Building a house: comparison of wall blocks for building a private house - HouseChief - online edition for modern masters

In each region, people are accustomed to building from certain wall materials. In the Ural Federal District, the most popular blocks are: gas block (due to thermal properties), expanded clay block and silicate block (gaining popularity among people).

Comparison of wall blocks

We offer to compare the last two blocks: expanded clay and silicate block.

The cost of erecting walls from the total construction estimate is approximately 30%. Building materials are becoming more expensive, and the desire to live in your own home does not disappear anywhere.

And many are starting to save:

• They use cheap materials: garage blocks, low-quality insulation or used materials
• Violate building rules and regulations

For example, people, thinking first of all about saving, combine incompatible materials (the first floor is made from one material, the second from a completely different one). Or worse - part of the wall from one, and the rest from the other. But you need to remember that different materials give different shrinkage. And they have different properties. Therefore, in order to feel all the advantages of a particular material, you need to build from ONE. And for this you need to carefully prepare for construction, study the properties of materials, compare, communicate with friends, construction companies, manufacturers, etc.

After all, in the house that you build - you will most likely live for a very long time. Therefore, it must be: habitable. And more specifically: it is warm, durable, safe. If you build a house and it will subsequently be cold, damp, uncomfortable, then at best you can add heating, organize forced ventilation and something else. In the worst case, you will have to invest more money in construction: dismantling the facade, replacing or additional insulation, restoring the facade. The same is true with the roof - so the walls and roof of the house should be given special attention.

Therefore, the first thing we advise you to study when choosing materials for construction is the physical and mechanical characteristics of the blocks: strength, thermal efficiency, surface evenness, water absorption, etc. This is what will provide you with durability, safety and comfort. residence.

The table below shows a comparison of the characteristics of the silicate block and expanded clay block.

The characteristics of the materials are taken from the websites of the manufacturers of these materials.

So, the main advantages of the silicate block are, of course, excellent strength characteristics, which are 3 times better than the expanded clay concrete block. And strength means a reliable, strong, durable house. If you plan to build it yourself, then you can put the silicate block on thin-seam glue (mortar). Why? Because the block is even, the geometry is good, the color is white, there are no large inclusions and particles. And with a fine finish, the minimum layer of plaster will be about 5 mm. And this is a very economical expense!

In the photo you can see the differences in color, the thickness of the mortar joints, the smoothness or unevenness of the surface.

And when you start living in your own home, you can be sure of the comfort of living and good sound insulation. And all this thanks to the high rate of sound insulation.

As for the expanded clay block. It also has its benefits. It is slightly warmer than silicate. But at the same time, the one that the other still needs to be insulated with at least 10 cm of a layer of insulation: mineral wool or foam plastic (PPS / EPPS). Also, claydite-concrete blocks have been on the building materials market for a long time, and many have already learned how to build at least a little from them. The silicate block is a relatively new material, so only qualified teams are working with it so far.

Features of work

How to work with these blocks? Usually use a grinder with a diamond disc. Silicate blocks can also be pricked with a guillotine (you can find it for rent or buy).

An important stage of construction. Reinforcing belt (armopoyas) is a structure erected for uniform distribution of loads on load-bearing walls from overlying structures and floor slabs. It is usually done before the installation of floor slabs and installation of the roof.

When building from wall silicate blocks, a reinforcing belt can be omitted. Why? Because the silicate block has a high grade strength, like ceramic brick M150. If the spatial rigidity of the frame is ensured (as part of the IZHS, you have an inner fifth load-bearing wall that connects the load-bearing outer ones). Also, an armored belt will be needed, even if there is a fifth wall, but there is a large opening without a jumper (as in the photo with the expanded clay block below).

This is another plus of the silicate block. When building a house from expanded clay blocks or popular gas blocks, you need to make an armored belt.

Take, for example, a house with an area of ​​100 sq.m. The cost of erecting an armored belt in a house made of expanded clay concrete block is approximately 60 thousand rubles - if there is one floor in the house. And if there are two floors, then, respectively, 2 times more. When choosing silicate blocks for construction, you can save this money.

What is the best way to build a house? How much does it cost to build a house, or rather a box (walls) from a silicate block and expanded clay concrete block?

The answer is in the chart below.

According to the data as of 11/30/2022, based on the prices of the website of the construction and retail network of Moscow. Tyumen

The benefit of using silicate blocks is 15%. Due to a cheaper mesh for reinforcement, less consumption of masonry mortar and plaster (due to the good geometry of the blocks).

Not all regions have silicate block producers. But the products can be delivered to you anywhere. In the Ural Federal District, you can calculate the cost at the factory "Porevit».

So, once again, how to save on construction? And why is it more profitable to build from silicate blocks?

1. Savings on masonry materials and masonry reinforcing mesh
2. Savings on cleaning
3. Savings on the absence of an armored belt (not included in the estimate)

Thus, building from a silicate block can give real savings (without loss of quality) of about 15%! Just imagine.