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Inexpensive wall material. From what it is better to build a house - choose the material for the walls of the house. Log cabins and log houses

Modern building technologies make it possible to build the walls of a house from various materials– there are solutions for any, even the most modest, budget. Approaching the issue of erecting a building, one should understand one simple truth- all materials for the walls of the house have different strength, thermal conductivity and their own unique construction technology. Like it or not, these are very important features that simply cannot be discounted when starting to build your house or. Let's choose the best building material for the construction of the building together with the site.

How to choose wall material: brick house

Perhaps, brick is the most common material for building the walls of a house - its strength allows you to make not only the load-bearing walls of the building, but also interior partitions dividing the living area into separate rooms.

Brick mankind invented a long time ago, and during its existence has developed quite a lot of types. There is a durable brick to build bearing walls, more loose - for laying partitions and backfilling empty space, along with them, facing bricks are used and even heat-resistant, capable of withstanding high temperatures.

All these varieties of this building material allow you to build brick walls of any strength using various technologies and customize this construction to fit any budget.

The most expensive option is walls made of several continuous layers of sand-lime bricks - this approach allows you to build sufficiently strong walls that can withstand heavy loads. Even high-rise buildings up to 9 or even higher floors are built in this way - it's all about the thickness of the walls and the way the bricks are laid. This turns out to be quite comfortable, it is cool in summer and warm in winter.

How to choose the material of the walls of a residential building

A cheaper option for building walls is to combine various bricks and modern synthetic insulation. These building materials for the walls of the house are laid according to a special technology, they make it possible to reduce the cost of construction and at the same time leave the characteristics of the walls at the same level.

Such combined walls They are kind of like a puff pastry. Outside fit facing brick, from the inside rubble (cheaper), and the space between them is filled with either foam or mineral insulation. The house turns out to be warm, but the strength suffers a little - you cannot build a tall building in this way (maximum 2-3 floors).

Walls of a brick house photo

Foam block walls: pros and cons

When deciding on the material for the walls of a residential building, one should not lose sight of aerated concrete and foam concrete - in their characteristics they differ little from each other - light, warm and comfortable during construction. Their only drawback is their low strength. They are mainly used for the construction of interior partitions.

It is possible to use foam concrete to create load-bearing walls only in combination with reinforced concrete - supporting columns and floor beams are poured, and the space between them is laid with foam blocks. This approach to construction reduces the initial cost of the house by ten percent.

The walls of the house from foam blocks

Are claydite concrete walls used in private construction

Blocks or even slabs of expanded clay concrete are made from cement with the addition of expanded clay granules and a reinforcing frame - this approach to their creation allows you to make the walls of the house strong and warm. Expanded clay concrete was quite often used in the construction of skyscrapers in the last century, they were used as insulation, and the load-bearing walls of the house were located inside the building.

In private construction expanded clay concrete walls are rare - they are not cheap, and working with them requires special lifting equipment.

The walls of the house made of expanded clay concrete blocks

Wooden walls and a cheaper alternative

Wood is an environmentally friendly material, it is for this reason that in modern construction cottages, it is becoming increasingly popular. The walls of the house made of wood are durable, warm, and most importantly, safe for humans. Such a house is very expensive - walls built from processed logs are the most expensive, and not everyone can afford such an approach to construction.

In order to reduce the cost of building wooden walls, modern industry has learned to produce the so-called glued laminated timber - it is made from woodworking industry waste by gluing individual wooden parts. In this way, it is possible to make a beam of any length and section - in terms of strength, this material is not much inferior to a massive log, and its thermal conductivity and environmental cleanliness practically does not change.

The walls of the house from a bar photo

Styrofoam walls: advantages and disadvantages

The cheapest option for building walls is to build them from foam. This technology is quite interesting, and it is simply impossible to ignore it. A foam block, identical, is laid like an ordinary brick with only one difference - the cavities in the blocks are filled with concrete and reinforced.

As a result, inside the foam blocks, a kind of small reinforced concrete columns are obtained, on which the main load from the building falls. In this way, you can build a structure up to three floors high.

The disadvantages of foam walls include problems with their lining. To get a high-quality facade, it is additionally necessary to plaster it using a special technology using metal mesh or use ventilated facade systems. The same can be said about internal walls- mixtures for foam plastic plaster cost a lot, this nuance negates the low cost of the material and work with it.

Material for the walls of the house - foam

Frame construction of walls

Recently, the so-called frame construction houses. This technology is based on the principle of a metal frame made of special profiles, which is subsequently sheathed with sheet material of the type, and the internal cavity of such walls is insulated. Frame walls are a kind of building kit that allows you to build a house cheaply in almost a month.

The disadvantage of this method of construction is its low strength and durability - as they say, you cannot build such a house for centuries. On the other hand, you and your children will have enough (although the question remains open about the latter).

House wall options - frame construction

In general, there are a lot of options for building the walls of a house, in addition to the above, there are other materials that you will have to choose. Anything can affect the choice of material for the walls of the house: your financial condition, the climatic zone in which you live, and other factors. The main thing to remember is that you need to build in such a way that the house is a refuge not only for you, but also for the next generations of your family.

An individual developer is necessarily faced with the question of choosing the optimal material for the construction of a residential facility. The choice of building materials for walls takes into account climatic features, relief nuances, financial capabilities, etc. There is no single formula for this. All building materials have different strengths, require the use of a unique construction technology, and have different levels of thermal conductivity.

  • What determines the choice of material for the house

    The construction of walls makes up a quarter of all the costs of building a house. A careless attitude to the choice of material will entail additional subsequent expenses. Therefore, it is worth considering and considering all important criteria and factors when choosing the best material for the construction of the walls of the house:

      Labor costs. For example, the cost of time and effort will decrease if you build a house from panel blocks, and not from bricks and other small elements. Modern panel houses can be done several times faster, especially if these are frame structures.

      Thermal insulation properties of the material. When choosing a deliberately cold material for the walls, the developer will pay a high price in winter for such a reckless step. The owner will also have to deal with the insulation of the walls of the house from the outside. When calculating this indicator, current climatic conditions are taken into account.

      price issue. If you give preference to a durable and lightweight version of the material for the walls, then you can save on the construction of a powerful foundation, which is expensive to make.

    Considering also the subsequent costs of finishing work. Today, there are smooth materials for modern-style walls that do not require finishing.

    Log cabin - one of the options for walls that do not require finishing

    Types of wall materials

    The building materials market offers a wide range of various options to build the walls of your house. There are several types of bricks alone: ​​silicate, clinker, ceramic, fireclay. And for many years, wood has been one of the most popular and sought-after building materials. The cost of such raw materials depends on the type of wood (pine, oak, birch, cedar), the type of material (logs, boards, timber). A very popular and more economical option are different kinds blocks: foam blocks, ceramic blocks, thermal blocks, lightweight concrete blocks, etc. In Europe, for example, houses are most often built using the frame method, which is very fast and inexpensive. About 70% of the private housing stock in Europe is occupied by the frame technology of building buildings. Builders also note the cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency of SIP panels.

    Consider the main types of materials:

    Log cabins and log houses

    A log house is an object made from cut trunks of solid wood. Work such as cutting corners, adjusting joints and grooves is always done manually.

    Such houses look presentable, soundly and have a lot of advantages:

    Architectural version of a log house

    The disadvantages of log buildings include:

    Timber house

    Glued or profiled timber is a cheaper building material for house walls, which is in great demand today.

    Beam pros:

    In addition, such material is relatively inexpensive.

    However, the bar:

    They say that such a structure can be built alone, with certain knowledge and skills. But the scheme of its construction is more complex and ornate than, for example, brick.

    Frame house under construction

    All the advantages of frame houses:

    The disadvantages of frame structures include:

      The echo of walls and ceilings;

      The need to have a competent construction project, where there will be all the drawings and diagrams of fasteners and assemblies.

      The disadvantages of such houses can also be attributed to the conservative mentality of our citizens, who are wary of frame structures, considering them unreliable.

    SIP panels

    Canada and America have been actively using frame-panel technologies in construction for more than half a century. In our country, this method is not yet so popular. SIP panel is a three-layer building material, which is made from two layers of OSB and internal insulation polystyrene foam.

    This is what the SIP panel looks like

    Advantages of SIP panels:

    In addition, SIP panels are an environmentally friendly building material.

    It looks like a built house from SIP-Panels without facade decoration

    Its disadvantages include such aspects (of which, by the way, there are many):

    brick walls

    Brick is the most familiar and most available material for the construction of the walls of the house outside. It is usually made from clay and enhanced with various impurities. All the advantages of brick:

    The disadvantages of building materials include:

    Expanded clay blocks

    Ceramic blocks are made of red clay, like bricks. But the blocks differ from them more overall dimensions. This option for building walls from ceramic blocks is very similar to the technology for building brick houses.

    Advantages of ceramic blocks:

    • A brief description and description of the main pros and cons will be made between country houses from the following materials:

    • bricks;
    • sawn shell rock;
    • foam blocks;
    • gas blocks;
    • reinforced concrete on fixed formwork;
    • timber or round logs.

    Country house made of bricks

    To build a brick house, a solid foundation is needed, either a deep-buried type or a slab type. This is due to the large load of the entire structure. The load primarily depends on the weight of the building, and masonry bricks cannot be called easy. 1 cube of brick weighs on average 1200-1800 kg. To make it more clear, 5 square meters of a wall 25 cm thick will weigh about 2 tons. Considering that the foundation is massive, the financial costs of construction increase dramatically.

    Brick in its technological range is the "smallest" masonry material. If, for example, it is compared with a shell rock or foam block. Based on this, for the laying of load-bearing walls, a significant amount of binder, that is, a cement-sand mortar, will be required. This also entails significant financial costs.

    The cost of masonry is a very conditional indicator, since it all depends on the desired result. For example, you can save money and buy grade 2 bricks. Considering that the brick initially has discrepancies and small irregularities, you can order dirty masonry from the construction team and in this case save a little. The result is load-bearing walls that require mandatory plastering. This is where the catch lies, the money saved on grade 2 bricks and dirty masonry will go completely to plastering work.

    Brick houses have good heat and sound insulation, good durability

    The second option is when a brick is purchased premium and a clean masonry for jointing is ordered from specialists. Initially, more money is spent than in the first case, but as a result, load-bearing walls are obtained that do not require external facade decoration at all. Plaster only finishes the inner surface of the walls.

    At first glance, it may seem that brick construction is a very costly undertaking. However, a brick house has its own row positive qualities. Not bad, but not the best thermal insulation and sound insulation, good seismic resistance, high strength and long service life of the building, about 100 years or more.

    Attention! Given the high strength of the main walls, absolutely any type of roof can be mounted on them, so you can already try to save on roofing material.

    Houses from sawn shell rock (cauldron)

    Construction of a house from sawn shell rock (cauldron) is not available in any region. The main quarries and mines where kotelets are mined are located in the southern regions. According to its structure, the cauldron is a stone with the correct rectangular shape, dimensions 39x19x20 cm. The structure of the stone is relatively porous, but the cauldron has fairly good strength and low thermal conductivity.

    To build a house from a cauldron, as in the case of a brick, a good capital foundation is needed. Therefore, choosing this material, we advise you to immediately calculate the cost of pouring a monolithic reinforced concrete foundation.

    Considering that the cauldron is almost 3.5-4 times larger in volume than a brick, much less binder cement-sand mortar will be required for masonry. Here the boiler outperforms the brick, however, the walls of sawn shell rock will have to be plastered. A variant with a fine classic masonry from a cauldron, not very suitable for residential buildings. Clean masonry with jointing from a cauldron can only be used for the construction of non-residential buildings, for example, a garage or a fence.

    The load-bearing walls from the boiler are “warm”, have good sound insulation, below average waterproofing and excellent strength. Boiler walls, like brick walls, have high strength and seismic resistance, which allows them to make roofs of any design, type and from any materials.

    Country house from foam blocks

    load-bearing walls country house of the foam blocks are the warmest when compared among the masonry stone. The thermal conductivity of the foam block is only 0.2 - 0.4 W / (m * K), and for example, for the same brick, it is about 0.8 W / (m * K). The lower the thermal conductivity, the less cold penetrates into the housing in winter period at sub-zero temperatures.

    At a cost, a foam block is about 2 times cheaper than a brick and 1.5 times cheaper than a boiler, if we compare the price for 1 m / cu. At the same time, even less masonry bonding mortar is required for the construction of walls than when using a boiler. This is due to the large dimensions of the foam blocks 20x30x60 cm. As a binder solution for foam blocks, not a cement-sand mortar is used, but an adhesive mass, which makes it possible to obtain a thin seam between adjacent stones with a thickness of only 5 mm.

    For the construction of main walls from foam blocks, it is not at all necessary to make a massive foundation. Yes, the foundation must be solid and made of reinforced concrete, however, the foundation strip can be laid only 90-100 cm, that is, below the freezing point of the soil for the middle lane. This is due to the fact that the foam block has a light weight compared to brick. 1 m3 of foam blocks weighs about 600 kg.

    Any medal has a reverse side, the foam block is no exception. Possessing good thermal insulation and sound insulation, this stone has poor waterproofing. The structure of the foam block is very porous, not that it passes water, but it absorbs moisture like a sponge. Due to poor quality, the walls of a country house made of foam blocks must be plastered, after which, in most cases, they are puttied with waterproof embossed facade putty.

    It is worth mentioning another drawback. Compared to brick or koteltsovy capital walls, walls made of foam blocks have less strength. That is, in general, the building is earthquake-resistant and durable, but the choice of design and materials for the manufacture of the roof is limited.

    Advice. Most often, on cottages from foam blocks, a light roof is made of metal tiles or flexible shingles. You will have to forget about the classic ceramic tiles forever.

    Country cottage from gas blocks

    The gas block is the same masonry stone as the foam block. The thermal conductivity of the gas block is approximately 0.2 W / (m * K), which also does not emit this masonry material. In general, the gas block is as good in terms of thermal and sound insulation qualities as the foam block, however, the gas block has greater strength and better waterproofing.

    A house made of gas blocks is stronger and more resistant to moisture than a house made of foam blocks

    The whole point lies in the difference in the composition of masonry materials. Foam blocks are made from cement, sand and water, and aluminum powder is used as a foaming agent, which, in reaction with water (H2O) and oxygen (O2), produces a reaction in the form of a huge amount of oxygen bubbles. These bubbles form the porous structure of the foam block. Two more components were introduced into the composition of the gas block: quartz sand, which increases the strength of the structure, and lime, which increases the strength of the connection between particles of ordinary and quartz sand in the structure.

    Considering the increased strength of the material, almost any type of roof can be mounted on the load-bearing walls made of gas blocks, and the outer walls can not be plastered. cement-sand mortar, but just putty with facade waterproof putty. There is only one minus for gas blocks - this is a high price compared to foam blocks.

    Country house made of reinforced concrete on fixed formwork

    The construction technology is relatively new, it is no more than 15 years old. The construction technology is as follows. On the surface of the fabricated strip foundation a fixed formwork is installed, consisting of two sheets of dense polystyrene foam (polystyrene). No supports or formwork struts are required. The distance of 20 cm between two parallel sheets of expanded polystyrene is set by special plastic holders, which are fixed to the sheets.

    The height of the foam sheets is not more than 25 cm. Having thus installed the formwork around the entire perimeter, it is reinforced by passing reinforcement or reinforcing cages between the sheets of foam plastic and the entire formwork is poured with liquid concrete. After that, they begin to install the second row of formwork, etc. In one day, 2-3 rows of formwork are poured with concrete in this way.

    The advantage of this technology is that the walls are the most durable, which is important for areas located in an unstable seismic zone. In addition, a record-breaking construction period stands out. The walls of an ordinary one-story country house are raised in 7-9 working days. Another advantage is that the process of manufacturing load-bearing walls takes place in parallel with their internal and external insulation.

    Attention! The downside of the construction technology on fixed formwork is the high consumption of by no means cheap liquid concrete and reinforcing elements.

    Country houses made of timber or logs

    For the construction of a house from a bar, a bar with a section of 100x150 mm or 150x150 mm is mainly used. And for the construction of a house from logs, logs with a diameter of 15 to 25 cm are used. It must be said right away that construction wooden house compared to housing from any of the above stones, it is much cheaper.

    Timber houses require mandatory regular treatment from moisture

    Saving starts from the very beginning, that is, from the foundation. For a wooden country house, it is not at all necessary to make a reinforced concrete foundation; it is quite possible to get by with the manufacture of a pile-screw or columnar type of foundation. The installation of walls itself also does not imply the use of any kind of binder solution or glue. The fastening of the timber to each other in the wall structure is carried out on dowels, and the walls of rounded logs are mounted using chopped or sawn cups.

    The catch of such cheap and environmentally friendly walls lies in their increased vulnerability to moisture. And if there are a huge number of ways to protect the same walls from foam blocks from moisture, for example, plaster, putty, etc., then to protect wood from decay, there is only a small set of liquid emulsions that need to be impregnated with wood before the construction of load-bearing walls . Another disadvantage of wooden housing is the increased risk of fire, which will require you to fork out a lot when doing electrical wiring, which is more demanding than when building stone walls.

    We have no right to specifically recommend or impose this or that building material or technology. Everyone chooses according to their personal preferences and based on their own financial capabilities. In this article, we have only tried to give brief description various construction technologies, and you decide what is more promising for you.

    What material is better to build a house from - video

    Read the article to the end and you will find out: what materials are best used today to build the walls of a house, what are their advantages and disadvantages. And also: at the end of the article - interesting reader poll regarding this issue.

    Let's see what houses are built from today. More specifically, what materials are used to build the walls. We will present the information “without water” and structured. First, consider the most popular building materials, and then - those that are used less frequently.

    Of course, each material has its pros and cons. Therefore, we will also talk about this. So…

    Popular materials for building walls at home

    There are many. Let's start with the most proven and reliable option.

    Ceramic brick (red)

    Made from clay - an environmentally friendly material. Firing gives it a red color, and also improves strength properties.

    Previously, houses were built mainly of brick. And they performed well. We can say briefly about this material: this is a classic ... Time-tested.

    Pros of red brick:

    • high strength;
    • reliability;
    • the ability to withstand heavy loads for a long time.

    Cons of brick:

    • high cost of the material;
    • complex and expensive masonry (highly skilled workers are required);
    • relatively large construction time.

    Red brick houses are always in price. They are reliable, durable, warm enough (with a wall thickness of 60 cm or more). Such a house after construction and after 25 years can be sold at a good price. because brick houses and serve for 100 years.

    Ceramic blocks (porous ceramics)

    Modern material for the walls of the house. In fact, the same red brick, only with numerous voids. It is made by firing the same clay. However, this creates voids in the material, which significantly improve its thermal insulation properties. In addition, sawdust is added to the raw material during production. When fired, they burn out, due to which microscopic pores are formed.

    Advantages of porous ceramics:

    • excellent thermal insulation properties;
    • ecological cleanliness;
    • large-format blocks (laying is done quite quickly);
    • less weight (and therefore less load on the foundation).

    Flaws:

    • high price;
    • reduced bearing capacity and strength (compared to solid ceramic bricks);
    • increased fragility (especially noticeable during transportation, loading / unloading);
    • easily absorbs moisture.

    By the way, one point should be noted regarding the strength characteristics ... Manufacturers often claim that porous ceramic blocks (used for the construction of load-bearing walls) correspond in strength to M100 concrete. For example, you can often hear that "the strength is the same as that of a regular solid red brick." However… in practice this does not always work out. Different manufacturers have different strength of porous ceramics. Therefore, when buying, you need to be vigilant.

    Despite the shortcomings, now this material is very popular. It is used for the construction of luxury houses.

    aerated concrete

    The material is a kind of cellular concrete. Produced from quartz sand, cement, special blowing agents. In addition, lime, gypsum, as well as slag and other industrial waste are used. The output is a material with an open porous structure (pore diameter is approximately equal to 1...3 mm).

    Advantages of aerated concrete:

    • small mass;
    • low thermal conductivity;
    • ease of machining;
    • good strength;
    • relatively low price.

    Disadvantages of aerated concrete:

    • strongly absorbs moisture (due to the open porous structure);
    • increased fragility (a reliable foundation is required to exclude even small subsidence).

    Now the popularity of aerated concrete is at its height. Indeed, for a relatively small price, you can get a warm and quite durable house. Due to the low thermal conductivity, it is possible to build walls of much thinner thickness than, for example, in the case of red brick. This further reduces the cost of masonry material. In addition, the labor cost of workers is noticeably lower. Aerated concrete houses are built relatively easily and quickly.

    foam concrete

    Also a type of cellular concrete. Unlike aerated concrete, this material has a closed porous structure. It is made from sand, cement, foaming agent and water.

    The production technology of foam concrete is quite simple. The production does not require expensive equipment. And I must say that this fact gives not only a plus, but also adds an important minus: there is a lot of foam concrete on the market made by dubious private firms (handicraft production). Accordingly, the quality of such material cannot be high.

    Advantages of foam concrete:

    • light weight;
    • good thermal insulation properties;
    • ease of processing (easy to drill, saw);
    • due to the closed porous structure (the pores are closed), foam concrete does not absorb moisture as much as aerated concrete.

    Disadvantages of foam concrete:

    • poor vapor permeability (walls "do not breathe", a good ventilation system is required);
    • almost does not work on bending;
    • over time, it shrinks significantly (which means cracking is possible).

    Despite significant disadvantages, foam concrete is used for the construction of residential buildings. Also, this material is used for sound and heat insulation - walls, roofs, floors, etc.

    Wood

    Natural material, time-tested. Wood houses have been built since ancient times. This material has not lost its popularity even today.

    And there is different technologies construction wooden houses. So, they can be built from a log house (the old method) - when the trunks are cut to the required length, locks and grooves are made in them, and then they are laid, creating walls.

    There is also a method of construction from rounded beams. In this case, the logs in production are processed to a smooth surface, marked. In this case, the bars can be planed, sawn, glued.

    Advantages of wood:

    • relatively affordable price(compared to other expensive materials);
    • ecological cleanliness;
    • excellent thermal insulation characteristics;
    • aesthetic and attractive appearance;
    • no need to build a strong foundation;
    • a sufficiently long service life (with proper construction and care) - naturally, different types of wood have different wear resistance;
    • ease of machining.

    Disadvantages of wood:

    Despite the shortcomings, houses built of wood have been and will always be in price. It is pleasant to be in a wooden house, it is easy to breathe. It is cozy and comfortable. In a word, wood.

    shell rock

    It is absolutely environmentally friendly material, completely natural origin. The rock of this stone is porous, carbonate. It consists of pressed shells. Hence the name - "shell rock" (also called "shell rock", "limestone").

    The stone is different in density, shape, type and number of shells that form its basis. Accordingly, the strength, aesthetic and other characteristics of different shells can vary greatly.

    However, in general, the following can be said about the pros and cons of this stone.

    Shell rock benefits:

    • complete ecological cleanliness (surpasses even wood, as it requires impregnation with special protective substances);
    • does not accumulate radiation (usually it is below the sensitivity level of measuring instruments);
    • relatively low price (except for delivery);
    • high construction speed (for example, it can be sawn into blocks 490 × 240x188 mm in size);
    • dense stone has a fairly high strength (suitable for the construction of load-bearing walls).

    Disadvantages of shell rock:

    • increased ability to absorb moisture (especially for porous and low-strength stone) - higher than that of ceramic bricks;
    • the dimensions of the blocks are inaccurate, significant deviations are often observed (due to the fact that the blocks are not stamped, but cut out);
    • in terms of thermal conductivity, it is inferior to brick, aerated concrete, wood and some other materials;
    • often there is heterogeneity in density and strength (the material is completely natural origin).

    The attitude of people to this stone is ambiguous. In some regions, most of the houses are built from this stone. In others, they practically do not build because of the existing significant shortcomings and give preference to other building materials for building walls. Of course, this is also due to the fact that the delivery of stone to some regions can be expensive and unprofitable.

    Other building materials for building walls

    Now let's list what is used less often. And there are advantages here too.

    Expanded clay concrete

    It is made by pressing from a mixture of water, sand, cement and expanded clay (which is made from clay). Additionally, voids of various volumes and shapes (for example, rectangular, cylindrical) can be made in blocks.

    Masonry is usually performed using a reinforcing mesh (after 3-4 rows).

    Advantages of expanded clay concrete:

    • low thermal conductivity;
    • good strength (higher than, for example, aerated concrete);
    • relatively low price;
    • environmental cleanliness (in fact, the basis is clay);
    • small mass (due to the presence of a porous and lightweight material - expanded clay);
    • manufacturing technology is quite simple (you can make it yourself);
    • durability (tested by time);
    • good vapor permeability (walls "breathe").

    Cons of expanded clay concrete:

    • Increased water absorption (need waterproofing, protection from external atmospheric influences);
    • Requires a solid foundation;
    • The presence of cold bridges (it is problematic to make thin seams due to significant deviations in the size of the blocks);
    • There is a material of "handicraft" production with low quality (due to the simplicity of manufacturing technology).

    It should also be noted that expanded clay concrete is quite versatile. Suitable for both the construction of load-bearing walls in low-rise construction, and for the construction of partitions, floors, ceilings. This material is often used simply as a heater.

    Arbolit

    Refers to lightweight concrete. Another name is also used - wood concrete blocks. Cement, water, organic aggregates, chemical additives are used for manufacturing. Moreover, different materials can be used as fillers (80-90% of the total volume) - wood chips (often), flax or hemp fire, cotton stalks, etc.

    Chemical additives are used to eliminate the negative impact of organic matter on the cement hardening process. It can be: liquid glass, calcium chloride, aluminum sulfate, etc.

    Arbolite advantages:

    • environmental friendliness;
    • low thermal conductivity (you can do without a heater);
    • good fire resistance (does not support combustion, and when exposed to fire it only chars);
    • the speed of building walls (blocks of sufficiently large sizes);
    • high bending strength (has the ability to restore shape after exposure to loads - due to the presence of wood particles);
    • a powerful foundation is not required (as, for example, for aerated concrete);
    • you can easily screw screws into the walls, hammer in nails (they hold securely).

    Disadvantages of wood concrete:

    • protection from moisture is required (due to the presence of organic substances in the composition);
    • in some regions the material is difficult to find;
    • the price can be clearly overstated by the manufacturer (therefore, making wood concrete with your own hands is popular).

    In general, we can say that this is a pretty good building material for building walls. Moreover, if you wish, you can make it yourself.

    It is used for low-rise buildings (usually up to 3 floors). It can be both residential buildings and commercial buildings.

    cinder block

    This stone is produced by vibrocompression or natural shrinkage of cinder concrete mortar is used. The binder is cement, the filler is slag from metallurgical production.

    However, it must be emphasized right away that at present it is customary to consider all stones that are made by vibrocompression from concrete mortar as cinder blocks. As a filler, in addition to slag, granite screenings, broken bricks, hardened cement, cullet, etc. can also be used.

    In this case, the resulting blocks can be both full-bodied and with voids (which, in turn, can be of different shapes and sizes).

    Advantages of cinder block:

    • does not burn;
    • not afraid of temperature changes;
    • long service life (about 100 years);
    • affordable price;
    • good sound insulation;
    • retains heat well (due to the porous structure), although it is inferior in this regard to some other materials (for example, aerated concrete);
    • high strength;
    • building walls is easier than, for example, laying bricks (the block sizes are much larger).

    Cons of cinder block:

    • Hygroscopic (capable of absorbing moisture by 75%) - waterproofing is needed;
    • The walls still need to be insulated;
    • The composition may contain substances of dubious origin that can have a toxic effect on the human body (production waste makes itself felt);
    • the environmental friendliness of the blocks depends on the integrity of the manufacturer;
    • the high strength of the material makes it difficult to lay cables and pipes in it;
    • the walls have an unpresentable appearance (therefore, finishing is required).

    In general, we can say that cinder block is a good material for building walls. It is also used for laying the foundation, building partitions.

    However, many are stopped by the question of harmfulness. Therefore, for residential buildings, they often prefer to use other options - brick, aerated concrete, etc. A cinder block - for outbuildings, garages, fences.

    Building materials for the walls of the house: draw conclusions

    As you can see, today the market offers many options for solving this issue. The house can be built the way you want - not only in appearance, but also in terms of thermal insulation, strength and other characteristics.

    Therefore, choose the best material for building the walls of the house and ... for work.

    And now, as promised, a survey among our readers.

    Interview

    What is better to build the walls of the house? How do you think?

    Despite the fact that everything seems to be in order with oil and gas production in Russia, the price of energy resources in our country is steadily growing. And now, following the countries of Europe, the Russian Federation adopted in 2003 new norms for the thermal resistance of enclosing and load-bearing structures (SNiP 23-02-2003 "Thermal protection of buildings"). But even before the adoption of new SNiPs, new effective building materials and technologies came to us (and continue to come).

    What should be the walls (enclosing structures) of the house in order to comply with the norms of building heat engineering? The answer to this question is not entirely clear. If we carry out calculations, it turns out that, for example, Brick wall should be 2.3 m thick, and concrete - 6 m. Therefore, the construction of the walls should be combined, that is, multi-layered. Moreover, one "layer" in this case will perform a bearing function, and the other - to ensure heat conservation. A certain difficulty lies in the fact that the parts of this "layer cake" are too different in their physical and chemical properties. Therefore, in order to combine them, one has to come up with ingenious construction technologies.

    A bit of physics

    What parameters seem to be the most important when choosing a material for building an energy-efficient warm house? This is, first of all, the bearing capacity of the material, as well as its heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Let's dwell on the latter.

    The heat capacity unit - kJ / (kg ° C) - indicates how much thermal energy is contained in 1 kg of material with a temperature of 1 degree Celsius. For example, consider two well-known building materials - wood and concrete. The heat capacity of the first is 2.3, and the second is 0.84 kJ / (kg ° C) (according to SNiPam II-3-79). It turns out that wood is a much more heat-intensive material, and more thermal energy is required to heat it, and when it cools, it will give off environment more joules. Concrete heats up faster and cools down faster. However, these figures can only be obtained in theory if we compare 1 kg of absolutely dry wood and 1 kg of concrete. For building practice, these conventional values ​​​​are practically useless, because if you make a conversion per square meter of real wood or concrete wall, for example, at 20 cm, then the picture changes. Here is a small table in which, for comparison, 1 m² of a wall 20 cm thick is taken from different materials(at a temperature of 20 °C).

    From the above figures, it can be seen that for heating 1 m² of a concrete wall by 1 degree, it will be necessary to generate almost 20 times more thermal energy than for heating a wooden one. That is, wood or frame house can be heated to the desired temperature much faster than concrete or brick, because the weight (mass) of brick and concrete is greater. Let us also recall that in addition to specific heat capacity, there is also thermal conductivity of building materials. This property characterizes the intensity of heat transfer in the material. With an increase in temperature, humidity and density of the substance, the thermal conductivity coefficient increases. The thermal resistance of a homogeneous building envelope, defined as the ratio of the thermal conductivity coefficient of the wall material to the wall thickness in meters, should not be less than the required heat transfer resistance (depends on the temperature of the coldest five-day period in the region and other climatic parameters).

    For the Moscow region, the resistance to heat transfer is in the range of 3.1–3.2 m·°С/W. And in Novosibirsk, where winter frosts reach an average of 42 ° C, this figure is much higher. It should also be borne in mind that not only walls take part in the heating processes, but in general everything that is inside the house - ceiling structures, floors, windows, furniture, as well as air. The architectural features of the enclosing structures and the presence of "cold bridges" play a significant role.

    Wood as a building material

    For comfort in the house, a combination of sufficient heat capacity and low thermal conductivity of the wall material is important. In this regard, the tree has no equal. it's the same good stuff for seasonal residences, in which the owners come only occasionally in winter. Wooden house, not heated for a long time, perceives a sharp change in temperature better. The condensate formed when the heating is turned on is partially absorbed by the wood. Then the walls gradually release the accumulated moisture to the heated air, thereby helping to maintain a favorable microclimate in the living quarters. Used in construction conifers: spruce, pine, larch, fir, and cedar. In terms of price / quality ratio, pine is the most in demand. Its heat capacity is 2.3–2.7 kJ/(kg K). Along with the ancient technology of manual felling, houses built from rounded logs, profiled and ordinary timber, gun carriage, and glued timber have also gained popularity.

    Whatever you choose, keep in mind the general rule for wooden walls - the thicker the better. And here you will have to proceed from the capabilities of your wallet, since with an increase in the thickness of the log, the cost of the material and the price of work increase. In order to meet the required heat engineering standard, a log (rounded or hand-cut) must be at least 28 cm in diameter, and a profiled beam must be at least 24 cm thick. Then the house can not be insulated from the outside. Meanwhile, the most common size of profiled timber is 20 × 20 cm, length up to 6 m.

    So the developer will have to immediately calculate and decide how thick the walls to build: 20 × 20 cm, followed by insulation with mineral wool and sheathing (siding, clapboard, facade panels) or thicker without insulation and sheathing. Separately, let's say about the usual (not profiled) timber measuring 15 × 15 cm. It is very popular in cottage construction, but nevertheless, it is better not to build a house for year-round use from such material. It is only suitable for a small summer garden house. However, the appearance of such a house is unlikely to please you. No matter how hard you try to caulk the gaps between the crowns, they still appear due to warping and uneven shrinkage of the wood. Birds take away caulking for nesting. Under the slanting summer rain, the wall gets wet through, and there is no need to talk about freezing in winter.

    If you nevertheless chose this type of construction, then first wait for the new log house to settle (six months or a year) and proceed to its external insulation and cladding. The hinged insulation system (ventilated facade) will be optimal. Note that from the inside wooden walls warming is undesirable and even harmful. Glued laminated timber is somewhat superior to massive timber and round logs in terms of strength and hardness. Due to its layered structure, the product is not subject to cracking and warping, and is resistant to decay. However, the thermal performance of laminated veneer lumber is only slightly better than that of a conventional pine log. In a house made of timber, where the walls are 20 cm thick, you can live in winter. However, heating will be expensive.

    Such housing also does not meet the requirements of SNiP 23.02–2003 "Thermal protection of buildings" (for the middle band Ro = 3.49 m² °C / W). Meanwhile, the cost of houses made of glued laminated timber varies between 40-80 thousand rubles. per m². The question arises, is it worth spending first on walls 20 cm thick, and then on insulation and cladding? Yes, and it's a pity to cover a very decorative surface of glued laminated timber with a hinged facade. So this is where you need to think hard. For comparison, a house made of hand-cut logs will cost 40–70 thousand rubles. per m², the average cost of a house made of logs and profiled timber will be about 20-25 thousand rubles. for 1 m².

    Competent insulation of wooden walls

    With the help of special dowels, heat-insulating basalt wool slabs are attached to the walls. To prevent atmospheric moisture from penetrating into the insulation, the plates are tightened with a superdiffusion hydro-windproof membrane (film). Such membranes protect the facade from rain, snow, condensation and wind. At the same time, they pass well the steam coming from inside the house. Further, guide rails for fastening are nailed to the walls with a certain step. finishing material. Finishing can be vinyl siding, wooden lining of different widths and thicknesses, block house (planed board, made in the form of a rounded log segment) and other materials. It is important to leave air at the top and bottom to ensure air circulation in the ventilation ducts formed by the wooden guide rails.

    Frame construction technologies

    Perhaps not everyone knows, but the frame structure is one of the oldest. An example of this is half-timbered houses with a rigid supporting frame made of racks, beams and braces. Our ancestors filled the space between the frame elements with a kind of insulation - reeds or straw mixed with clay, or more reliable material - raw bricks. The frame was covered with tar so that it would not rot, and the clay filling was plastered and whitewashed. Part of the frame was usually left in plain sight, so half-timbered houses have a distinctive black and white appearance. The thermal performance of such a house is excellent, it is cool in summer and warm in winter.

    To date, options frame technology there is a lot. Many countries, primarily northern ones, have contributed to their creation and development: these are Canada, the USA, Germany, Scandinavian countries. However, the principle is still the same: wooden or metal racks, united by horizontal strapping, are sheathed on the outside with sheet materials (oriented strand board, cement-bonded particle board, waterproof plywood, etc.). The internal space is filled with an effective insulation - mineral basalt wool. A vapor barrier film is mounted on the inside, and a hydro-windproof membrane is pulled on the outside. Followed by decorative trim walls.

    A frame or frame-panel house built in accordance with all the rules will serve you faithfully for decades. Frame and frame-panel houses can be partially or completely made from prefabricated elements, brought to the construction site and quickly assembled on site. They do not need powerful foundations; pile and bored structures are suitable.

    A frame house can take on any appearance and look like wood, brick, stone, plastered. The same can be said about interior decoration. The choice is huge: fiberboard, plaster, drywall, wallpaper, painting, wooden lining, panels and other materials. It is convenient to place communications, electrical wires, heating pipes in the depths of frame walls, which has a positive effect on interior design.

    After the installation of the equipment and the completion of the finishing, the frame house is completely ready for living. If you are in your country house short trips, on weekends and holidays, there is practically no alternative to the frame structure. It can be quickly, literally in the evening, warmed up. But if the heating is turned off, the "ice age" will come just as quickly. This is because, unlike concrete and brick, there is practically nowhere for a frame wall to retain heat. Even wood paneling cannot cope with this function due to its small mass. And at mineral wool another calling: it plays the role of a reliable boundary between two temperature environments - cold external and warm internal. So it will not work to heat the frame house for the future.

    As for the price, general rule"Cheap is not good" works here too. Excessive savings on the construction site is inappropriate. Price square meter strongly depends on the manufacturer of building elements, on the distance to the construction site, the wages of workers. On average, a turnkey house will cost about 19-24 thousand rubles. per 1 m² of total area.

    Clay brick has always been a symbol of something stable and indestructible. Indeed, the brick is durable, frost-resistant, immune to atmospheric influences. But the thermal performance of the material leaves much to be desired. Brick products can be divided into three groups:

    1. Full-bodied products: ordinary brick (density 1700–1800 kg / m³, thermal conductivity coefficient 0.6–0.7 W / m ° C); conditionally effective brick (density 1400–1600 kg / m³, thermal conductivity coefficient 0, 35–0.5 W / m ° C); efficient brick (density less than 1100 kg / m³, thermal conductivity coefficient 0.18–0.25 W / m ° C).

    2. Hollow bricks with voids from 5 to 40%. This can also include facing products.

    3. Porous bricks, including large-format stone bricks. The low coefficient of thermal conductivity of the latter is achieved due to closed air pores, as well as the special structure of the material with voids in the form of honeycombs.

    If we take into account walls with a thickness of 510 mm or 640 mm, covered with the necessary layer of "warm" plaster, then only effective ceramic products reach the norm. Walls made of solid and conditionally efficient bricks need additional insulation. To solve this problem, three options are proposed: the installation of a plaster heat-insulating system, the installation of a hinged facade insulation system (ventilated facade) and the construction of three-layer walls with a heat-insulating layer.

    A brick house is good for permanent residence. Brick structures "breathe", that is, they are able to provide air exchange in the thickness of the walls, and have a solid thermal inertia. Having warmed up, such a wall keeps heat for a long time even with minimal heating, gradually giving it to the surrounding space. That is, if the heating unit suddenly breaks down, then it will be possible to hold out for a long time until the arrival of repairmen in a more or less comfortable atmosphere.

    Cellular concrete

    Aerated concrete is a collective term that combines finely porous building materials based on a mineral binder (lime, cement). This includes large-format blocks made of aerated concrete, gas silicate, foam concrete and foam silicate. Expanded polystyrene concrete is distinguished into an independent category. The structure of the listed materials is formed by small air pores (cells). It is they that give products made of cellular concrete a high thermal insulation capacity and a relatively small volumetric mass.

    Walls built using the technology of single-row block masonry do not require additional insulation. They also do not need a strong foundation. In terms of its environmental and other characteristics, this material is close to wood, but compares favorably with it in that it does not burn and does not deform when humidity changes. At the same time, in terms of its thermal performance, a wall made of cellular concrete is superior to a brick one.

    In order for the walls of aerated concrete to be of the desired quality, the masonry is carried out on a special mineral glue. This ensures the thickness of the joints is only 1–3 mm (for comparison, masonry on a cement-sand mortar gives joints of 12–15 mm). At the same time, heat losses are significantly reduced, because thick seams are real "cold bridges" through which heat leaves the house. Foam concrete is more affordable than aerated concrete (for comparison, the first one will cost 1300 rubles / m³, and the second - 2800 rubles / m³), ​​so many developers turn their eyes to it. But the point is that foam concrete blocks can be produced on special mobile installations in a rather artisanal way. Therefore, small businesses are often engaged in their manufacture.

    To obtain a finely porous structure, special substances are used - foaming agents. For the most part, these are tanning extracts from the leather industry, various lyes, etc., that is, organic compounds that have a limited shelf life and different foaming abilities. To reduce the cost of production, instead of quartz sand, manufacturers use substitutes in the form of industrial waste: fly ash, slag, etc. The hardening of the blocks occurs in natural conditions. The process proceeds unevenly, causing shrinkage deformations. All this leads to, to put it mildly, vague technical specifications final product. The material has sufficient strength and retains heat well, but subject to manufacturing in accordance with all the rules.