Today, more and more often you can see new private houses made of expanded clay concrete blocks. Until recently, this building material was considered suitable only for utility rooms and warehouses.
How to choose expanded clay concrete block?
Many owners are still afraid to use them, since they heard about the fragility and other shortcomings of the material. Expanded clay blocks, the sizes of which differ from each other even in the same batch, are most likely produced in a small production that does not have a clear line of quality control. This characteristic is inherent only in products from unscrupulous entrepreneurs. High-quality expanded clay concrete blocks, photos of houses from which are presented below, are suitable for the construction of three-story buildings.
Before choosing blocks, you need to familiarize yourself with their main characteristics and decide which of them are most important for construction in a particular region.
The main characteristics of expanded clay blocks
1. High strength. This suggests that the material can resist destruction under the action of loads of a different nature (bending, torsion, shear, compression, abrasion).
The tensile strength indicates the stress causing the destruction of the sample. The load can be complex. When marking products according to GOST 6133-99, the strength grade M is necessarily indicated. It reflects the maximum pressure in kg that the unit can withstand per 1 cm 2 of its area.
2. Thermal conductivity. This characteristic shows the rate of energy transfer by matter particles. Low thermal conductivity is especially important in the northern regions of the country, as this reduces heating costs.
A numerical indicator of the energy passing through the expanded clay block is the amount of heat found on opposite surfaces of the material with an area of 1 m 2 in 1 second, with temperature differences of 1K.
The required thickness of expanded clay blocks is calculated based on the thermal conductivity of the material. For different climatic conditions, their own calculations must be made.
3. Density. This characteristic shows the mass per unit volume of expanded clay concrete.
Almost all building materials have a porous structure, that is, in addition to solids, they also have hollow sections with air.
The density of a particular brand of expanded clay concrete is directly dependent on the amount of cement included in the composition. Thermal conductivity also depends on this. The denser the wall, the faster it cools.
4. Frost resistance. This characteristic is very important in climates with large temperature differences throughout the year. Frost resistance reflects the ability of a material to repeatedly freeze in a state of saturation with water and subsequent thawing without structural changes.
Expanded clay blocks have excellent resistance to temperature changes, which allows them to be used for construction in difficult climatic conditions.
5. Fire resistance. Flame resistance is evaluated for a material according to three loss criteria: integrity, load-bearing and heat-insulating abilities.
When buying blocks, you need to make sure that you have the necessary product certificates.
6. Soundproofing. An important indicator for residents of private houses, since most often they leave the apartment precisely because of loud noise.
Expanded clay wall of four-hollow blocks with a total thickness of 400 mm has a sound insulation index of 63 dB. This is even slightly higher than the norms for SNiP.
Thus, expanded clay concrete blocks, the characteristics of which were considered above, are excellent for building private houses in different climatic regions of the country.
Expanded clay blocks: sizes and prices
The cost of different types of products depends on the region and manufacturer. It is also affected by the block size.
Dimensions of expanded clay blocks
For the construction of different types of walls, special dimensions of blocks have been developed. Bearing structures are built from components having standard sizes 40x20x20 or 39x18.8x19 cm, partition walls - 39x9x19 cm.
Expanded clay wall blocks, the dimensions of each of which allow 7 bricks to be replaced with them, are also designed to increase the construction speed by about 3 times.
Pipe laying and ventilation systems, as a rule, consist of ventilation blocks, each of which weighs 11 kg and has dimensions of 39x19x18.8 cm. A distinctive feature of such products is through voids.
Types of expanded clay blocks
Products may have a hollow or solid structure. The last blocks are more durable. They are used for foundations and in buildings with high wall loads. Such blocks do not rot, the development of mold and microorganisms on them. They do not rust and do not require additional care.
Expanded clay blocks, the dimensions of which are only 9-12 cm thick, are called partition walls. They most often have through holes in their structure and are used for interior walls. The sound insulation of such blocks is higher than that of brick. At the same time, it is easier to work with expanded clay concrete.
The cost of expanded clay blocks
In different regions of the country, prices for blocks differ by 20-30%. This is due to the number of enterprises and competition among them.
In Moscow and the region, a partition wall hollow block measuring 39x80x188 (strength grade M 25) can be bought for 23 rubles / pc. In the Udmurt Republic, similar products, but M 35 will cost the buyer already 32 rubles / pc. In the Perm region, the price is the same.
The wall hollow block M 75 costs 53 rubles / unit, M 35 - 41 rubles / unit, M 25 - 37 rubles / unit.
When buying expanded clay concrete blocks, the photos of which are in the catalogs, choose products from reputable companies. By calling the toll-free number, you can always ask how the quality control of products is carried out. Most often, claydite-concrete blocks, the sizes of which do not match the declared ones, do not pass an assessment of their sizes from the manufacturer. This gives rise to customer complaints.
To summarize, it should be noted that the prices of blocks may vary depending on the required volumes. Some enterprises have the ability to produce products of the right size for the customer.