) with crushed stone. The pump will later be installed on two strip foundations.
The problem is that my heating technician is on a two-week company vacation and cannot be reached... But I have to finish the foundation because the paving work will continue the week after next, and everything should be properly integrated then.
My question is:
What exactly is meant by permeable coarse gravel? The building materials supplier says the term is too general...
Could I simply use washed river gravel or similar, sized 16 - 32 mm (0.6 - 1.3 inches), and fill the entire foundation with that? There will still be a 100 mm (4 inch) drainage pipe about 80 cm (31.5 inches) long in the foundation to drain the condensate.
Has anyone done this before?
I would appreciate any feedback.
Regards
Heiko
perhaps someone here can help me based on their experience.
I want to build a foundation next week myself for our air-source heat pump. In the foundation plan from the company Vaillant, it says to fill about 80 cm (31.5 inches) of the approximately 1 m (3.3 feet) deep foundation with permeable coarse gravel, and the remaining 20 cm (7.9 inches) with crushed stone. The pump will later be installed on two strip foundations.
The problem is that my heating technician is on a two-week company vacation and cannot be reached... But I have to finish the foundation because the paving work will continue the week after next, and everything should be properly integrated then.
My question is:
What exactly is meant by permeable coarse gravel? The building materials supplier says the term is too general...
Could I simply use washed river gravel or similar, sized 16 - 32 mm (0.6 - 1.3 inches), and fill the entire foundation with that? There will still be a 100 mm (4 inch) drainage pipe about 80 cm (31.5 inches) long in the foundation to drain the condensate.
Has anyone done this before?
I would appreciate any feedback.
Regards
Heiko
I had reinforced concrete compacted, but only 20 cm (about 8 inches), although I have gravel and sand underneath, which is also well-draining. Then I poured a 10 cm (about 4 inches) concrete slab on top, after drilling a 90 cm (about 35 inches) hole with an earth auger and inserting a PVC pipe. On the concrete slab, the large rubber feet, like in @SaniererNRW123’s photos, were placed, and the heat pump was installed on them. The plumber didn’t complain, only mentioned that I built quite deep. He said that if it snows, the heat pump might get covered with snow. So I ended up mortaring a concrete base onto the slab, and the rest was installed on that.
I found a concrete slab easier than strip foundations.
I found a concrete slab easier than strip foundations.
I didn’t quite understand the concept of decoupling here, maybe someone can clarify:
The foundations are not connected to the house, so no vibrations are transmitted.
Noise is generated anyway, whether decoupled or not.
The rubber buffers become brittle/hard over time and, I believe, are mounted on metal. This might actually cause vibrations to be amplified rather than reduced compared to a solid foundation, right?
Regardless, I imagine a heat pump shouldn’t really vibrate; otherwise, a vibration damper is probably faulty?
The foundations are not connected to the house, so no vibrations are transmitted.
Noise is generated anyway, whether decoupled or not.
The rubber buffers become brittle/hard over time and, I believe, are mounted on metal. This might actually cause vibrations to be amplified rather than reduced compared to a solid foundation, right?
Regardless, I imagine a heat pump shouldn’t really vibrate; otherwise, a vibration damper is probably faulty?
S
SaniererNRW12319 Aug 2022 20:19Reggert schrieb:
The foundations are not connected to the house, so there are no vibrations transmitted.
Noise is generated anyway, whether decoupled or not. The point is just not to annoy your neighbors. If the heat pump is firmly anchored in concrete, it can cause noise.
Reggert schrieb:
The rubber mounts become brittle/hard over time and, I think, are attached to metal, which actually might amplify vibrations rather than a solid foundation, right? The rubber lasts longer than the heat pump. They are specifically designed for such professional applications. And no, it does not amplify anything.
Just a suggestion. I don’t care how you install the heat pump. But I’m not the only one using this method. There must be a reason for that. 😉
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