The foam block is a porous cellular material that has such a structure due to air bubbles distributed throughout the volume. These products are the most affordable and lightweight among those offered on the market today and are intended for the construction of buildings and structures. The foam block is also used for heat and sound insulation of walls.
If you also decide to use this material, you should know what the composition of the foam block is, as well as what technology it is made of.
Ingredient composition
In order to get a durable and high-quality foam block, you should adhere to state standards and production technology. The composition of the foam block contains the following ingredients:
- portland cement;
- sand;
- foamers;
- additives.
As for Portland cement, it acts as a binder. The brand used in barotechnology is M-500. If the basisproduction is classical technology, the following grades of Portland cement can be used:
- M500 D20.
- M400 D0.
- M400 D20.
Sand acts as a filler, it can contain clay impurities in the amount of up to 3% and quartz - from 75% and above. One of the ingredients is water. Foaming agents are also used. They can be synthetic or protein. The former are used in barotechnology, while the latter are used in the classical production method. Protein foaming agents, which are also called protein, are the best, because they make it possible to obtain high-quality foam concrete that is not capable of harming human he alth.
Additional ingredients
In order for the material to harden as quickly as possible, special additives are used. Depending on the technology, various mold lubricants can also be used. Getting acquainted with the composition of the foam block, you will learn that foam concentrates are made on the basis of bone glue, pine rosin, hide glue, caustic technical soda, scrubber paste and other components.
An example of the composition of the foam block
It will be interesting for consumers to know what is the approximate composition of foam concrete to obtain one cubic meter of material. Portland cement grade PC 500 D0 will serve as the basis. In order to get the M400 foam block, 300 kg of cement, 160 liters of water and 0.85 kg of foam concentrate should be used. Sand is not applicable in this case.
To obtain foam concrete grade M-600, you should take 210 kg of sand, 330 kg of cement, 180 liters of water and foam concentrate 1.1 kg. It is important to study the composition of the foam block if you plan to get M-800 brand material. In this case, 340 kg of sand, 400 kg of cement, 230 liters of water and a foaming agent, the amount of which is 1.1 kg.
Production of foam block
Production of foam blocks provides for compliance with the technology. It involves the preparation of a solution of sand and cement, the mixing of the foam composition and the formation of blocks. To carry out the work, you will need the following tools and materials:
- concrete mixer;
- foamer;
- shape or container;
- cement;
- hardener or sand;
- foamer.
At the first stage, water, cement and sand are prepared. It is necessary to follow the classical mixing scheme of a traditional solution. In the next step, the foaming agent is gradually added. Some experts recommend using its synthetic variety or analogue, which is prepared from wood glue, rosin and caustic sodium.
For the addition, the ingredients are mixed and heated. Such a mixture can only be prepared with a foam generator. The composition is combined with concrete, and then foam blocks are formed. The production of a foam block involves the use of fine-grained sand, which does not have clay impurities. Water can be used tap waterthere should be no acids and s alts.
Features of preparing a solution for foam block
For the manufacture of foam blocks, you should use a factory concrete mixer, since home-made devices are not always able to help achieve the desired result. Plywood is suitable for making molds, while it is important to observe the dimensions. In order to accelerate the hardening of the composition, appropriate substances should be used. Among them, calcium chloride is especially popular. It is added to the finished mixture of foam concentrate and concrete. The volume of this substance is approximately 2% of the total mass.
The composition is distributed into molds, and the finished products are laid out on pallets to go to the construction site. The method of mixing the solution involves pouring river sand and cement into a concrete mixer, gradually adding water and a foaming agent to the composition. The mixture is well mixed, a hardener is added to it. After 2 minutes, the solution will be ready for molding. Before proceeding with the formation of products, containers should be prepared. Forms are cleaned of dirt or mixture residues, and then the inner walls are treated with a special oil-free composition. If you apply a lubricant, then the finished block can be easily removed from the mold. For these purposes, the containers are covered with polyethylene from the inside. Products can also be made by cutting.
Dimensions and density of the foam block
What foam blocks are made of, you already know. However, it is important to be aware of other parameters as well, such as density. Last Featureaffects the appointment. If the material refers to the density within M1000-M1200, then it is structural. Structural and heat-insulating blocks have a density from M500 to M900. As for thermal insulation products, their density is M300-M500.
According to the manufacturing method, the described blocks can be divided into molded and cut. The latter allow you to get individual products from a single array of foam concrete. Molded foam blocks are poured into molds with partitions. The foam block 600x300x200 mm is standard, and its weight varies from 11 to 19 kg, which is true for thermal insulation products. For structural foam blocks, the weight is from 39 to 47 kg.
House projects
Foam blocks, the sizes and prices of which are mentioned in the article and should be known to the consumer, quite often form the basis of one-story houses. Before drawing up a project, you will need to decide only on the bearing walls. Usually these are the central and outer walls, which is true for the case when the house is no more than 6 m. All other partitions can be adjusted according to your wishes.
If the width of the house is quite impressive and exceeds 12 m, then you should think about the location of the supporting structures, because with such a width the roof will have a significant mass, which will cause increased pressure on the external load-bearing walls. In this case, experts recommend considering projects with an attic or making houses less wide.
When drafting one-story houses from foam blocks, it must be remembered that the bearingthe walls must be on the foundation. It’s just that partitions are usually installed on the floor, because they do not carry a special load. In this case, you will ensure the stability of the walls. As an example, consider a house that will have three living rooms, one common corridor and a bathroom. One of the small rooms has an area of 8 m2, the large bedroom accommodates 9.1 m2. As for the living room, its area can be equal to 11.1 m2. The common corridor is located on area 5, 2 m2. The bathroom can be located in the corner of the house, it will have an area of 7 m2.
When drafting one-story houses from foam blocks, experts quite often make living rooms large. One example would be a variant of a house with a hall for 26.3 m2. The bathroom is separate according to the project, the toilet has an area of 2.7 m2, while the bathroom is 4 m2. The latter is located next to the kitchen at 7 m2. The common corridor is located on an area of 4.6 m2, it turns into a small corridor that connects the living room and bedroom. The last room has an area of 12.1 m2.
Instead of a conclusion: the cost of foam blocks
The sizes and prices of foam blocks are the characteristics that interest consumers more than others. You can buy a product with dimensions of 600 x 250 x 375 mm for 3600 rubles per cubic meter. For a block weighing 120 kg, the dimensions of which are 600 x 250 x 200 mm, you will have to pay 120 rubles. If you are going to build a house out of foam blocks, you canpurchase products in the following sizes: 600 x 250 x 150 mm and 600 x 250 x 125 mm. The price of such building materials will be equal to 90 and 80 rubles per piece, respectively.
