Many of us have experienced the process of building our own home. This is always very difficult and involves considerable financial costs. Building a house from monolithic expanded clay concrete is one of the options that you can keep in mind. What is the essence of this method and what is the material characterized by? Consider in our today's article.
Material specification
Expanded concrete is a lightweight version of a material that is made on porous aggregate.
This allows you to make a house made of monolithic expanded clay concrete warmer, from environmentally friendly materials and which will be safe to use.
Dignity
Many experts today are skeptical about this material. But do not jump to conclusions, because it may be more suitable than the rest in any particular conditions. That's whyshould be aware of its merits. Among them, the main ones should be noted:
- Versatility. Claydite concrete manufactured in accordance with GOST is used both for pouring walls and for screeding and partitions.
- Light weight. Due to the fact that the mixture includes expanded clay, which is light in itself, this allows you to create a lot of air space and thereby reduce weight. This makes installation easier.
- Heat-insulating properties. In many respects, porous expanded clay concrete surpasses even foam concrete.
- Possibility of making your own. When you decide to build a house using a monolithic construction technology from expanded clay concrete blocks, you can build all the walls yourself. When it comes to blocks, you can also make them yourself if you have a certain type of shape.
- High environmental friendliness, because all components are natural.
- Expanded clay has been used for a long time. A few years ago, with the help of this material, a screed was made, which today is available in many apartments and shows its poor qualities.
Disadvantages of expanded clay concrete
If we talk about the shortcomings, here are a few things to note:
- Low density. This can only be done after full construction, when it will be necessary to arrange furniture and equipment.
- It is necessary to insulate the house from the outside.
- Must do it rightsettlements.
- There is such a property as fragility.
- Appearance leaves much to be desired.
The disadvantages are, of course, minor when compared with how much money and time it will take you to purchase materials and build. The advantages here completely cover all the visible and invisible disadvantages, which is very often the determining factor in the decision.
Properties
According to its properties, the expanded clay concrete wall can be used in various climatic conditions. Strength will depend only on the composition and density. Due to the fact that the material is universal, it can be used in the construction of various buildings, as well as for the manufacture of blocks or monolithic structures.
It can vary in strength from 35 to 100 kg/cm2. Density varies from 700 to 1400 kg/cm3.
Types of expanded clay concrete
Modern construction sites use different grade materials. Here a special role is played by the density of expanded clay, granulometric composition. And if we talk about varieties, then several subspecies can be defined:
- Constructive. Used to display industrial buildings, bridge structures and more. The use of expanded clay concrete for the home allows you to experience significant savings by replacing all reinforced concrete elements.
- Heat-insulating. Such material is usually used to additionally insulate the facade or any otherbuilding envelope.
- Heat-insulating structural materials. This is usually pressed claydite concrete, which is found in the construction of wall blocks and panels.
What is it made of?
If we talk about blocks, then expanded clay, Portland cement and sand are used for their manufacture. In the case when the ceiling is made of expanded clay concrete, expanded clay sand can be added. Strength will decrease, but thermal insulation performance will increase.
In the case when you want to use the river or quartz version of the sand, then get a durable material. The density of expanded clay concrete will be affected by the quality of the components, the type of construction technology, as well as the amount of water used.
All blocks that are made at the factory are usually steamed after compaction and stored in warm rooms. This allows the cement to fully harden and gain maximum strength. In the case when you need to purchase blocks from small companies, you may encounter low quality material. This is due to the fact that even blocks can be formed only with the help of expensive equipment.
When it comes to proportions, the number of components will vary depending on the type of crushed stone used. Proportions are selected only after calculations, making test batches, as well as tests.
Methods of building houses
If we talk about the methods of building houses from expanded clay concrete, then there are twobasic:
- Block.
- Monolithic.
The first option involves the purchase of ready-made blocks or their manufacture at the construction site. It must be remembered that if you decide to build a house in this way, then a solution will be used that creates cold bridges, which leads to heat loss. The second option in the form of monolithic construction is that you prepare the composition according to certain proportions, from which you will then build walls. There are some difficulties here. But the design will be durable and with good thermal insulation properties. In this case, you do the work yourself, and it will take a little longer than in the first option.
Some requirements for construction technology
In order to learn how to make a house from monolithic expanded clay concrete, you should first consider how the mixture is prepared. It consists of several components: expanded clay, sand, cement and water. Experienced builders usually have a ratio where the sand should be half as much as the coarse filler. The most common expanded clay fraction is from 5 to 10 millimeters. If you want to use non-standard material, you may encounter the complexity of technological work.
In order to determine the required amount of components, experiments should be carried out with different amounts of cement and water. After mixing all the ingredients, it is necessary to look at the state of the mixture, and also pour test samples. After dialingstrength, it will be possible to visually and mechanically assess the state of certain proportions.
How is the pouring of walls from monolithic expanded clay concrete?
When you have already made the finished mixture and decided to pour it into the formwork, it is necessary to close the resulting combination with a film when the desired height is reached. The construction technology is layered, which involves moving the formwork upwards, fixing it with studs of the lower row, which are inserted into the upper row. Upon reaching the required height, it is important to make a layer of reinforcing screed, which will allow you to take on all the loads and distribute the weight from the overlying structures of the house.
How to keep walls vertical during construction?
A person who has at least once encountered construction and erected any vertical structures knows that monolithic options are quite difficult to keep in the correct position. You don't have to make the wrong decisions. It is best to use a theodolite or level. At the same time, you will get a straight house made of monolithic expanded clay concrete, and you will be able to be in it with pleasure.
Which foundation to choose for monolithic expanded clay?
When you build a house from monolithic expanded clay concrete, you should think about installing a strip foundation. It will perfectly suit this load, which will be created by the overlying structures.
There are two options here: shallow and deep, orstandard. The first of these is used when the soil is completely immobile and has a rocky base. If you have any deviations, then the standard version of the strip foundation is best used.
So, we found out what claydite concrete is and what properties it has.
