On the modern market, you can find a variety of materials for the construction of buildings and structures for any purpose. And among them, foam blocks are especially popular. For low-rise and private construction, this type of building material can be called ideal due to its many technical advantages.
Advantages of foam block construction
To make foam blocks, in addition to cement, water and sand, special foam is used. It is thanks to her that the products have a porous fine-mesh structure. Moreover, despite this, the structures have excellent insulating properties: in summer they keep the house pleasantly cool, and in winter they do not allow cold to penetrate into the premises. Like wooden houses, foam concrete structures "breathe", preventing moisture from collecting on the surfaces of walls and ceilings.
In addition to the above, you can list other benefits:
- Easy installation. Foam blocks are laid quickly and without problems.
- Easy handling. The material is quite malleable, so if necessary, you can use anytool to cut parts of the desired size.
- Sustainability. All components used are exclusively environmentally friendly.
- Good sound insulation.
- Quick construction of structures, facilitated by the size of the foam blocks - 60 x 20 x 30 cm.
- Long service life. If during the construction of the structure all the rules of the construction process were observed, it will stand for at least 50-60 years.
- Financial savings. The cost of foam blocks is lower than brick, wood, stone, so the construction of them will be much cheaper.
Mounting Methods
There are two ways to lay foam blocks. The technology of each of them is determined by the type of substance used to fix each element. As a mixture for laying foam blocks, a cement mixture or special glue can be used. Each substance has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we will discuss in more detail later in the article.
But regardless of the type of connecting solution, first of all it is necessary to prepare the foundation surface for further work - check how smooth it is and, if necessary, level it. After that, a waterproofing layer is laid.
Cement mortar: disadvantages and advantages
And now consider the cement mortar. To compile the classic version of the mixture, sand and cement are taken in a ratio of 4: 1. As a result, a cement mortar of such a density is obtained that, when laying foam blocks, it is possible to perform a connecting layer of standard thickness from 1 to 2mm. Sometimes, to increase the frost resistance of the mixture or its water-repellent properties, various plasticizers are added.
The advantages of cement mortar include:
- availability of raw materials;
- possibility to use lower quality blocks.
Cons:
- need for finishing;
- allocation of time to prepare the solution.
- use of special tools in the work.
Special glue: advantages and disadvantages
Adhesive for laying walls from foam blocks is most often a dry mortar, but you can also buy a ready-to-use substance. If a dry mix is purchased, then to prepare for work, add 22-23 liters of water to 10 kg of dry matter and mix thoroughly.
Using a prepared (or purchased) formula has the following benefits:
- excellent adhesion of all elements;
- possibility to get a very thin layer to keep the heat-insulating properties of the blocks;
- the formed walls will be as smooth as possible, so you can avoid their subsequent alignment with different finishing materials.
The disadvantages of using this substance are its high cost, as well as the need to entrust the work to specialists.
Technology Features
Although the laying of foam blocks cannot be called difficult, there are several important and mandatorysubtleties:
- To form openings for windows and doors, you must use special blocks that have a U-shape. Metal corners 5-10 cm in size are laid next to the openings in the walls.
- A reinforcing mesh should be laid every 3-4 rows of blocks. Thanks to this, the walls will not crack during operation, and the masonry will be much stronger. To fix the corners of the structure, use a rounded rod.
- The thickness of the walls is planned taking into account the standard sizes of foam blocks.
- When installing the next row of foam blocks, you need to lay the elements so that the vertical seams between them do not coincide with the vertical seams of the bottom row.
- If there are any dirt on the blocks, they must be cleaned first.
- During operation, you must constantly ensure that there are no voids in the connecting solution (cement or adhesive).
- When working with cement, blocks are moistened before laying.
- If the blocks are laid in 2 rows, the vertical seams between them are also filled with mortar or glue. To get a wall thickness of 40 cm, the elements are laid on edge and not one foam block is placed in a row, but two.
Installation of structures on cement mortar
The process of laying foam blocks using cement mortar looks like this:
- A layer of mortar is applied to the foundation over the waterproofing layer and distributed with a notched trowel.
- Lay a row of blocks, filling the joints with mortar. If ayou need to shorten the foam block, cut off the excess part with a hacksaw.
- Check whether all joints are filled with mortar and how well the horizon is maintained.
- Lay the next layer of mortar and a row of blocks on top of it.
- After every fourth row, an armored belt is formed.
- When the wall reaches the desired height, the ceiling is laid on top.
- If the work is carried out in the summer, in the heat, then at night the wall where the work is being done is covered with plastic wrap, and during the day the blocks are poured with water.
Installation with adhesive
Although adhesives are used much less frequently, many are also interested in this construction option. We list its features:
- If you use foam block adhesive, you must carefully select the blocks so that their surface is very even.
- The maximum deviation from the dimensions of each element should not exceed 1 mm.
- To form the first row, use cement mortar.
- Glue is applied thinly with a notched trowel.
- To make the row the desired height, each element is trimmed with a mallet.
- If a block is higher than others, it can be trimmed with a grater.
- After laying 2-3 rows, be sure to check the surface with a horizontal level.
Cost of installation work
Of course, it is cheaper to do all the work yourself, but for this the builder must have:
- experience;
- required tools;
- assistant;
- time.
Most often there are no necessary skills, tools, and time, so it remains only to turn to specialists. The first thing that interests everyone in this case is how much does the laying of foam blocks cost per square meter?
Pricing level is affected by:
- The scale of the project.
- Architectural complexity of the building.
- Professionalism of masters - the higher their qualification, the more expensive they value their work.
The location of the construction site is also important in pricing. So, for example, in Moscow, for each square meter, you will need to pay at least 3,000 rubles, and in Saratov - about 1,500. Therefore, in order to get reliable information, it is best to find out how much it costs to lay foam blocks per square meter in firms in your region.
