Brick has long been one of the most popular materials used for the construction of building envelopes. Such building stones are distinguished by a high degree of strength. They are made from clay, and therefore are considered environmentally friendly. However, the brick has, unfortunately, one rather serious drawback. This material does not protect the interior of the house from the cold.
Today, warm ceramic blocks are gaining great popularity in Russia. Such a building material is also made of clay, and therefore, it is environmentally friendly. At the same time, it is completely devoid of the main drawback of a brick. Houses made of warm ceramics are very convenient and comfortable.
What is the material
Reminiscent of traditional bricks, such blocks only with their red color and rectangular shape. Their structure is completely different. Clay mortar in the manufacture of this type of material undergoes foaming. As a result, the blocks are porous, likeaerated concrete.
Configuration
By design, this type of material is vaguely reminiscent of a hollow brick. Blocks of this type are made not solid. In their thickness there are many voids of different sections.
Ceramic blocks differ from ordinary bricks and sizes. Their length can be equal to 250-510 mm, and their width is 230-250 mm. The industry also produces narrower blocks of this type. Such material is used for the construction of house partitions.
In terms of thermal conductivity, ceramic blocks are comparable to aerated concrete popular with domestic developers. At the same time, they are several times stronger than this material.
Ceramic blocks have ribs on all outer planes. The solution when laying such material is spread only horizontally. There are simply no vertical seams in the walls of houses made of such material. In a row, blocks of this type are connected to each other simply according to the tenon-groove principle. The presence of ribs on the outer plane of this type of building stone greatly facilitates the process of plastering facades.
In comparison with aerated concrete, ceramic blocks have one more definite plus. They are absolutely not afraid of moisture and are distinguished by a greater degree of frost resistance.
What ceramic houses look like
Insulation of a building made of ceramic blocks in many cases is not required. Very often, such houses at the final stage are simply finished using plaster and facade paint. That is, they look about the same as private low-risebuildings constructed from aerated concrete.
Sometimes, when using not too large ceramic blocks for the construction of external walls of the house, the facades still have to be insulated. In this case, such a building is usually simply lined with clinker or decorative bricks from the outside. At the same time, expanded clay is poured between the main walls and the cladding or ecowool is laid. Such buildings, of course, look very prestigious and solid.
Pros of buildings
The houses made of warm ceramics look, thus, more than worthy. In operation, such buildings, according to the owners of suburban areas, are also convenient. The walls of such houses can retain heat very effectively.
Ceramic blocks are made in our time mainly on modern equipment under computer control. And so they have perfect geometry. Accordingly, the boxes of buildings erected from such material themselves turn out to be almost ideal. The walls of such houses, both outside and inside, subsequently look absolutely smooth when using any finishing materials.
Since ceramic blocks are not afraid of moisture and temperature changes, they serve for a very long time. It is believed that buildings of this type can be used for at least 200 years. That is, in terms of durability, houses made of warm ceramic blocks are not much inferior to brick ones.
What are the disadvantages
Of course, such buildings also have some disadvantages. ToFor example, the foundations of houses made of warm ceramics must necessarily be built from concrete of high grades. At the same time, the foundations of such buildings should be deepened significantly. The walls of houses made of ceramic blocks do not weigh too much. But at the same time, they are, of course, still inferior in terms of strength to bricks. Therefore, during spring heaving on a not very reliable foundation, such walls may crack.
It is possible to build houses from ceramic blocks in regions with any climate. However, in areas that are too dry, such buildings are still rarely erected. In such a climate, the ceramic blocks, unfortunately, over time become very compacted and become somewhat brittle. This is primarily due to their drying out. Of course, in dry regions, houses made of ceramic blocks do not fall apart. However, for example, hammering nails or dowels in the premises of such buildings can be quite difficult. The wall material in this case simply begins to crumble.
Another significant disadvantage of houses from such blocks is their relatively high cost. In this regard, such buildings are comparable to brick ones.
Indirect disadvantages of ceramic blocks include, among other things, the fact that extremely low-quality material of this type is often sold on the market today. And although the release of such material in Russia has already begun today and some serious companies that care about their reputation, the risk of running into a fragile short-lived block is still present at the moment.
Warm ceramic house project: onwhat to pay attention to
Aerated concrete blocks, as you know, can only be used for the construction of buildings up to 3 floors high. This is due to the fragility of this material. The same rule applies to clay blocks. With their own hands, they build only one-story houses made of warm ceramics from warm ceramics. In some cases, taller buildings can also be built from this material. Sometimes such blocks are used to build 2-3-storey cottages.
However, the strength of this material, as we found out, is still much higher than that of aerated concrete. Professional builders erect buildings up to 6 floors from such material, including multi-apartment buildings. However, today only experimental projects are being implemented in Russia in this way.
If a private owner decides to build a house from warm ceramics, of course, first of all, you should take care of purchasing high-quality material. For the construction of a one-story residential building, the owner of a suburban area can purchase, for example, blocks of this type of brand 50. To build a cottage on 2-3 floors, you will have to buy more durable and expensive material.
Sizes
Among other things, when drafting such a house, one must take into account the fact that only blocks of 300-510 mm can be used to build its load-bearing walls. In this case, it is allowed to build internal unloaded enclosing structures in the building from a material of 250 mm. For partitions, you can even purchase blocks of 80-110 mm.
Cost calculation
How much money does it take to build a house out ofwarm ceramics? Foundations for buildings of this variety, as already mentioned, should be built as reliable as possible. The lion's share of the budget for the construction of such a house, therefore, will most likely go to the foundation. The cost of a strip foundation for a building made of ceramic blocks, for example, with an area of 5x4 m, will be about 25-30 thousand rubles in 2018. subject to self-filling.
One ceramic block 300x230x219 mm long costs about 100 rubles. That is, 1 m2 of such masonry will cost about 2000 rubles. Thus, to build a box 5x4 m2 2.5 m high, you will need to buy blocks for 100 thousand rubles.
Expert Opinion
Reviews from owners of houses made of warm ceramics about their real estate are mostly very good. As noted by private traders, in the summer in such houses, for example, a pleasant coolness is created. In winter, the owners of buildings with such walls do not have to spend too much money on heating. The level of sound insulation in ceramic houses is also very good.
But what do qualified builders think of such buildings? Reviews about houses made of warm ceramics from professionals also exist only good ones. Experts believe that reliable and easy-to-use houses can be built from ceramic blocks. But builders recommend using such material for the construction of boxes of buildings, including low-rise ones, only after they are fully convinced of its quality.
Build a house out ofwarm ceramics with their own hands, as professionals say, a private trader will be able to. But the owner of a suburban area, in their opinion, first needs to get acquainted with the construction technology of such buildings, which is somewhat different from the construction methods of brick structures.
A high-quality solution for such blocks, for example, can be prepared independently only from special purchased mixtures with polymers. The usual cement mixture will create cold bridges in the masonry and, moreover, will begin to fall into voids in the material. Sometimes ceramic blocks are not even placed on concrete mortars, but on mounting foam.
The complexity of building houses from warm ceramics, as well as from aerated concrete, lies in the need for careful alignment of the masonry. Stresses in the wall of such material should not occur. Otherwise, cracks may appear on the masonry.
If the owner of a suburban area has doubts that he will be able to perform high-quality masonry with his own hands, he, of course, should still order the construction of a turnkey house from warm ceramics in some construction company with a good reputation. In this case, he, most likely, will soon receive at his disposal the most durable and comfortable building.
