Recent years have been marked by the constant desire of developers to make their homes as cheap as possible, without too risking their quality. Somewhere it turned out to be done, but sometimes the results were even better than predicted. One of such cases can be considered polystyrene concrete blocks, reviews of houses from which inspire some optimism.
What it is?
As you can guess by the name, in essence it is ordinary concrete, which included polystyrene granules. Due to the foamed structure of the latter (and their low cost), the resulting material is very cheap, and also has reduced thermal conductivity.
Many positive reviews indicate just that as a result, heating costs several times less money.
Other positive qualities
As we have already said, polystyrene concrete blocks, reviews of which are positive in most cases, have low thermal conductivity. This is good not only in terms of saving money on gas or other fuel. The fact is that, due to its lightness and relatively low density, this material is easy to process.
Reviews of novice builders suggest that it can be changed even with the simplest tools. And the polystyrene concrete blocks themselves, the sizes of which are not distinguished by monumentality, contribute to the high speed of building a house.
In addition, they were honored with no less flattering epithets because of their lightness. Given the low density and weight, you can completely do without the use of heavy construction equipment and save a lot of money. Not surprisingly, in positive reviews, people also say that you can greatly reduce costs by hiring a smaller construction team.
In addition, polystyrene concrete blocks, the reviews of which we are so interested, allow us to put together a full-fledged house with all the amenities in just a couple of months.
What is the reason for negative reviews?
However, not everything is so rosy. Some owners of new homes are not too happy with their performance. What is the reason and who can be trusted?
The main negative quality of polystyrene concrete is its relatively low fracture strength. In many ways, the manifestations of such a sad moment are associated with the amount of filler: the more it is, the lower the strength.
Because of this, polystyrene concrete blocks, the characteristics of which we examined above, give a very significant shrinkage. This causes an increased consumption of plaster and other finishing materials. Some negative reviews are connected with the banal illiteracy of the population: after hearing the word “polystyrene”, they immediately imagine chemistry that is hazardous to health.
In many cases, such thoughts contain a healthy grain, but not here. In construction, a conventional food-grade polymer is used, from which jars of yogurt and other food packaging are made.
conclusions
So what are polystyrene concrete blocks? The reviews indicate that they are an excellent material from which you can and should build houses! What about the flaws, so where to find the perfect option?