Before building a house from any material, you must carefully weigh the pros and cons and only after that make the final choice. Walls are a protecting, bearing and heat-protective element of a house. Due to the fact that they take on many functions, a fairly large number of requirements are presented to them. Next, houses from expanded clay concrete blocks, their pros and cons are considered.
Material advantages
First, consider the advantages of using expanded clay concrete blocks for wall construction. A house made of such material will have the following advantages:
- heat preservation;
- resistance to fire;
- resistance to damage by fungus, mold, rodents, insects;
- vapor permeability;
- durability;
- moisture resistance;
- frost resistance;
- low labor input;
- low cost;
- environmental friendliness.
The house can provide a person with the most comfortable living conditions, so the use of expanded clay concrete blocks as a building material has become widespread. Further it is worth considering these advantages in more detail.
Thermal insulation
The degree of protection against heat loss depends on the density of the material. To build the walls of a private house, it is enough to use expanded clay concrete blocks with a density of 700-1200 kg per cubic meter. These products will be able to provide the bearing capacity that is needed for an individual house.
The thermal insulation characteristics of such materials are better than those of ceramic bricks, which allows to reduce wall thickness and reduce the cost of building envelopes and foundations. As a finishing layer, it is possible to use expanded clay concrete blocks with a density of 500-700 kg / m3. These products will not be able to play the role of supporting structures, but will increase the resistance to heat transfer and reduce heat leakage from the building.
Due to sufficient thermal insulation, the following problems are solved:
- violation of the temperature regime of the premises;
- the appearance of condensation on the inner surfaces of the walls, which leads to the formation of mold and fungus;
- lower heating costs in the winter.
Frost resistance
A house from the material in question is able to withstand from 15 to 200 cycles of alternate freezing and thawing. This figure roughly means the number of season shifts during which the material will serve (i.e. the number of years). This variation is caused by the difference in material density:
- for blocks with a density of 500-700 kg / m3 - 15-20 cycles;
- density of 700-1200 kg / m3 - 100 cycles;
- with a density of 1200-1800 kg / m3 - 200 cycles.
For use as a facing material of external wall fencing, frost resistance of 30-50 is sufficient, but 100 cycles are the optimal value. Frost resistance is marked with the letter F (e.g. F100).
Durability
Expanded clay house is not subject to damage by various microorganisms, rodents and insects. This distinguishes it, for example, from wooden or frame buildings. Due to the fact that the material is quite durable and resistant to damage, the whole house can serve its owner for many years.
Vapor permeability and water resistance
These two properties of expanded clay concrete blocks are very important. They affect the creation of the optimal temperature and humidity conditions in the room and the safety of load-bearing structures. With water resistance, everything is quite transparent: the material does not absorb water, the walls remain dry and do not cause inconvenience in the form of such unpleasant surprises as mold and fungus.
It is also important that any wet material, even if its heat-shielding characteristics are very high, loses its properties. The walls are getting cold.
Expanded clay house does not absorb moisture, but at the same time does not interfere with the movement of air. This is a very important quality. Vapor permeability allows the building to "breathe", that is, no additional forced ventilation systems are required. But it is important to remember that in the kitchen and in bathrooms, ventilation ducts are provided without fail regardless of what material the house is built from.
Labor input and cost
These advantages are worth considering together. A house made of expanded clay concrete blocks is a structure that will save the following resources:
- Financial and labor costs in the construction of foundations. This is because the material is lighter than brick or reinforced concrete. You won’t have to make such powerful supports as in these cases, which allows you to reduce the cost of the construction cycle “below zero”.
- Savings when laying walls. The material has an attractive cost. The second advantage here is the increased size of the stone. This allows you to get benefits in two directions: reducing the number of operations during laying and the number of seams. The first increases the speed of construction and reduces labor costs, three times reduces the consumption of masonry mortar.
- Lower operating costs. Due to sufficient insulation, there is no need to spend a large amount of money on heating, which is one of the most expensive items of utilities.
Environmental friendliness
Now, when building a house, many are interested in using natural materials that are guaranteed to be safe for human health and life. Expanded clay consists of cement, sand and expanded clay (calcined clay), there are no dangerous components in it.
Material cons
Against the construction of a building from expanded clay concrete, not much can be said. Cons are represented by the following characteristics:
- Weight. Despite the fact that the material is lighter than brick or reinforced concrete, it loses to frame and wooden houses. Against them, expanded clay concrete is not able to withstand competition in terms of costs for foundations, since the structures from it are massive.
- The presence of cold bridges. Masonry weaknesses are seams. They are made of cement mortar, the heat-shielding characteristics of which are 5-6 times worse than the main material of wall fencing. To eliminate the problem, a jute tape is laid in the seams, which increases the complexity and financial costs.
- Transportation of large items. Blocks are larger than bricks.
- If you leave the building without external decoration for more than 2 seasons, the strength of the supporting structure is reduced.
These disadvantages do not prevent the mass distribution of the material, but still you need to know about them before the start of construction.