Even an inexperienced builder can work with cinder block. To do this, you need to purchase material or make it yourself. A cinder block house is built quickly because the products have a good size, for example, compared to ordinary bricks. Why did the building material get this name? It's simple - it contains slag, although manufacturers can use other components.
According to statistics, the most demanded material on the market is cinder block. How to build a house? We will talk about this in the article. If you follow simple recommendations, you can achieve the result yourself.
Production
Sometimes before you build a house from cinder blocks with your own hands, the decision comes to make them yourself. To start the process, you should pay attention to important points:
- Must make or purchase special molds for the material. The finished product will drya very long time. Therefore, in order for the process not to be delayed, you need to have several dozen such containers. They can be made of wood or iron (there is not much difference between them).
- The strength of the source material will depend on the quality of the selected components. So cement should be chosen of the highest standard.
- You need water - you need a lot of it.
- Fillers are being added - sand, slag, shavings and so on.
- We also need items that will create voids in the brick.
There are projects of cinder block houses as simple and affordable as possible. Even a beginner can work on them. For mixing the composition, it is worth choosing sand, cement and any additional filler. It is best to mix in a ratio of three to one. Then the form is taken, the material for the voids is laid, and only after that the composition is poured. The brick itself will dry for several weeks, and it is better to remove the material after 8.
To release the molds for a new batch of bricks, they are sent at least 24 hours later for drying. As soon as all the material dries completely, you can begin to build a house from cinder blocks. Masters believe that it would be best to make bricks and use them for construction only next season. Although everyone decides for himself.
Pros of a cinder block house
It is believed that a building built from such material can stand for a hundred years. And this is not fiction. There are numerous examples of building houses that were built many years ago and are still ingood condition. Why is this brick in demand? The positives should be noted:
- Fire safety. The material is non-flammable and does not support combustion.
- If reinforcing rods are used in the construction of a cinder block house, the structure will be resistant to hurricanes and other disasters.
- Indoors from such a building material retains heat and does not feel temperature changes.
- Repairing errors acquired over the years is easy.
- The wall can be of any thickness, and the process of building it is very fast.
- No skills or knowledge required to build one-story cinder block houses.
- Biological components do not affect such a brick, so the service life is more than a century.
- Finding cinder block house designs is easy because they are popular to use.
- Material prevents unwanted sounds from penetrating.
- Cheap.
What else do you need to know?
On sale you can find several options for building material for this purpose:
- Standard (cinder block size - 390 x 190 x 188 mm).
- Block with voids inside.
- Semi-block (cinder block size - 390 x 190 x 90 mm).
From this it is clear that there are empty and full-bodied models. The former may have different voids:
- 2 or 4 rectangular cavities.
- 2 or 3 round shape.
- Three rows of voids of any configuration.
Load
Each brick has its own marking. It defines the load capacity. With a low rate of force exposure, it is not worth building the walls of a cinder block house in two floors. After all, the load level may not be sustained.
Requirements
Besides this, there are certain requirements:
- Masonry under normal weather conditions.
- The foundation is being built in advance (more than 50 centimeters deep).
- After building, the protective coating is immediately used.
- The roof is being erected as soon as possible.
These are important conditions, they should not be violated. These are the recommendations of manufacturers and craftsmen. Having no experience in construction, you need to initially study the possible options for using the material. It is also worth looking at the available video tips, which is in our article. From them will come an understanding of the little things and nuances of the whole process.
Negative aspects of construction
There are many pluses, but any building material does not exclude negative characteristics. Everyone should know about them:
- After the construction of the house, the walls remain unattractive, so it is worth using a top coat. This is a finishing brick, siding, etc. And this is an additional cost, but without it, the walls do not look aesthetically pleasing.
- If the structure of the cinder block has decorative components, then waterproofing is used in the process. This complicates the construction of the building and requires additional financial costs.
- Difficult to communicate. It is worth thinking about this at the leveldesign.
- Walls must be insulated.
- The environmental issue remains open. Often manufacturers use unsafe materials in filling, this is fraught with radioactive radiation.
Here are the pros and cons of a cinder block house.
Which finish is right?
The popularity of houses made of cinder blocks is growing, but at the same time everyone believes that one cannot do without exterior decoration. This is required to maintain heat, maximize sound insulation, control temperature differences, etc. Everyone decides for himself what is right for this process.
Masters say that external protection makes it possible to extend the life of the brick itself and insulate the room. After the procedure, it is not necessary to add a heater inside. Facing materials are on the market in a large assortment. It all depends on personal desire and financial capabilities. Here's what's hot today:
- Siding.
- Facing brick.
- Plaster with decorative filling.
- Building stone, etc.
How to insulate a cinder block house?
The answer to the question is extremely simple. For this, mineral wool, foam plastic and standard plaster are used. There are other, more expensive options. Depending on the budget, the choice is made. This is decided at the planning level to avoid temporary downtime.
How to choose building material?
When making a cinder block on their own, everyone must perform an accurate and thorough inspection. Don't forget thatthe use of slag is not as safe as it seems. So, it is better to give preference to certified material. Therefore, when importing goods from a store to a construction site, it is worth asking for documents for it. Here's what to focus on when choosing:
- When building a house from cinder block with your own hands, the best option is to fill it with shells and crushed stone.
- It is necessary to check the entire pallet with cinder block to exclude broken and uneven parts, as this will negatively affect the construction of the house.
- Checking can be done with a large nail. If it goes all the way to the bottom with ease, then it is a poor quality product.
- Raw materials must have positive characteristics in terms of resistance to climatic conditions.
- The blocks must be tightly packed, otherwise the house cannot be built from them.
- It's good if every brick is gray. This means that there is enough cement in it. In other variations, you need to carefully inspect and check the products. This must be done before building and insulating a cinder block house with your own hands.
The product can be any size, so you need to know where it comes from, who will wear it and how to build walls. Masters in construction give good advice to take into account before buying:
- Buy blocks only from well-known manufacturers. Because underground production has a number of pitfalls. The main thing is ignorance of the inner content. It is also important to know the level of reliability of the constructionmaterial.
- It is worth checking the material for strength - throw it from a height of one and a half meters. If the result does not result in fragmentation, then reliability is guaranteed.
- In terms of weight, the real material is not too heavy, but it is not light either. Otherwise, a number of questions arise for such material.
What do you need to have on hand for construction?
In the absence of experience, it is not necessary to resort to the help of a construction team. Having gathered theoretical data, it is worth purchasing and preparing the required tools:
- Trowel (since we have to work with the solution).
- Building level for even masonry.
- Plummet.
- Pickax.
- Capacity to create a cement-sand mortar.
- Shovel to collect the necessary components.
- Tank for water tray.
- Stretcher.
- Do not ignore personal protective equipment - gloves, safety shoes.
Kneading the mortar by hand will be difficult, because it will take a lot. It is better to buy a concrete mixer or rent it. This way of using the electrical installation will save time and save your he alth. To quickly build walls, you will need to prepare devices for transporting them. The weight of one block can reach up to 30 kilograms, so using a ladder or stepladder is not a way out.
Building a house
Before starting, the necessary tools are collected, and material is also purchased. To fail at workdowntime, you need to pay attention to:
- Sufficient number of blocks (determine in advance how much cinder block is needed per house).
- All required tool.
- How the laying is done and the rows are connected.
- Pay attention to weather conditions and time to build a house.
- Make sure the foundation is complete.
Do not ignore foundation waterproofing before laying the first row.
You can lay walls in any available method - half or two blocks. According to professional builders, as the first rows are formed, the whole house will be formed. After laying, the evenness is controlled by the level. It's worth starting from the corners. Laying is carried out in a height of four rows. Accounting for work is done on a stretched cord. When hollow blocks are selected, it is not necessary to fill the distance inside with mortar. Rebar is laid every four rows.
Most often, cladding is performed after construction. In this case, there is no need to remove excess mortar from the seams, otherwise it will not be visible in the future. But if further finishing is not planned, you should not hesitate to get rid of excess adhesive material. You need to do this every three rows.
Summing up
You can build a cinder block structure on your own in this way in a short period of time, without experience. But not everyone can decide and draw their own house. It's not a problem. Today, there are enough specialists who are ready to provide a developed plan, taking into account the wishes of the future owner. There are many ready-made options - it remains only to choose the right one.
Specialists highlight several recommendations. Do not start construction suddenly. You need to evaluate your strengths, as well as financial capabilities. Even with the simplicity of construction, you need to be aware that cinder blocks will have to be lifted, carried, installed. Creating a mortar and delivering it to the construction site is not so easy.
When the walls are exposed, the roof is covered, you will need to create an interior finish. And it takes more effort and money. Communications are being connected and planning is being created. And only after the work done, you can create coziness and comfort in a house built with your own hands. Cinder blocks will stand for a long time and can become a family nest for more than one generation.
