Over the past few decades, the monolithic construction of multi-storey buildings has become a real breakthrough for the entire construction industry. The designs of such structures contain the minimum number of load-bearing elements in the form of columns, main walls and pylons, which opens up wide opportunities for more rational practical application of the saved living space.
Reasons for the growing popularity of monolithic construction
Currently, the emergence of a wide range of new materials and the development of innovative building technologies greatly simplify the process of monolithic erection of structures, making it more economical and faster.
Carrying out the construction of a monolithic house with his own hands, the future landlord understands that when arranging the premises, his imagination will be limited only to the external walls of the building. It is during the construction of a private house according to monolithic technology that it is possible to allocate sufficient space for the organization of a cozy and at the same time wide enough kitchen space, create spacious living rooms, dressing rooms, and decorate the interior in the form of a studio.
The advantages of implementing projects on monolithic housing construction are well known by construction companies, as well as professional realtors, since from year to year the number of people wishing to live in an apartment or house from monolithic reinforced concrete only increases.
Construction of monolithic houses: technology and milestones
The process of building a house according to the technology of monolithic construction involves the following stages of work:
- laying a solid foundation;
- installation of a frame based on reinforcement;
- concrete laying;
- formwork installation ;
- formwork or removal of formwork (in the case of using removable laying technology).
At construction sites for the construction of monolithic houses, formwork is filled with concrete mix using high-power concrete pumps. If we talk about the structural design of such structures, the main emphasis here is on strong diaphragms and stiffeners, which are usually formed in the area of elevator and stair zones. These elements are responsible for the stability of a monolithic building.
The construction of monolithic residential buildings involves the separation of inter-apartment and intra-apartment space through the installation of brick walls. In recent years, as an alternative to brick, perlite and drywall partitions are increasingly being used for this purpose. This approach to dividing the space reduces the time for putting housing into operation from the moment of laying the foundation by more than 5 times. In addition, the separation of living space in this way does not require special forces for surface finishing, because you can immediately apply wallpaper or painting on drywall.
Materials
In the construction of capital structures according to monolithic technology, in addition to the use of such mandatory components as concrete and metal reinforcement, most large companies focus on the use of fixed formwork made of polystyrene foam. Such structural elements of the future monolithic building are made in the form of a hollow inside a polystyrene block, the components of which are two panels connected by jumpers. Panels and jumpers are made of the same material or of durable plastic. Expanded polystyrene has a really low weight, therefore, contributes to easy, quick installation.
Features of the construction of monolithic structures
What is the monolithic construction of multi-storey buildings? The technology is quite simple, but at the same time has its own distinctive features. The main work, as in the case of the application of any other construction technologies, begins with laying the foundation. The strength of the entire building will depend on how high-quality and verified the foundation of the monolithic structure will be.
At the end of all organizational measures, after the necessary earthwork is completed, the installation of specially prepared reinforcing frames, as well as embedded elements of a monolithic foundation, is carried out. Further, if there is a ready-made foundation and frame elements of the structure, including the arrangement of drainage communications and waterproofing systems, the process of building floors using monolithic reinforced concrete begins.
The construction of houses from monolithic foam concrete during the construction of columns, walls, elevator shafts and pylons requires the use of panel formwork, which is part of monolithic ceilings. When organizing floors, first of all, the formwork is assembled, where the frame of reinforcement is subsequently mounted.
One of the most important stages in the construction of a capital monolithic structure is the development of an accurate project for choosing the formwork position. This issue is being resolved through the application of the experience of qualified specialists and the involvement of personnel from geodetic services.
The process of concreting monolithic structures
Concreting of building structures erected using monolithic construction technology is carried out by tight uniform distribution of pre-prepared concrete mix in the formwork. For compaction of concrete poured into formwork using high-power pumps capable of feeding it to a considerable height, special vibratory mechanisms are used.
The construction of a monolithic frame of a house in the winter season has its own exceptional features. In order for the laid concrete to gain strength and harden on time according to the developed project, the “winter” concrete mix is formed using anti-frost additives. At the same time, the reinforcing cages of the future monolithic structure are equipped with special heating cables. The implementation of such measures when performing work in severe frosts greatly simplifies the construction of a monolithic brick house.
Reliability level
The construction of a frame-monolithic house consists, first of all, in transferring load-bearing loads along reinforced concrete columns, as well as reinforced ceilings to monolithic concrete that is resistant to significant loads. The application of this principle in practice contributes to the construction of a truly sustainable and extremely reliable frame of a multi-story building.
As for the partitions, in monolithic buildings they are purely formal in nature and do not consolidate any loads. By purchasing housing in a monolithic house, you can easily abandon all sorts of partitions, designing your own apartment in the form of a spacious studio with the most open space.
What determines the quality of the construction of a monolithic house?
The quality of work on the erection of monolithic structures depends primarily on the presence of even polished structures, as well as on tight control over the progress of all activities without exception. The results of such control must be recorded in a special journal. In particular, the construction of a monolithic brick house needs to be carefully checked for the quality of knitting of reinforcement frames, determining the accuracy of the formwork position, monitoring the reliability of concrete, starting from the moment of its reception and ending with the acquisition of strength of concrete mass poured into the formwork.
Issue price
Currently, the construction of monolithic houses, the construction technology of which was described above, can significantly reduce the cost of ready-to-move-in housing. This happens due to the high speed of construction, which is caused by the possibility of applying work processes with high adaptability. If we compare housing prices in monolithic houses with the same value in prefabricated buildings, then this figure is lower by 10-15%.
The advantages of monolithic construction
Why is monolithic construction of multi-storey buildings preferable today? The technology of construction of such buildings has the following advantages:
- long service life of buildings;
- unlimited possibilities of layout and interior design of premises;
- the highest speed of construction work;
- the presence of improved sound and heat insulation characteristics due to the absence of joints, seams and voids of surfaces;
- reduced material consumption.
Disadvantages of monolithic construction
Despite the impressive number of obvious advantages, the monolithic construction of multi-storey buildings has a number of minuses. The technology is not without drawbacks, but they relate primarily to the progress of construction and do not relate to the quality of finished structures. The main disadvantages of monolithic construction include:
- the likelihood of serious delays in the urgent implementation of the plan when the weather conditions worsen, which make it difficult to fill the formwork with concrete;
- the need to carry out all construction activities in an open space, which creates certain difficulties and inconveniences for specialists of construction crews.
Conclusion
In the article we examined in detail the monolithic construction of multi-storey buildings. The technology of their construction makes it possible to commission high-rise residential buildings in operation as soon as possible. This, in turn, is an obvious plus not only for construction companies that need accurate implementation of the plan, but also for future homeowners who acquire housing long before the start of construction of an apartment building.
Applying reliable formwork and strong metal reinforcement as the basis, it is much more difficult to make a critical structural error or defect in the structure of the structure. The construction of monolithic multi-storey buildings erected according to the latest standards is such that they have the highest seismic stability. The walls, flooring and ceiling are as even as possible, the surfaces are devoid of all kinds of seams and voids.
Only during the construction of monolithic residential buildings there are the widest opportunities for implementing a wide variety of volumetric and spatial solutions, which in itself increases the operational characteristics of the building.
As for the level of environmental friendliness of monolithic buildings, which in essence are just concrete boxes of the original design, construction companies provide for the possibility of creating brick cladding and partitions. It is brick along with drywall and other common partitions that has the highest level of environmental safety.