Monolithic foam concrete: advantages and disadvantages, application in construction

Monolithic foam concrete is used today in many areas of construction. This fact can not be called surprising, since the material has excellent performance characteristics. If you compare with other solutions, the foam concrete differs in that it can be manufactured directly on the construction site or in the plant.

Manufacturing technology

The production of foam concrete began to develop actively after in Russia and some other countries the requirements for thermal insulation of buildings became tougher. Therefore, high-performance materials, corresponding to all necessary norms, began to appear on the market.

Make foam concrete using cement and sand, from which the solution is kneaded. After the composition is subjected to aeration. The air temperature on the construction site should not fall below +10 degrees. If we mention the stages of work, the concrete mixer is filled with liquid, then sand and cement are poured into the rotating drum. At the next stage, the finished foam is packed, the composition is mixed and fed into the pre-made formwork. To increase the strength of the structure used reinforcement. Quite often, a non-removable formwork is used, which is made in such a way that it is possible to strengthen the finish layer from the outside. The most popular ones are glass-magnesite sheets.

Density

If you use this technology, you will be able to reduce the consumption of foam concrete and foam itself, speeding up work and reducing financial costs. Control of the quality of the material produced can be done during the filling of the mixture by the density measurement method and by testing the samples. To ensure that the house was provided with high-quality thermal insulation, foam concrete should be used, the width of which will be equal to 250 millimeters. While the density should be about 200 kilograms per cubic meter.

The main advantages of foam concrete

The production of foam concrete can be carried out by you alone on the construction site, this is one of the main advantages of this material. Among other things, the walls are sound and heat-insulated, and heating costs can be reduced by 30%. Further finishing is simplified, the walls are durable and reliable.

If you use a monolithic foam concrete in the construction of a house, then a good microclimate will be provided inside, since the material is capable of maintaining a favorable humidity and temperature. In the summer, the premises will not overheat, and in winter the heat will remain well inside. Quite often, consumers choose foam concrete for the reason that it is environmentally friendly. During the manufacturing process no harmful substances are used, no toxic components are formed during operation.

The walls are fireproof, they do not burn under the influence of high temperatures. The tests carried out show that the foam concrete is completely safe. Because it can be used to create any design, cellular concrete is used to form arches, pyramids and other complex structures. In the process of construction, you will understand that it is economical, and you can use it to achieve different goals. For example, for the manufacture of panels, interfloor overlappings and roof insulation.

Main disadvantages

If you decide to build a house from a monolithic foam concrete, you should consider that it can be done only by a skeleton method. This indicates that all the disadvantages of such constructions will be expected by residents without fail. When designing and installing, you can face some difficulties. After all, the person who has experience in construction will be able to pick up the material for the frame (formwork).

The material is demanding for insulation, which must be selected carefully, otherwise the useful properties of the foam concrete will come to naught. Despite the fact that the environmental friendliness is at a high level, some manufacturers use synthetic blowing agents in the manufacturing process, which can not be called safe. But their composition, as a rule, is less than half of a percent.

Monolithic foam concrete, the reviews of which may be negative, has a high hardness, but one should not ignore the fragility of the material. The walls will be able to undergo high loads in a static position, but a sharp blow can cause cracks. This indicates the need for careful operation. Among other things, the concrete needs to be reinforced.

The use of a metal frame can cause additional costs. If you decide to choose a monolithic foam concrete for construction, it is recommended to consider the minuses of the material in advance. Among them it is necessary to allocate high porosity, which becomes the cause of water absorption to 15% of the total mass of the material. As practice shows, in general it is not so terrible, however high humidity can lead to loss of the qualities of thermal insulation. Fight this problem by using a large amount of waterproofing, which will separate the material from the external environment. The downside is that the method of carrying out the work can not be called too simple.

Additional disadvantages

Monolithic foam concrete is used in construction today quite often, but it has some disadvantages, namely low vapor barrier, which can cause high humidity inside the premises. In order to form a qualitative foundation for such walls, only a monolithic slab can be used, otherwise cracks can not be avoided. Fill the formed space between the foam concrete walls can only be properly matched adhesive composition. A bad solution is to use a solution of cement and sand. In this case, you risk getting stitches that have a thickness of 3 millimeters or more. In this case, the thermal insulation properties and soundproofing properties will be reduced.

It can not be pleasant and that after the construction of walls with the use of a removable formwork, it is necessary to polish the surface in addition, which complicates the work and makes it more laborious. Monolithic foam concrete, like any other material, shrinks after construction. If you compare with aerated concrete, then it is higher. But if the technology is observed, it will not exceed 0.1%. Maximum shrinkage will occur within 1 month.

Why you should not choose foam concrete

Quite often monolithic foam concrete is poured with the use of fixed formwork, however, if the elements of the frame are used more than once, the material can cause difficulties in finish finishing. Not all materials are well fixed on its surface. When installing decor elements in the wall, it will be easy to drive screws and nails without unnecessary effort, after which they fall back. Inside the channel for installing fasteners the material crumbles, but with bricks or wood such problems do not arise.

Application in construction

Monolithic foam concrete, the manufacturing technology of which was described above and can be mastered by you independently, is used in various construction sectors. This material can be found in screeds, which are made of foam concrete with a density of up to 800 kilograms per cubic meter. The strength is 3.5 MPa. As an additional advantage of such screeds is that they reduce the load on the structure.

Among other things, foam concrete is actively used to insulate a flat roof. The average density should be about 250 kilograms per cubic meter. But the upper protective layer can be made of foam concrete with a density of 600 kilograms per cubic meter.

This material is used in the arrangement of interfloor overlappings, as well as for the thermal insulation of walls. If there is a building made of sand-lime bricks, foam concrete can be used, the density of which starts from 200 kilograms per cubic meter. Warming by this method allows to reduce labor costs and eliminate the need to use expensive and unsafe materials such as expanded polystyrene and mineral wool. You can find the described material in the constructions for the insulation of chimneys. For example, in the conditions of the metallurgical Novolipetsk combine, they refused to use mineral wool, moving to a foam concrete, whose density is 400 kilograms per cubic meter.

Cost of foam concrete

If you decide to use foam concrete in construction, the price of this material should interest you. Acquiring it, you have to pay 4000 rubles. Per cubic meter. This is a density ranging from D400 to D1200, such material is suitable for the device of screeds and other works.

Price of a house made of foam concrete

The cost of a house made of foam concrete can be much lower than using other materials. Thus, for 242 square meters you have to pay 3,500,000 rubles.

Aesthetic qualities

"Monolithic foam concrete, or Building without money." It is this motto that people who choose cellular material for their future home adhere to. But you must take into account that the appearance of the received building may not be very attractive. If you compare with glued beams, the latter option will find more admirers. In addition, penoblok, according to customers, gives a very doubtful freedom of creativity. With the help of cellular material, it is problematic to build an original and beautiful cottage that will repeat the traditions of any style.

Much more often you can see the standard options that do not catch the eye. Foam concrete, the price of which was mentioned above, has a very scarce color scheme. This requires additional finishing and combining with all sorts of materials, which increases costs. After all, the foam block is very unattractive.

Conclusion

Despite the disadvantages of the foam concrete, it does not lose popularity among consumers. If you also decided to build a new house, then you can consider the characteristics of the cellular material.