The filling is a low earthen embankment along the outer walls of the hut, which protects the dwelling from freezing in winter. Previously, huts were placed directly on the ground, and to protect the house from cold and dampness, earth, straw, sawdust, etc. were simply poured along the perimeter of the walls.
When the word appeared «filling»?
In the Etymological Dictionary of the Russian language by Semenov, it is said that the word “zavalinka” appeared in the XII century. The basis was the noun “blockage”, which has the meaning “land, which is littered with the base of the hut”. Now «the filling » is called «a low device at the walls of the house ».
What does the expression mean«sit on the filling»?
To prevent the low earthen embankment along the outer walls of the hut from crumbling, a plank box with a beveled lid was built for it. Thanks to this, rainwater and melting snow on it did not linger, but flowed down. In good dry weather, the pilings could be used as a bench for gatherings. They liked to sit, play, and talk on a wooden box. Yuri Koval in the Tale of the porch and the filling-up (1985) describes the traditional attribute of the hut in this way.
«But Lelya has already realized that the filling does not fly, of course — she fills up the house from below, so that the wind does not get under the house, but with the wind frost and snow.
It was a good filling, sheathed with gray boards. And it was possible to sit on it, and not only to sit, but even to run around the rubble around the house. And Lelya was running around the filling, tapping her bare heels on the gray boards, and then she sat and looked at the meadow and dandelions.
A painting by an unknown artist « On the filling ». XIX century. Reproduction. It is kept in the Local History Museum of the city of Yuryev-Polsky. Photo: RIA Novosti/A. Sverdlov
From what can you make a filling in a wooden house?
According to the construction, the filling is an extension to the basement and the lower part of the wall with a beveled upper plane. Previously, natural thermal insulation material was traditionally placed inside the box – hay, sawdust, chaff, dry earth, etc. They protected the foundation and the lower crowns of the log house from the effects of precipitation and meltwater, and thus extended the service life of the house.
Today, the filling is rarely used as an option for home insulation. However, it can be made from materials that are resistant to moisture and have a special treatment to prevent corrosion or rotting. In as a backfill insulation, expanded clay can be used — pellets of baked clay, but under itit is advisable to lay a layer of waterproofing blocking the groundwater path to the material. You can sheathe the filling with various traditional and modern materials, having previously made a frame of metal profiles or wooden bars. For the lining of the box, wood, siding, profiled flooring, special basement panels, etc. are suitable.