The foam concrete block belonging to the class of porous concrete is an excellent material for the construction of a high-quality and inexpensive house. Consider that foam concrete in many of its properties is many times superior to the brick traditionally used in construction. The speed of building a house from such material is simply amazing. This is largely due to the fact that the size of even the smallest block is many times larger than the size of a standard brick. In a word, foam blocks (the reviews of which speak for themselves) are excellent material for construction.
Given the lightness of this building material, a small team of builders will cope with the work. It should be noted that the
feature of the foam block is excellent thermal insulation, coupled with no less good hygroscopicity. This fact forces the use of the highest quality waterproofing. Because of the same circumstance, it is necessary to strictly observe the technology of building construction. Otherwise, the walls of the foam blocks can not last long.
You can save a lot if you yourself bring the building material from the manufacturer to your construction site. It is very important to ensure the perfect condition of the plastic packaging that protects the blocks from humid air. Even when the construction of foam blocks is already underway, you should store the material exclusively under awnings.
The construction of houses in most cases practically does not differ in any features. The difficulty is that it is not always clear which foundation to choose. Of course, the blocks themselves are not too heavy, but with a poor finish they will inevitably begin to absorb moisture, which will lead to a sharp increase in the weight of the entire building. That is why it is better to use standard strip foundations, as they are more versatile and can withstand fluctuations in the finished house. However, most often foam blocks (the reviews of builders about which are positive) are quite stable, they are practically not subject to temperature expansion.
The benefit of the strip foundation is also that in such buildings you can organize a basement. From the same foam block make the basement. As a result, you can not only significantly accelerate the progress of construction, but also get rid of the need for additional insulation of the basement. Of course, you should carefully check the foundation level before starting the construction, since the found flaws in the future will be much more difficult to fix. When foam blocks (reviews of which confirm this fact) are stacked, working with them is undesirable because of their fragility.
It is advisable to do the laying itself in such houses not on standard
cement mortar, but on a special glue that improves the strength characteristics of the building several times. Such an adhesive is extremely simple to use: it is diluted with the amount of water specified in the instructions and mixed thoroughly until a
homogeneous mixture is formed. It is important to constantly and very strictly control the ideal horizontal position of the masonry, since foam concrete is very sensitive to even the slightest distortions and reacts extremely painfully to them. Of course, the cost of glue slightly increases the cost of the entire construction, but the service life of the building becomes higher. In addition, it creates additional protection on the way of moisture, which this material is undesirable to encounter: foam blocks (reviews of which warn of this phenomenon) perfectly absorb it, and collapse under the influence of low temperatures.