In the article we will look at how to make ventilation in a house of aerated concrete with our own hands. Aerated concrete is a fairly high-quality building material that has a lot of advantages. Most importantly, it has a low cost and the houses built from it are very warm. But there is also a drawback - aerated concrete also absorbs moisture well, and the heat-saving qualities are greatly deteriorating.
In order to get rid of all the shortcomings, you need to ensure high-quality air circulation in the rooms. It is not difficult to make it yourself, but you will have to study all the recommendations and nuances. Otherwise, the system will not work properly.
Why do we need a ventilation system
Before metal-plastic windows, stretch ceilings and a variety of vapor-proof materials for wall decoration began to be introduced, there was practically no need for forced ventilation. As a rule, fresh air entered through leaks andcracks in wooden frames, and excess moisture, being absorbed by brick (or wood) walls, gradually came out.
Thanks to modern materials, our life is becoming more comfortable and easier, but new troubles appear. There is a need to create ventilation in a private house made of aerated concrete. Most homeowners do not forget to protect the walls from the outside from the effects of precipitation.
But the peculiarity of aerated concrete is that it easily absorbs excess moisture from all rooms. At the same time, deformation of the finish, the appearance of mold and fungi are possible, and most importantly, an unfavorable microclimate will reign in the house. But if you do not let the air stagnate, then you can avoid such consequences. And for this you need to make a high-quality ventilation system.
Varieties of ventilation systems
It is worth paying attention to the fact that the ventilation device in the house of aerated concrete has distinctive features. If in houses made of traditional building materials channels are laid, as a rule, only in those rooms in which there is high humidity, then in this case it is recommended to do them in all rooms without exception.
If it is difficult to implement ventilation in all rooms, it is necessary to do it in the bathroom, kitchen, basement (if any), boiler room. At the same time, in all living rooms it is necessary to install special ventilation grilles on the interior doors or leave a gap under them, in order toso that air can circulate freely. In private homes, the following types of ventilation are used:
- Natural.
- Mixed.
- Forced.
Examples of ventilation schemes
The ventilation system in an aerated concrete house can be built according to one of the following schemes:
- Passive type ventilation. Air exchange occurs naturally through the channels brought out through the roof.
- Mixed - exhaust fans are installed in those rooms in which air pollution is the highest. The fans are turned on manually or automatically after a set period of time.
- Exhaust forced ventilation - fans are installed in a common channel that unites all air ducts coming from the rooms.
- Forced supply and exhaust type - fresh air enters and leaves exhaust air with a mechanical type ventilation system with a heat exchanger.
Now let's look at each system in as much detail as possible.
Natural air ventilation
Sometimes it is called passive - no means for artificial air movement are provided. How to make ventilation in a natural-type aerated concrete house? To do this, you need to know certain features, otherwise the whole system will not be able to function correctly.
To be specific, you need to do the following:
- Arrange all the channels through whichhumid exhaust air is removed from the rooms. In order for it to stretch itself, it is necessary to bring the channels above the roof of the house to a certain height. If the pipe is one and a half meters from the ridge, then you need to raise it above it by about 0.5 m. If the distance is less than 3 meters, then it is allowed to place the upper part of the pipe on the same level with the ridge. In the same case, if the distance is more than 3 meters, it is necessary to draw a line from the ridge at an angle of 10 degrees to the horizon. And the top of the pipe must be placed below this line. If these conditions are not met, traction will be poor.
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It is also necessary to make air flow from the street. Please note that metal-plastic windows do not let air into the room, but there is a way out. You can install special window blocks with valves for inflow. It is also allowed to install built-in ventilators in the outer walls.
Forced ventilation type
This design is both more difficult to install and more expensive, and its operation involves the use of electricity, as well as various devices. But the cost of all equipment quickly pays off due to the fact that the microclimate in the house becomes much better.
Let's highlight a few features of the system:
- Exhaust fans are installed on the air ducts, air is supplied from the outside through a network of channels.
- In order not to disturb the temperature regime during the cold season, it is necessary to install devices for heating the air in the ventilation system.
- The cheapest way to heat is not an electric heater, but a recuperator. This is a kind of heat exchanger, which has two fans - exhaust and supply. The heating of the air entering the house is carried out by gas, which is discharged to the street.
Please note that when installing a system with a heat exchanger, heat loss is reduced by about 30%. As a rule, the device is placed in the attic and connected to a common channel. It combines air ducts that come from all rooms. It is necessary to provide free access to the heat exchanger - it will sometimes have to clean the plates and change the filter elements.
Mixed ventilation
In this design, fresh air enters the house naturally, but the removal is carried out using fans. Can be used:
- Fans built into the outer walls of the house or the windows of each room.
- One high power fan installed in the attic. Several ventilation ducts are connected to it at once.
Design of ventilation ducts
If you will do ventilation in a one-story house made of aerated concrete, you need to consider that this building material is very fragile, unstable to high temperatures, absorbs moisture well.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that air ducts cannot be laid in external walls, as the risk of condensation increases.
You can make channels in the following ways:
- Brick out.
- Sleeving with plastic or asbestos pipes.
- Installation of a galvanized box and lining with small blocks of aerated concrete.
The last method is considered the most expensive and time-consuming, while condensation appears on the walls of metal elements. And it is destructive for aerated concrete. For this reason, thermal insulation material is required.
Brick channels
If you have not yet decided whether ventilation is necessary in aerated concrete house, check out the consequences that await you if you do not.
When laying brick ventilation ducts, you need to know the following nuances:
- The fewer channels in the house, the better. It is recommended to do them in the walls of adjacent rooms in which there is a high degree of humidity. Usually this is a bathroom, boiler room, shower room.
- Be sure to use full-bodied brick grades when laying. If you decide to use a hollow one, then all holes in it must be filled with concrete mortar. You can not use silicate grades of bricks - they do not withstand the temperature regime and crumble.
- The solution must be applied carefully, do not allow the mixture to fall inside the channel. All seams must be completely filled, grouting should be carried out after 2-3 rows. In this case, air will not enter adjacent rooms and ducts.
- The walls of the channels must be made smooth from the inside so that no protrusions interfere with air circulation. To achieve this, you need to remove the excess solution from the inside andsmear with a trowel. It is also allowed to sleeve metal air ducts.
Can plastic pipes be sleeved?
Metal pipes are expensive and sometimes more difficult to get, but there are a lot of plastic ones on sale. The advantage of plastic is also that condensation does not appear on it. Usually, during installation, round pipes with a diameter of 130 mm are used. Sometimes they use rectangular ones with a cross-sectional area of \u200b\u200b150 square meters. see
Arrangement of ventilation in a house made of aerated concrete is carried out at the time when the walls are laid out:
- In the block, which is located at the level of the ventilation hole, you need to fix the outlet and connect it to the plastic pipe.
- To bypass the air ducts in the blocks, you need to cut holes that will be a couple of millimeters larger than the dimensions of the pipes. Please note that aerated concrete blocks are easily sawn with ordinary wood saws.
- The space between the duct and the walls must be filled with mortar.
- It is imperative to insulate the places where pipes pass through the roof and attic.
In the attic, all air ducts must be combined into one channel and brought to the roof. You can also connect it to a fan or heat exchanger.
According to sanitary regulations, the requirements are based on air exchange per hour, so they will differ for each room. To comply with them, you need to install pipes with the required channel section. For example, a pipe diameter of 150 mm will be enough forliving room, kitchen or bathroom. Choosing a fan is even easier, as the performance of each of them is indicated on the packaging.
