The market for materials for private housing construction is constantly growing. Among the assortment range you can find: cellular concrete, profiled timber and brick. These are the most common solutions, but today it is customary to use more modern options for private housing construction.
Modern construction solution
This list is not complete. It can be supplemented with sandwich panels that help in solving the problem when the question arises of easy, quick and economical construction of a house. This technology is relatively new. In a short time, she quickly gained popularity.
Description of houses
A house made of metal sandwich panels is a building whose walls are built from products manufactured in the factory. At the same time, high-performance equipment is used. Such panels consist of three layers and are a kind of sandwich.
Between the two outer sheets is a layer of insulation. The thicker and better quality it is, the more comfortable the conditions in the house will be. There may be different materials inside, for example:
- polyurethane foam;
- mineral wool;
- polystyrene foam;
- fiberglass.
Types of panels
Depending on where the sandwich panels will be used, they can be roofing or wall. The latter are distributed on simple profiled, smooth or decorative profiled. Roofing panels can be profiled on one or both sides. For private housing construction, the latter option is rarely used, because inside the house has yet to do wall decoration.
Choosing the best panels
Houses made of metal sandwich panels have different characteristics depending on what the walls are based on. If you want to complete a building with outstanding characteristics, you should take the choice of material more seriously. An important factor in this is the type of insulation. For example, polystyrene foam is durable and environmentally friendly, which does not allow moisture to pass and also retains heat perfectly. Among its shortcomings should be highlighted fire hazard.
Polyurethane foam has the lowest thermal conductivity, it is resistant to chemicals and has excellent waterproofing properties. Mineral wool can also be located inside, it is not combustible, characterized by environmental friendliness and safety. Among other things, it retains heat well. The disadvantage is the low resistance to water, so the walls will require additional waterproofing.
A house made of metal sandwich panels can be warmer if you choose the right thickness for the products. An increase in thickness can lead to an increase in thermal insulation properties, but will also contribute to a decrease in usable area. Choosing thicker panels, you may encounter installation difficulties, in addition, you will have to pay a higher cost for the material. In view of this, you should optimally calculate the thickness of the panels.
Before you start building a house from metal sandwich panels, you must also pay attention to the manufacturer. On the Russian market you can find sandwich panels from about 2 hundred manufacturing companies. The largest are:
- Ruukki-Ventall;
- "Electrical switchboard";
- Mosstroy-31;
- KZLK;
- "Thermosteps-MTL";
- "Trimo-VSK."
Specifications
Metal sandwich panels for building a house have the main characteristics, among which:
- length;
- width;
- weight;
- thickness;
- soundproofing;
- fire resistance;
- load bearing capacity;
- thermal resistance.
The specification depends on the length and width. If you choose the right size, you can avoid excess and unnecessary scraps. Wall panels can have a width of 1000 and 1200 mm. The length can be any and varies from 500 to 13500 mm. If you want to build a house of metal sandwich panels with your own hands, it will be necessary to determine the weight of the structure, which affects the need for the construction of a deep or shallow foundation.
The weight of the product depends on the type and thickness of the insulation. For example, mineral wool panels are heavier than those that have polystyrene foam inside. If polystyrene foam is used with a thickness of 50 mm, then a square meter of the wall panel will weigh 11.7 kg. For mineral wool, this value is 16.5 kg per square meter. If the thickness of the expanded polystyrene increases to 120 mm, the weight per square meter of the panel becomes 12.8 kg. For mineral wool, this figure is 24 kg per square meter.
At the maximum thickness of expanded polystyrene, which is 250 mm, the weight of the panel becomes 14.7 kg per square meter. When using mineral wool inside a sandwich, the weight of one square meter is 38.5 kg. Strict requirements are imposed on apartment buildings made of metal sandwich panels in terms of thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, sound insulation, combustibility, and the fire resistance limit. All these indicators differ in different materials in the basis.
The thickness indicator is also important. If 50 mm mineral wool is used in the manufacturing process, the thermal resistance will be 1, 04 Rt = m2 Γ Β° C / W. The thermal conductivity will be 0.05 Ξ» = W / Mk. As for sound insulation, a figure of 30 dB will be relevant for a plate. The material is not combustible, the limit of its fire resistance according to GOST 30247.0-94 is EI 30. The density can vary from 105 to 140 kg per cubic meter. In 2 hours, water absorption will be 1.5% by weight.
Looking at the photos of houses made of metal sandwich panels, you can understand that such a material in the base of the walls suits you perfectly. However, this is not enough to decide whether to use such products for construction. It is important to pay attention also to the characteristics. If the basis is mineral wool, the thickness of which is 250 mm, then the soundproofing of the walls will be 43 dB. The thermal resistance in this case is 5, 21 Rt = m2 Γ Β° C / W. Thermal conductivity remains the same. But the fire resistance is EI 150. The density remains the same.
Positive reviews of panel houses
After reading reviews of houses made of metal sandwich panels, you may decide that you will use this material to build your home. Among the positive features, consumers distinguish:
- the possibility of construction in any season;
- low weight of panels;
- low cost of construction;
- good indicators of heat and noise insulation;
- low wall thickness;
- high speed of work;
- evenness and strength of the walls.
Buyers like that the products have a small thickness, because of this, the useful area of ββthe house can be increased. The panels are lightweight, so when building a house, you can do with a lightweight foundation. According to home masters, this reduces costs.
A house made of industrial metal sandwich panels is durable, it does not deform and does not sit down. This suggests that repair work can be carried out immediately after construction.
Negative reviews
Having considered the projects of houses made of metal sandwich panels, it is not worth making hasty decisions. Before buying material, you should also read negative reviews. From them you can find out what consumers think: the material is short-lived compared to traditional concrete, wood or brick. In view of this, you should not rely on the fact that the house will stand idle for more than 30 years. You can hear from manufacturers that they give a guarantee for 50 years, but this is hardly relevant for a harsh climate.
Buyers also emphasize that sandwich panels have unsatisfactory environmental friendliness. The walls will not breathe, because of this, the issue of proper ventilation is very acute. Buyers emphasize that such houses do a good job of hurricane winds, but a fallen tree can make a hole in the wall. The material is not able to resist open fire for a long time, and when it is exposed, it begins to release harmful substances.
If you do not equip the house with an efficient ventilation system, then conditions will be created inside for the development of mold and fungus, which negatively affects the well-being of residents. Consumers quite often refuse sandwich panels also for the reason that they believe that selling such a house after several years of operation can be quite problematic. If this can be done, then the price will be lower than that of a brick-built structure.
Construction Features
Before you start building a house, you should seek the help of specialists. They can advise that in the process of using only one SIP-panel is not recommended. For example, the floor can be made of wood, because in this case it will be easier to repair.
As for the roof, it should be made truss, which will be easier than if you would equip the roof from the panels. During the construction of the walls, it is important to observe the vertical. If the first two panels are installed at an angle, the house will repeat the tilt.
Finally
SIP panels are a fairly standard material today. Although it entered the Russian market relatively recently, it managed to win the love of consumers. It is due to several factors. Among others, the ease of construction and low cost of the work should be highlighted.