When planning to build a house, it is extremely important to choose the right material for this work, since all the most important characteristics of your future housing will depend on it. In particular, it should be completely safe from an environmental point of view, have excellent thermal insulation qualities, and also be reasonably cheap. That is why we will try to answer the very common question: "What to choose - foam concrete or aerated concrete"?
And what is it?
If you still do not understand, then we are talking about perhaps the most popular materials in modern construction. First, let's talk about foam concrete. It is made of sand and cement, to the mixture of which water and a special foaming agent are added. After thorough mixing, the solution is poured into molds. The mixture hardens quite quickly and without any catalysts, so that the blocks can be made directly at the construction site. But what is the difference between aerated concrete and foam concrete yet?
The difference is precisely in the production process: just aerated concrete needs special conditions. Simply put, the technology involves the action of moist air and high temperature. The composition includes lime, cement, water, sand and aluminum powder. After mixing, chemical reactions and autoclaving, a strong and lightweight building material is obtained. But all this will not allow us to decide what is still better: foam concrete or aerated concrete? Therefore, we continue our research.
Positive and negative qualities
As we already said, foam concrete is much easier to manufacture. It can be made directly at the construction site, without even buying any specialized equipment. But this property also has a flip side: because of the simplicity of the technical process, foam blocks are made by those who cannot even be trusted with chopping wood. As a result, a huge number of fakes appears on the market, building from which something more serious than a barn is simply dangerous.
Judging from this point of view, in the dispute "foam concrete or aerated concrete" the latter clearly has an advantage. Due to production technology, there are many differences in the technical characteristics of materials. In particular, gas blocks are extremely hygroscopic. And therefore, the structures of them must be carefully finished, protecting the material from contact with the external environment.
But in both cases, you can do without a heavy foundation. It does not matter if you use foam concrete or aerated concrete, but these materials are light, so there will be no serious pressure on the ground from such a house. In addition, in all these cases, it will be possible to greatly save on thermal insulation. The approximately identical sizes of these blocks (they are all quite large) make it possible to quickly build a wall without spending a lot of effort on it.
Such houses do not rot, are not afraid of fungus and mold. Beetles do not sharpen their walls, and rodents cannot make holes in them. Given the lightness and porosity of both types of materials, the walls of them are easy to process and finish. So, what have we come to: foam concrete or aerated concrete? Which is better is up to you, based on your own financial capabilities and preferences. These materials are largely similar, but aerated concrete houses require good waterproofing.