Every person certainly wants to become the owner of his own home, in which he will be comfortable with his family. In order to achieve this goal, you can buy an apartment or build a house. When choosing the latter option, you will have to solve many issues yourself, including the choice of material for housing. You will also need to delve into the intricacies of the technological process of building a building.
Today, construction technologies are developing quite rapidly. Thanks to this, the construction of houses is no longer limited to the use of wood and bricks. A relatively new building material is aerated concrete blocks. Their use is becoming more and more popular. Houses made of aerated concrete (photo can be seen below) can serve their owners for many years without losing their original characteristics.
No wonder, according to statistics, today more than 75% of private houses and cottages are being built using this material. And it is no coincidence that since the appearanceaerated concrete in the construction market, it began to be actively used for the construction of housing, especially low-rise.
The popularity of this material can be explained by its excellent characteristics, which in many of its parameters are better than concrete, brick, wooden beams or cylindrical logs.
What is an aerated concrete block?
The main difference of this building product lies in its porous structure. It is precisely due to its structure that this material, belonging to the group of cellular concrete, has special characteristics that are unique to it.
What is included in such a block? It is a mixture consisting of quicklime, cement, water, sand (usually quartz), as well as a blowing agent. The last, according to the recommendation of GOST, should be aluminum powder or a paste made on its basis.
During the production of aerated concrete blocks, a chemical reaction occurs. It becomes possible due to the interaction of aluminum powder and quicklime. As a result of such a reaction, the formation of cells occurs, the number of which ultimately affects the density, weight, and thermal conductivity of manufactured products. Depending on the obtained characteristics of the material, the scope of its application is determined.
Comparison with "competitors"
Why are aerated concrete house designs so popular today?
The excellentcharacteristics of the material used, including:
- Low thermal conductivity. The value of the coefficient of this indicator is in the range from 0.09 to 0.34 W / mS. These figures clearly indicate that a house built of aerated concrete will be necessarily warm. At the same time, maintenance of the building during cold periods for the owners will become as economical as possible. Building a house from aerated concrete can significantly reduce cash investments for insulation. Even greater savings in this case are achieved by using a special adhesive composition when laying. According to experts, a house made of aerated concrete is warmer than one made of concrete, brick or wood.
- Impressive size. Aerated concrete blocks are larger than bricks. In addition, they are made with high precision. If the masonry is carried out correctly, then the aerated concrete house will delight with its perfectly even walls. This allows you to significantly reduce the time of plastering and the cost of such work, as well as much faster to lay tiles and insulation.
- Low specific gravity. This characteristic allows you to build a house of aerated concrete with your own hands, without resorting to the use of lifting mechanisms. This greatly facilitates the technology of building a home.
- Excellent plaster retention. To achieve the desired effect, you only need not to carry out work in the winter and not apply the composition to a damp wall.
- High strength. The D500 brand of aerated concrete blocks resists a force of 30-34 kg per square centimeter. Foam concrete of the same brand can withstand only 9 kilograms per square meter.see
- Excellent soundproofing. Unlike houses made of brick or wood, this building can be located near a busy highway and protect the owners from the discomfort associated with passing traffic.
But still, before building a house of aerated concrete, the pros and cons, it is recommended to study the reviews of the owners of existing buildings. This will allow you to draw your own conclusion and make the only right decision. Let's get acquainted with these moments and we.
Pros of aerated concrete housing
What parameters are able to attract the attention of the owners, so that they decide to order projects of houses from aerated concrete? The advantages of such buildings are as follows:
- Cheap. The construction of such a house will require less financial investment compared to the construction of a dwelling from other wall materials.
- Sustainability. From this point of view of caring for our planet, aerated concrete house projects are almost ideal. The material itself has a minimal radiation background, since it contains only natural components. That is why being in such a house poses absolutely no threat to those people who live in it.
- No need for insulation. As you know, air can protect you best from the cold. In aerated concrete, it is located in small pores of the same size. This makes gas blocks excellent heat insulators.
- Savings on building heating. A similar positive characteristic of the material follows from the previous paragraph. In aerated concrete houses it is warm, which isprovides significant savings on their heating bills.
- Small mass. Thanks to this characteristic, a house made of aerated concrete blocks acquires several positive qualities at once. First of all, lower costs will require pouring the foundation for a house made of aerated concrete. A positive point is the previously mentioned opportunity not to involve lifting equipment for construction. And due to the large size of the blocks, the installation speed increases several times. The construction of the aerated concrete house can be completed within a few weeks after the start of work.
- Ability to work well. Thanks to this, projects of houses made of aerated concrete can provide for the construction of structures of any configuration. The use of such blocks eliminates any difficulties in the process of forming complex breaks or in the design of arched openings.
Cons of aerated concrete housing
What characteristics might influence the rejection of building with this material?
- The need for a large number of calculations. Projects of houses made of aerated concrete require an accurate justification. Moreover, the higher the structure, the more calculations will need to be carried out. The fact is that if it is planned to build an aerated concrete house of 2 floors or more, then it is unacceptable to use cellular blocks as a material for load-bearing walls. Only elements whose brand is higher than D600 can solve this problem. But in this case, when implementing projects for houses made of aerated concrete, it is worth considering that the higher the density of the material, the smaller its thermal insulation becomes.properties. In this regard, there is a need for insulation of the structure. Another option for using blocks for building a two-story aerated concrete house is to lay them in two rows using dressing. In this case, the outer part of the wall is made of dense load-bearing gas blocks, and the inner part is made of more fragile porous elements with great thermal insulation characteristics.
- High probability of cracks in the wall even with the slightest deformation caused by building shrinkage, foundation pouring errors or soil mobility. Of course, the structure will not receive any significant damage from this. However, such cracks will spoil the visual perception of the house. Based on existing practice, it can be argued that even if the construction technology is followed, almost 20% of all blocks crack.
- Need for finishing. Aerated concrete perfectly absorbs moisture from the environment from rain, snow and fog. That is why a newly built house should be finished right away.
- The need to follow the order of work. Finishing a house made of aerated concrete should begin from the inside. This is due to the fact that such blocks are able to absorb moisture from both sides. That is why the beginning of plastering from the inside will significantly reduce dampness in the room. And only after finishing the outer walls.
- Difficulties in arranging ventilated facades. They lie in the complexity of fastening materials to gypsum concrete. Over time, the facade may simply fall off on its own. Based on this, the best option would be to plaster the walls with specialgypsum-based mixtures.
- Quick failure of metal elements. They are spoiled by lime, which is part of aerated concrete and in adhesive mixtures for the block. A similar fate awaits communications, for which metal pipes are used.
- Bad fasteners in the walls. Everything that has a significant mass is difficult to hang in such a house. To hold shelves, water heaters and hanging kitchen cabinets on the walls, you will need to stock up on special fasteners.
- Low thermal inertia. This indicator indicates the ability of the material to accumulate heat. Houses made of aerated concrete (photos are presented below) warm up quickly. However, they give off heat at the same rate. The level of thermal inertia of an aerated concrete block directly depends on its structure. With a large number of pores, it is lower.
As you can see, an aerated concrete house has both pluses and minuses.
It is worth noting that some of the shortcomings of this material can be leveled even at the earliest stages of construction. This becomes possible due to the exact observance of the technological process of laying blocks.
Building Tools
How can the construction of a house from aerated concrete be carried out? Step-by-step instructions before the start of construction must be studied without fail. This will help avoid technological errors, the correction of which will lead to a significant increase in the amount of work.
At the initial stage, you need to stock up on the necessarytool. The list contains:
- drill;
- band and hand saw;
- mixer;
- wall chaser;
- electromill;
- glue carts;
- scrapper bucket;
- rubber mallet;
- toothed trowel;
- grinding board (grater).
Site preparation
With the existing project, the construction of a house from aerated concrete begins with the preparation of a site allotted for knowledge. The site must be cleared, after which it will be necessary to mark the future structure on it. To do this, they take a rope and reinforcing bars and determine the axis of the building.
At the next stage of preparation for construction work, one of the corners of the foundation is outlined with a plumb line. Further, a rope is stretched perpendicular to it to two more corners of the base. The 4th of them is outlined with the help of a square. To check the correctness of the work, it is necessary to measure the diagonals. If their length is the same, then everything is done correctly, which allows you to fix the rods at the intended points and pull the rope between them. The internal marking of the base is carried out in a similar way, which is located approximately 400 mm from the outer line of the foundation.
Trenches
Determine the required depth of this pit is possible only after the lowest point on the site is found. If you plan to build a one-story house of small sizes from aerated concrete, then it will require the construction of a strip foundation 40 cm wide. Otherwise, you should focus on the features of the site and the design of the building.
When digging trenchesit is important to make their walls vertical. The bottom of the pit must certainly be flat. These parameters are checked using a level and a plumb line.
When building a house from aerated concrete with your own hands, it should be borne in mind that you will need to put a pillow of sand on the bottom of the prepared trench, carefully tamping it down. This layer is necessary to evenly distribute the load on the foundation, which is especially important in the off-season. It is recommended to bring the thickness of such a pillow to 15 cm. Next, crushed stone is poured onto the sand and roofing material is laid.
Formwork installation
This item is assembled from plywood, boards and other auxiliary materials. All formwork parts are fastened together with screws or nails. The height of such a frame should be such that it rises approximately 300 mm above ground level.
A fishing line is stretched along the walls of the inner perimeter of the formwork. It is placed on the upper border of the future fill.
The technology of building a house from aerated concrete requires the preparation of holes at this stage for future sewerage and water supply. To do this, they take empty pipes and, filling them with sand, lay them in the right places.
Laying reinforcement
To build a foundation for an aerated concrete house, you will need rods with a diameter ranging from 12 to 14 mm. This reinforcement must be pre-tied into a mesh using flexible steel wire. At the same time, the heavier the future structure, for example, this refers to the construction of an aerated concrete house with an attic, the smaller the side of the square will need to be made. Most often, meshes are madewith a cell size of 20x20 cm. Finished products are placed in trenches. Moreover, between this reinforcing layer, the walls of the pit and its top, it is important to leave indents of 5 cm. This will allow you to be sure that in the future the mesh will be completely filled with concrete.
Filling formwork
To determine the required volume of concrete, you will need to multiply the width of the foundation by its height and length. After that, you can proceed to self-production or ordering the mixture. Its standard recipe contains 1 hour of cement, 5 hours of crushed stone, 3 hours of sand, which are brought to the desired consistency with water. The resulting solution is poured into the formwork in uniform layers. Their thickness should be approximately 200 mm. Each layer of such a fill is compacted with a wooden rammer.
Concrete is poured to the level of the rope stretched at the top of the formwork. Next, the pouring surface is leveled with a trowel, and the concrete is pierced in several places with reinforcement. Outside, the formwork is carefully tapped with a wooden mallet, and then the entire structure is left for a month. This allows the foundation to gain strength. During this period, the structure must be protected from precipitation with polyethylene. If the weather is hot, then the concrete must be periodically watered. This will prevent it from cracking.
Building walls
Those who are independently engaged in the construction of a house from aerated blocks are recommended to purchase a tongue and groove construction material. The main advantage of these elements lies in the fact that they are comfortable to carry.
You can build a building using any otherblocks. The order of work will not change.
At the initial stage of arranging the walls, you will need to clean the upper part of the already dried foundation from dust and dirt, covering it with a layer of roofing material after that. The first row is laid out on this waterproofing material. The blocks are fastened with a cement-sand mortar. It will dry longer than special glue, which will give time to adjust the evenness of the masonry. The minimum thickness of such a layer is 10 mm. There are no maximum restrictions in this case. With a cement-sand layer, height differences of blocks can be leveled out without much effort.
Masonry starts from the highest corner. But before performing these works, you will need to outline the wall of the house with a fishing line. Next, the first block is placed on the foundation. The same element is placed on all other corners.
The first row should be laid out along the perimeter of the building and in those places where, according to the project, the internal walls will be located. Here you should not forget about the openings for the doors. They should of course be skipped.
After laying the starting row, its surface is carefully sanded. After that, you can proceed to the further construction of the walls. When laying the second and subsequent rows, a special glue is used to bind the blocks, which is applied in an even layer. All work must be done from corners. In this case, the rows are necessarily tied up in the same way as it is done in a brick building. The glue is applied using a bucket with teeth, and then onthe prepared surface are installed as close as possible to each other blocks. The evenness of the laying of each row should be checked using a level. If necessary, the position of these building elements is adjusted with a rubber mallet. It is worth remembering that due to the rapid drying of the glue, you need to work very quickly. Otherwise, moving the gas block to adjust the position will become an impossible task. In the interfloor space (if the house is high), you will need to equip a reinforcing belt.
Windows and window sills
When building a house, these openings must also be made. Window sills most often have a height of four rows of masonry. In this case, the formation of window openings should begin after the third row of blocks. To do this, you need a wall chaser, which performs two parallel lines. Their length should exceed the window borders by 300 mm. Reinforcement bars are placed in the strobes, which are then fixed with a cement-sand mortar. Further, the laying of the walls continues according to the previous scheme.
Jumpers
These structural elements are necessary in order to strengthen the sections of the walls located above the window and door openings. Without lintels, the walls of the house could simply collapse.
In this case, ready-made U-shaped blocks can be used. They are glued to the desired length, installed, and after laying the reinforcement, they are poured with cement mortar. Jumpers can be made on their own. To do this, take aerated concrete blocks 10 cm wide and fasten them with glue. In thisstructures using a wall chaser, 3 longitudinal lines are prepared, into which reinforcing bars are laid. After that, a home-made jumper is poured with cement mortar and left to dry for a day. Installation of prefabricated elements is done with fittings down.
Arm belt
The last wall row is the one that is performed with window lintels. After that, you should proceed to pouring the armored or seismic belt. This is a structure made of reinforced concrete, designed to ensure the integrity of the building from aerated concrete blocks. For it, 10-centimeter elements are taken, from which the formwork is formed. Place it around the perimeter of the walls. The resulting groove is filled with rebar and grouted.
Metal studs must be immured into the armored belt. A Mauerlat is attached to these parts. Most often, studs are made of reinforcement, but it is more convenient if they have a thread. At this stage, we can assume that the box of a one-story aerated concrete house is completely ready.
Roof
After mounting the Mauerlat, rafters are installed. Work at this stage is individual. In this case, you should focus on the features that the roofing structure chosen by the owners will have. In doing so, various options may be considered.
The best solution for an aerated concrete house with a garage or simply with a complex configuration is a mansard, palm roof or other structures no less complex in design.
But regardless of the chosenoption, the roof will need to be made with hydro, steam and thermal insulation. When arranging a residential attic, you will also need to protect the upper floor from noise.
Waterproofing material is fixed on top of the installed rafters. It is more convenient if this is done using wooden slats, which will simultaneously become a counter-lattice. The crate itself is subsequently attached to this structure, on which the roofing material is laid. A heater is placed between the slats under the waterproofing. Most often, this material is mineral wool. Thermal insulation is covered with a vapor barrier film, which is attached to the rafters with wooden slats. The final stage in the arrangement of the roof is the laying of the finish coating.
At this point, the installation of a box of gas blocks with a roof can be considered completed. Next, you need to mount engineering communications and start decorating the house.
