Even an inexperienced builder can work with cinder block. To do this, you need to purchase material or make it with your own hands. A house made of cinder blocks is being built quickly, because the products are of a good size, for example, compared with ordinary brick. Why did building material get this name? Everything is simple - there is slag in its composition, although manufacturers can use other components.
According to statistics, the most popular material on the market is a cinder block. How to build a house? We will talk about this in the article. If you follow simple recommendations, you can achieve your own result.
Manufacture
Sometimes, before you build a house from cinder blocks with your own hands, you decide to make them yourself. To start the process, it is worth paying attention to important points:
- Special forms for the material should be made or purchased. The finished product will dry for a very long time. Therefore, so that the process is not delayed, you need to have several dozen of these containers. They can be made of wood or iron (there is not much difference between them).
- The strength of the starting material will depend on the quality of the selected components. So cement is worth choosing the highest standard.
- Water is needed - it needs a lot.
- Fillers are added - sand, slag, shavings and so on.
- We also need objects that will create voids in the brick.
There are projects of houses from cinder block as simple and affordable as possible. Even a beginner can work on them. To mix the composition, it is worth choosing sand, cement and any additional filler. It is best to mix in a proportion of three to one. Then the mold is taken, the material for the voids is laid and only after that the composition is poured. The brick itself will dry for several weeks, and it is better to remove the material after 8.
To free the molds for a new batch of bricks, they are sent no later than 24 hours to dryness. Once all the material is completely dry, you can begin to build a house of cinder blocks. Masters believe that it will be best to make bricks and only in the next season to use them for construction. Although everyone decides for himself.
Pros of a cinder block house
It is believed that a building erected from such material can stand for a hundred years. And this is not fiction. There are numerous examples of building houses that were erected many years ago and are still in good condition. Why is such a brick in demand? It should be noted the positive aspects:
- Fire safety. The material is not flammable and does not support combustion.
- If reinforcing rods are used in the construction of a house from cinder blocks, the construction will be resistant to hurricanes and other disasters.
- Indoors from such a building material, heat is stored and temperature differences are not felt.
- Repairing errors acquired over the years is simple.
- The wall can become any thickness, and the process of erecting it is very fast.
- No skills and knowledge are required to build one-story houses from cinder blocks.
- Such components are not affected by biological components, so the service life is more than a century.
- Finding house designs from cinder block is easy, because they are popular in use.
- The material protects against unnecessary sounds.
- It is cheap.
What else do you need to know?
On sale you can find several options for building material for this purpose:
- Standard (cinder block size - 390 x 190 x 188 mm).
- Block with voids inside.
- Semiblock (cinder block size - 390 x 190 x 90 mm).
From this it is clear that there are empty and full-bodied models. The first can have various voids:
- 2 or 4 cavities of a rectangular shape.
- 2 or 3 round shapes.
- Three rows of voids of any configuration.
Load
Each brick has its own marking. It determines the permissible load. With a low indicator of power impact, it is not necessary to erect the walls of a cinder block house on two floors. After all, the load level may not be maintained.
Requirements
In addition, there are certain requirements:
- Masonry is carried out under normal weather conditions.
- The foundation is being pre-constructed (depth more than 50 centimeters).
- After construction, a protective coating is immediately used.
- The roof is being erected as soon as possible.
These are important conditions, they should not be violated. These are the recommendations of manufacturers and craftsmen. Having no experience in construction, it is necessary to initially study the possible applications of the material. It is also worth looking at the available video tips that are in our article. Of these, an understanding of the little things and nuances of the whole process will come.
The negative sides of the construction
There are many pluses, but any building material does not exclude negative characteristics. Everyone should know about them:
- After the construction of the house, the walls remain unattractive, so you should use the finish. This is a finishing brick, siding, etc. And this is an additional cost, but in its absence the walls do not look aesthetically pleasing.
- If the structure of the cinder block has decorative components, then waterproofing is used in the process. This complicates the construction of the structure and requires additional financial costs.
- It’s hard to let down communications. You should think about it at the design level.
- The walls must be insulated.
- The environmental issue remains open. Often manufacturers use unsafe materials in the filling, this is fraught with radioactive radiation.
Here are the pros and cons of a cinder block house.
Which finish is suitable?
The popularity of cinder block houses is growing, but at the same time everyone believes that you can not do without exterior decoration. This is required to preserve heat, maximize sound insulation, control the temperature difference, etc. Each person decides for himself what exactly is suitable for this process.
Masters say that external protection makes it possible to extend the life of the brick itself and insulate the room. After the procedure, there is no need to add insulation inside. Facing materials are on the market in a large assortment. It all depends on personal desire and monetary capabilities. Here's what's relevant for today:
- Siding.
- Facing brick.
- Stucco with decorative filling.
- Building stone, etc.
How to insulate a house from cinder block?
The answer to the question is extremely simple. For this, mineral wool, polystyrene and standard plaster are used. There are other, more expensive options. Depending on the budget, a choice is made. This is decided at the planning level to prevent temporary downtime.
How to choose building material?
With the independent manufacture of cinder block, everyone must perform an accurate and thorough check. Do not forget that the use of slag is not as safe as it seems. So, it is better to give preference to certified material. Therefore, bringing goods to the construction site from the store, it is worth asking for documents. Here's what to focus on when choosing:
- When building a house from cinder block with your own hands, the best option is filling from a shell and gravel.
- It is necessary to check the entire pallet with a cinder block in order to exclude broken and uneven parts, as this will negatively affect the construction of the house.
- Checking can be done with a large nail. If it easily passes to the bottom, then this is a low-quality product.
- Raw materials should have positive characteristics regarding resistance to climatic conditions.
- Blocks must be densely compacted, otherwise a house cannot be built from them.
- It’s good if every brick is gray. This means that it has enough cement. In other variations, you need to carefully inspect and inspect products. This must be done before you build and insulate the house from the cinder block with your own hands.
The size of the product can be any, so you need to know where it is taken, who will wear it and how to build walls. Masters in construction give good tips that you need to take into account before buying:
- Buying blocks is only from well-known manufacturers. Because underground production has a number of pitfalls. The main thing is ignorance of the inner content. It is also important to know the level of reliability of the building material.
- It is worth checking the material for strength - throw it from a height and a half meters. If, as a result, no breaking into parts occurs, then reliability is guaranteed.
- By weight, this material is not too heavy, but there is no lightness either. Otherwise, a number of questions arise for such material.
What you need to have on hand for construction?
In the absence of experience, it is not necessary to resort to the help of a construction team. Having gained theoretical data, it is worth acquiring and preparing the required tools:
- Trowel (since we have to work with the solution).
- Construction level for even laying.
- Plumb line.
- Pickaxe.
- Capacity to create a cement-sand mortar.
- Shovel to collect the necessary components.
- Capacity for a tray of water.
- Stretcher.
- Do not ignore personal protective equipment - gloves, safety shoes.
It will be difficult to knead the solution manually, because it will take a lot. It is better to purchase a concrete mixer or rent it. This way of using electrical installations will save time and maintain health. To quickly build walls, you will need to prepare devices for their transportation. The weight of one block can reach up to 30 kilograms, so using a ladder or stepladder is not a way out of the situation.
Home construction
Before you begin, the necessary tools are assembled, and material is also acquired. To avoid downtime in the work, you need to pay attention again to:
- A sufficient number of blocks (determine in advance how much cinder block is needed per house).
- All tool required.
- How the masonry is conducted, and the rows are connected.
- Pay attention to weather conditions and time for building a house.
- Make sure the foundation is completely ready.
Do not ignore the waterproofing of the foundation before laying the first row.
You can lay walls with any available method - half or two blocks. According to professional builders, how the first rows will develop, the whole house will be formed. After laying evenness is controlled by level. It’s worth starting from the corners. Laying is performed in four rows in height. Accounting for work is done on a stretched cord. When the void blocks are selected, then it is not necessary to fill the distance inside with the solution. The fittings are laid every four rows.
Most often, after construction, cladding is performed. In this case, there is no need to remove the excess solution from the seams, otherwise it will not be visible in the future. But if further finishing is not planned, it is not worth delaying to get rid of excess bonding material. You need to do this every three rows.
To summarize
To erect a structure from cinder blocks independently in this way can be done in a short period of time without experience. But not everyone can decide and draw their own house. It doesn’t matter. Today there are enough specialists who are ready to provide a developed plan, taking into account the wishes of the future owner. There are many ready-made options - it remains only to choose the right one.
Experts make several recommendations. Do not start construction all of a sudden. You need to evaluate your strength, as well as financial capabilities. Even with the simplicity of construction, you need to be aware that cinder blocks will have to be raised, worn, installed. Creating a solution and delivering it to the construction site is not so simple.
When the walls are exposed, the roof is covered, you will need to create an interior finish. And it takes more effort and money. The supply of communications and the creation of planning are carried out. And only after the work done, you can create coziness and comfort in a home built by yourself. Cinder blocks will stand for a long time and can become a family nest for more than one generation.