What material to choose for the construction of country housing? Today, the owners of summer cottages have a truly luxurious choice: you can give preference to traditional materials, among which, for example, natural wood or brick, or you can choose options that appeared on the building materials market much later. For example, many summer residents make the decision to begin the construction of their houses from gas blocks. This material is notable for its affordable price, decent quality, practicality, long service life. In addition, you can build houses from aerated concrete with your own hands.
Advantages and disadvantages of aerated concrete
Aerated concrete blocks - a material that has been used for the construction of urban cottages and country houses for a long time, but it has gained the greatest popularity in the last couple of decades. And this demand for this material is easy to explain, because aerated concrete allows you to make houses of high quality and, at the same time, low-cost.
Among the undoubted advantages of gas blocks:
- relatively light weight - for standard-sized blocks, it is about 30 kg. At the same time, one block will replace 22 bricks, the total mass of which will be about 100 kg. Thus, the laying of aerated concrete becomes much easier with your own hands, the construction is less time-consuming, and the foundation for the future home is faster and more affordable;
- thermal insulation of the material is excellent due to the special porous structure. That is why the use of blocks for the construction of houses in the future will make it possible to significantly save electricity in the heating season (by about 20-25 percent);
- excellent vapor permeability is another important plus of aerated concrete blocks. The walls let in fresh air, and gas exchange prevents mold from developing. The important thing is that a healthy and comfortable microclimate is thus created in the house;
- good sound insulation: in comparison with a brick, ten times better;
gift safety: mineral raw materials used in the manufacture of gas blocks are not susceptible to fire. For four hours, such walls can withstand direct fire; - good frost resistance of the building from aerated concrete;
- the weight of the construction of the blocks is small even with large dimensions. Accordingly, the construction of the building with the involvement of workers and even do-it-yourself work becomes less labor intensive, the speed of construction of houses increases;
- easy wall treatment. Aerated concrete lends itself perfectly to cutting, drilling and other operations necessary for carrying out both the exterior decoration of the building’s facade and various interior work. This is very convenient for those homeowners who plan to carry out repairs themselves, save time and finances by creating stylish architectural and design solutions. In this case, you can save on various communications, because it is easier in aerated concrete than in many other materials to make the necessary holes for subsequent installation of wiring or for laying heating pipes;
- environmental friendliness of building material. In the production of building materials, only natural substances and components are used: aluminum powder, sand, lime. That is why aerated concrete blocks are absolutely safe for life and health. And to breathe in such a house is also comfortable and easy, as in a country house made of wood.
Among the shortcomings of the material, the following can be distinguished:
- in case of non-compliance with the technology of laying blocks in the house in the cold season, it can be very cold;
- the waterproofing of this material is lower than that of most traditional materials;
- the mechanical strength of aerated concrete blocks is also slightly lower than, for example, in brick, the reason for this is the porous structure of the material.
Features of the construction of buildings from gas blocks
Building a house from gas blocks is in many ways similar to the construction of a residential building made of brick or, for example, from foam blocks. Meanwhile, there are a number of features that must be taken into account, especially if the construction is done by yourself.
The first important point is the arrangement of the foundation. Performing the construction of a house from gas blocks, you can appreciate the undoubted advantages of this material already at the stage of creating the foundation of the house. The weight of the walls will be significantly less in comparison with many materials, and therefore, cottage housing can be built on poorly bearing soils - for example, on peatlands, and at the same time not to equip the foundation of deep bedding. You can build a house from gas blocks with your own hands even where it is impossible to build a house of brick or stone.
When erecting walls using aerated concrete blocks, they should be additionally protected from moisture, which is most likely to come from the foundation. Therefore, the first layer of blocks must be laid on a waterproofing layer.
Separately, it should be said about the composition for masonry. For walls made of blocks, cement mortar should be used, because the blocks may not be smooth enough, and the masonry will constantly need to be leveled. Leading manufacturers of material advise using special glue for masonry, which allows construction to be carried out at sub-zero temperatures (up to -15 degrees). At the same time, the seams are thinner than when using cement, and thermal insulation is better.
Starting the construction of a house from this modern material with your own hands, you need to choose blocks of the highest possible height. The use of such blocks will make it possible to erect a building much faster, and the joints in the masonry (which, by the way, are cold bridges) become much smaller. In addition, a building made of gas blocks will be much stronger, since the load from the bending force on such material will be insignificant.
In order to minimize the risk of cracking, it is necessary, when building a house with your own hands, to perform horizontal reinforcement of the walls every three rows of blocks. A monolithic reinforcing belt is another effective way to avoid cracks on the walls of a building.
In the case when the do-it-yourself construction of a house from aerated concrete blocks is carried out using material with a density of 400 kg per cubic meter, and the thickness of the seam is less than 3 millimeters, then additional insulation by existing standards will not be required. A building of this modern material will be economical, durable, reliable. Start to build a summer house from the first warm days - and very soon you will be able to celebrate a housewarming!
We also recommend watching a video about building a house from this material: