Hello! Tell me, what material is now best to build a country house? I want to build myself a small house in the country.
- Sergey, Moscow.
Hello! The choice of material for building a house - key question. From this will depend on the period of work, the cost and durability of the building. It is impossible to give an unequivocal answer, a lot depends on climatic conditions and financial capabilities. To help you with the choice, we compare the characteristics of houses made of brick, foam blocks, wood, SIP panels and determine the advantages and disadvantages of each building material.
brick like construction material has great architectural potential. A brick house can be of any shape, from a simple rectangular structure to a complex Gothic structure. Therefore, if you want to bring to life the most daring design projects, then the brick will do just fine.
brick house
Like any other building material, brick has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Brick house american style 
Brick house in the English style The table contains information for buildings made of brick and foam concrete blocks.
A brick house is comfortable for living and aesthetically mature structure, which is achieved with a competent approach to construction. High specifications provide the opportunity to live in such a house at any time of the year and under various climatic conditions.
Wealthy owners often opt for wooden beams or logs. This is explained by the fact that such houses have a beautiful appearance and have operational advantages compared to other types of buildings. To find out the characteristics of a wooden house, let's look at its advantages and disadvantages.
wooden house 
log house 
Timber house * Fine finishing of a log house can be done only 2-3 years after construction.
As you can see, a tree has its pros and cons, which should be considered when choosing building materials for a country house.
SIP panels are a high-quality and convenient building material for a country house, which allows you to build large structures in a short time.
Sandwich panel building technology came to Russia from North America, where it is very popular.
SIP-panel is a plate of two sheets of rigid material (fibreboard, OSB, PVC) and a layer of insulation, which is located between them. The panels are mounted on a wooden or metal frame, and as a result, a solid structure of the house is obtained.
The construction of houses from SIP panels has its fans and opponents. To determine which category you fall into, check out the advantages and disadvantages of sandwich panels.
House from SIP panels 
Scheme of a house from sandwich panels 
Building a house from sandwich panels Despite all the shortcomings, accessibility, the speed of building a house and its high thermal insulation properties make sandwich panels very popular today.
A concrete house is a monolithic structure that creates the shape of a house and carries all the loads. Monolithic houses are popular due to their strength and durability. Also, the pouring technology allows you to give the house the most daring and unique design. A reinforced concrete house is especially recommended for building in seismically active areas, as it is able to withstand a serious earthquake.
According to the technology of building a monolithic house, liquid concrete is poured into the formwork in which there is a frame of reinforcement. After the solution has dried, the formwork is removed and placed on the next section of the pour.
Monolithic houses are very popular in high-rise construction, but in addition to large buildings, reinforced concrete houses can be found in suburban areas. If you want to use the technology of pouring concrete to build your own home, then first read the pros and cons of this building material.
Monolithic private house 
The process of building a monolithic house 
Unusual design of a monolithic house If there are opportunities for building a monolithic house, then this option is preferable, especially in areas of increased seismic activity.
In addition to the popular construction options listed above, there are less well-known, but also materials used for building walls, we will consider some of them.
adobe house 
Wood concrete house 
Natural stone house 
cinder block house We hope that our article helped you decide on the choice of building materials for building a house!
A brief description and description of the main pros and cons will be made between country houses from the following materials:
To build a brick house, a solid foundation is needed, either a deep-buried type or a slab type. This is due to the large load of the entire structure. The load primarily depends on the weight of the building, and masonry bricks cannot be called easy. 1 cube of brick weighs on average 1200-1800 kg. To be more clear, 5 square meters walls 25 cm thick, will weigh about 2 tons. Considering that the foundation is massive, the financial costs of construction increase dramatically.
Brick in its technological range is the "smallest" masonry material. If, for example, it is compared with a shell rock or foam block. Based on this, for the laying of load-bearing walls, a significant amount of binder, that is, a cement-sand mortar, will be required. This also entails significant financial costs.
The cost of masonry is a very conditional indicator, since it all depends on the desired result. For example, you can save money and buy grade 2 bricks. Considering that the brick initially has discrepancies and small irregularities, you can order dirty masonry from the construction team and in this case save a little. The result is load-bearing walls that require mandatory plastering. This is where the catch lies, the money saved on grade 2 bricks and dirty masonry will go completely to plastering work.
Brick houses have good heat and sound insulation, good durability
The second option is when a top-grade brick is purchased and a clean masonry is ordered from specialists for jointing. Initially, more money is spent than in the first case, but as a result, load-bearing walls are obtained that do not require external facade decoration. Plaster only finishes the inner surface of the walls.
At first glance, it may seem that brick construction is a very costly undertaking. However, a brick house has its own set of positive qualities. Good but not the best best thermal insulation and sound insulation, good seismic resistance, high strength and long service life of the building, about 100 years or more.
Attention! Given the high strength of the main walls, absolutely any type of roof can be mounted on them, so you can already try to save on roofing material.
Construction of a house from sawn shell rock (cauldron) is not available in any region. The main quarries and mines where kotelets are mined are located in the southern regions. According to its structure, the cauldron is a stone with a regular rectangular shape, dimensions 39x19x20 cm. The structure of the stone is relatively porous, but the cauldron has fairly good strength and low thermal conductivity.
To build a house from a cauldron, as in the case of a brick, a good capital foundation is needed. Therefore, choosing this material, we advise you to immediately calculate the cost of pouring a monolithic reinforced concrete foundation.
Considering that the cauldron is almost 3.5-4 times larger in volume than a brick, much less binder cement-sand mortar will be required for masonry. Here the boiler outperforms the brick, however, the walls of sawn shell rock will have to be plastered. A variant with a fine classic masonry from a cauldron, not very suitable for residential buildings. Clean masonry with jointing from a cauldron can only be used for the construction of non-residential buildings, for example, a garage or a fence.
The load-bearing walls from the boiler are “warm”, have good sound insulation, below average waterproofing and excellent strength. Boiler walls, like brick walls, have high strength and seismic resistance, which allows them to make roofs of any design, type and from any materials.
The load-bearing walls of a country house made of foam blocks are the warmest when compared among the masonry stone. The thermal conductivity of the foam block is only 0.2 - 0.4 W / (m * K), and for example, for the same brick, it is about 0.8 W / (m * K). The lower the thermal conductivity, the less cold penetrates the housing in winter at sub-zero temperatures.
At a cost, a foam block is about 2 times cheaper than a brick and 1.5 times cheaper than a boiler, if we compare the price for 1 m / cu. At the same time, even less masonry bonding mortar is required for the construction of walls than when using a boiler. This is due to the large dimensions of the foam blocks 20x30x60 cm. As a binder solution for foam blocks, not a cement-sand mortar is used, but an adhesive mass, which makes it possible to obtain a thin seam between adjacent stones with a thickness of only 5 mm.
For the construction of main walls from foam blocks, it is not at all necessary to make a massive foundation. Yes, the foundation must be solid and made of reinforced concrete, however, the foundation strip can be laid only 90-100 cm, that is, below the freezing point of the soil for the middle lane. This is due to the fact that the foam block has a light weight compared to brick. 1 m3 of foam blocks weighs about 600 kg.
Any medal has a reverse side, the foam block is no exception. Possessing good thermal insulation and sound insulation, this stone has poor waterproofing. The structure of the foam block is very porous, not that it passes water, but it absorbs moisture like a sponge. Due to poor quality, the walls of a country house made of foam blocks must be plastered, after which, in most cases, they are puttied with waterproof embossed facade putty.
It is worth mentioning another drawback. Compared to brick or koteltsovy capital walls, walls made of foam blocks have less strength. That is, in general, the building is earthquake-resistant and durable, but the choice of design and materials for the manufacture of the roof is limited.
Advice. Most often, on cottages from foam blocks, a light roof is made of metal tiles or flexible shingles. You will have to forget about the classic ceramic tiles forever.
The gas block is the same masonry stone as the foam block. The thermal conductivity of the gas block is approximately 0.2 W / (m * K), which also does not emit this masonry material. In general, the gas block is as good in terms of thermal and sound insulation qualities as the foam block, however, the gas block has greater strength and better waterproofing.
A house made of gas blocks is stronger and more resistant to moisture than a house made of foam blocks
The whole point lies in the difference in the composition of masonry materials. Foam blocks are made from cement, sand and water, and aluminum powder is used as a foaming agent, which, in reaction with water (H2O) and oxygen (O2), produces a reaction in the form of a huge amount of oxygen bubbles. These bubbles form the porous structure of the foam block. Two more components were introduced into the composition of the gas block: quartz sand, which increases the strength of the structure, and lime, which increases the strength of the connection between particles of ordinary and quartz sand in the structure.
Considering the increased strength of the material, almost any type of roof can be mounted on the load-bearing walls made of gas blocks, and the outer walls can not be plastered with a cement-sand mortar, but simply puttyed with facade waterproof putty. There is only one minus for gas blocks - this is a high price compared to foam blocks.
The construction technology is relatively new, it is no more than 15 years old. The construction technology is as follows. On the surface of the fabricated strip foundation, a fixed formwork is installed, consisting of two sheets of dense polystyrene foam (polystyrene). No supports or formwork struts are required. The distance of 20 cm between two parallel sheets of expanded polystyrene is set by special plastic holders, which are fixed to the sheets.
The height of the foam sheets is not more than 25 cm. Having thus installed the formwork around the entire perimeter, it is reinforced by passing reinforcement or reinforcing cages between the sheets of foam plastic and the entire formwork is poured with liquid concrete. After that, they begin to install the second row of formwork, etc. In one day, 2-3 rows of formwork are poured with concrete in this way.
The advantage of this technology is that the walls are the most durable, which is important for areas located in an unstable seismic zone. In addition, a record-breaking construction period stands out. The walls of an ordinary one-story country house are raised in 7-9 working days. Another advantage is that the process of manufacturing load-bearing walls takes place in parallel with their internal and external insulation.
Attention! The downside of the construction technology on fixed formwork is the high consumption of by no means cheap liquid concrete and reinforcing elements.
For the construction of a house from a bar, a bar with a section of 100x150 mm or 150x150 mm is mainly used. And for the construction of a house from rounded logs, logs with a diameter of 15 to 25 cm are used. It must be said right away that the construction of a wooden house, in comparison with housing from any of the above-described stones, is much cheaper.
Timber houses require mandatory regular treatment from moisture
Saving starts from the very beginning, that is, from the foundation. For a wooden country house, it is not at all necessary to make a reinforced concrete foundation, it is quite possible to get by with the manufacture of a pile-screw or columnar type of foundation. The installation of walls itself also does not imply the use of any kind of binder solution or glue. The fastening of the timber to each other in the wall structure is carried out on dowels, and the walls of rounded logs are mounted using chopped or sawn cups.
The catch of such cheap and environmentally friendly walls lies in their increased vulnerability to moisture. And if there are a huge number of ways to protect the same walls from foam blocks from moisture, for example, plaster, putty, etc., then to protect wood from decay, there is only a small set of liquid emulsions that need to be impregnated with wood before the construction of load-bearing walls . Another disadvantage of wooden housing is the increased risk of fire, which will require you to fork out a lot when doing electrical wiring, which is more demanding than when building stone walls.
We have no right to specifically recommend or impose this or that building material or technology. Everyone chooses according to their personal preferences and based on their own financial capabilities. In this article, we have only tried to give brief description various construction technologies, and you decide what is more promising for you.
Don't limit your dream to standard shapes!
One of the main issues that is decided long before the construction of a house, both in the city and in the countryside, is the choice of material for building walls. The decision of what is better to build a house from can be slow and difficult. On the one hand, a wide range of proposed wall designs, especially considering the possible combination. On the other hand, local restrictions natural conditions and material market. All this is dominated by our tastes, desires and possibilities. In the following presentation, we will consider all the identified aspects, analyze, compare and draw conclusions about which house should be built. The description contains selected examples from many years personal experience text author.
Heavy materials include concrete, brick, various types of blocks, concrete plates, a rock. Buildings made of such materials require a solid foundation; delivery and installation of building components are complicated and often require special equipment. Most often, these are strong, durable, but not cheap designs. During construction, it is necessary to withstand the foundation without load for a month before the construction of the walls begins. Brick and block buildings are more fire resistant than wood-based houses. Probably, it is problematic to engage in construction from heavy materials in frosty time on cement mortar.
Foam concrete house finished with brick and stone Brick houses are widespread and popular since ancient times. There are quite a lot of types and types of bricks: silicate, ceramic, refractory, hollow, solid, finishing, etc.
Consider the advantages of brick:
The disadvantages include:
brick houses can be very different As a feature, we mention the high heat capacity. Commenting on the above, we note that it is allowed to build buildings of various shapes and sizes from brick. Easy to implement various color solutions. In a beautiful durable and reliable brick building, almost any layout is provided. External walls do not require maintenance. The radiation background of the brick has a meager level, and the material is considered environmentally friendly.
However, it is not easy to work with bricks: heavy material must be delivered, raised to the desired height, the mortar is mixed and each brick is held in hands, laying accurately and evenly. To give the desired shape, you will have to use the "grinder". The brick absorbs moisture and, with insufficient protection, or the choice of an inappropriate design, can crack and crumble under the influence of frost. Improper use of brick leads to the appearance of "efflorescence" (white spots) on the facade of the building.
In this case, the most significant drawback should be considered low thermal insulation. To provide required level energy saving, a silicate brick wall must be made 1.2 m thick!
Brick and ceramic blocks for every taste Material manufacturers are trying to solve the problem by building voids inside the brick. Most good decision– ceramic porous blocks. In terms of thermal conductivity, such blocks are almost 3 times more efficient than bricks. Blocks have sizes from (250x250x140)mm to (510x250x219)mm and replaces up to 14 standard bricks. Of course, laying walls is greatly accelerated and simplified. At the same time, porous blocks have strength no worse than ordinary bricks and frost resistance up to 50 cycles. The disadvantage of ceramic blocks is the relatively high cost, which is gradually falling, and this is encouraging.
A feature of brick walls is a high heat capacity, which in different situations can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. The temperature of the walls of a brick building slowly changes and tends to the average daily, which stabilizes the temperature inside the building as well. This, of course, a pleasant effect is noticeably enhanced if the outer side of the wall is insulated. When the heating is turned off for a short time, for example, for repairs, the temperature in the room will drop slowly, which is also a positive factor.
Everything is different if the dwelling is used for temporary residence: a guest house, a summer house, etc. So, at one time I thoughtlessly followed the general example and built a cottage from silicate brick. As a result, it turned out that it was impossible to use the house during the off-season. During 5 days of the week, the walls of the building cool down safely, and on weekends it is simply impossible to warm it up in a few hours in any way.
After finishing, the "gray neck" of expanded clay concrete will become a wonderful "swan" Today we can say with confidence that claydite concrete is quite a successful invention of the past century. Quite a lot of buildings from expanded clay concrete have been built, although this is not striking. The blocks themselves have an unpresentable appearance, therefore they are covered with plaster, insulation and other finishing materials. The blocks consist of a cement mortar with a filler of expanded clay gravel - pellets of burnt and porous clay.
Consider the advantages of expanded clay concrete blocks:
The disadvantages include:
As features, we mention that the blocks are produced by small firms, the quality of which varies markedly. To the above, it should be added that the blocks of expanded clay concrete have dimensions (390x190x188) mm, which allows you to build buildings at high speed. The low cost of masonry, combined with the low price of the blocks themselves, ensures a relatively low cost of the finished structure.
Note that expanded clay concrete blocks can be made by hand using inexpensive equipment. At the same time, it is not recommended to build houses with a height of more than 3 floors due to limitations in bearing capacity. The issue of the quality of the blocks is solved quite simply: you should not choose the cheapest option.
It makes sense to verify the honesty and experience of the manufacturer. There are a sufficient number of companies on the market that provide high quality blocks using imported high-tech equipment. The following video is about one such example.
Cinder blocks consist of a cement mortar with coal slag as a filler. Captured Germans built houses from slag after the end of the Great Patriotic War. These buildings have wooden floors and stairs, but they are plastered, painted and still serve people. True, the construction technology was somewhat different. Formwork was exposed along the perimeter of the building, which was poured cement mortar with locomotive slag. After the layer hardened, the formwork was moved up and so on, until complete.
The locomotive slag is gone, but many boiler houses and power plants run on coal, so the material is still relevant. Cinder blocks have the same dimensions as the expanded clay concrete blocks discussed above, as well as similar characteristics and are almost indistinguishable in terms of appearance. We note some features and differences. The slag used as a filler has been in the furnace and acquired some radioactivity. The level is quite acceptable, but there is an environmental issue. Another feature is that slag easily absorbs moisture.
I had to visit a house made of such material, built on the territory of Belarus. This area has relatively high humidity. Moisture appeared on the inner surface of the walls of the building, and a fungus appeared. On the contrary, in a house made of expanded clay concrete, built in one of the southern regions of Russia, I did not find any problems with moisture on the walls: the climate is dry.
Thus, cinder blocks should not be used for the construction of the basement of the building. Before laying cinder block walls, a flawless horizontal waterproofing between the building base and the wall should be ensured.
Expanded clay concrete and cinder blocks practically do not differ in appearance Another option for blocks that you can make with your own hands is wood concrete blocks. The same cement mortar acts as a binder, and wood chips plus sawdust serve as a filler.
Advantages of wood concrete blocks:
The disadvantages include the following:
Shavings and sawdust as part of the block are reliably protected from moisture and are not subject to decay. At the same time, they provide reinforcement and increase the strength of the material. Naturally, the filler facilitates wood concrete blocks and provides good thermal insulation. From such blocks it is allowed to erect buildings up to 2 floors without reinforcement and using floor slabs. The rough surface guarantees excellent adhesion to the plaster, which means that it is allowed to do without reinforcing mesh.
These wood concrete blocks don't look the best. Shell rock is cut out of marine sediments of approximately the same size as expanded clay concrete blocks. Blocks of the M15 brand have a strength of 15 kgf / cm2, are characterized by high porosity and are suitable for the construction of one-story buildings. Mark M25 means strength 25kgf / cm.kv. and allows the construction of 2-storey buildings. The M35 brand corresponds to the strength of 35kgf / cm.kv. and is suitable for the construction of foundations and plinths.
Positive qualities of the material:
Disadvantages of shell rock:
The unusual color and texture of the shell rock attracts attention Note that the high cost of delivery leads to the fact that the final price of shell rock is 1.5 times higher than expanded clay concrete. However, this option should not be completely discounted. During the construction of a building not too far from the place of extraction, the shell rock is quite competitive with expanded clay concrete blocks. In addition, the unusual color and texture contribute to the use of shell rock for exclusive architectural and design solutions.
The construction of private houses from lightweight concrete is quite popular today. This is due to the following number of positive characteristics:
Aerated concrete house: two floors plus an attic - quite realistic The disadvantages of lightweight concrete blocks include fragility and low strength. However, the construction of houses of 2-3 floors with floor slabs is allowed. At the same time, it is necessary to provide, although lightweight, but a solid monolithic foundation.
The material shrinks, so after the walls are erected, the building box must stand during the warm season before the finishing works.
As an example: in the near Moscow region, I saw a beautiful 3-storey mansion made of foam concrete, the facade of which was covered with a continuous grid of small cracks. The building was plastered immediately after the walls were built. Now both frost and moisture continue their destructive work.
Manufacturers offer blocks with a thickness of 10 to 30 cm various options density and thermal insulation properties: structural, structural and thermal insulation and thermal insulation. If you use heat-insulating blocks on the outside of the wall, and structural blocks on the inside, you can do without additional insulation.
Together with a relatively inexpensive foundation, a completely comfortable and relatively cheap structure is obtained. Note that blocks of foam concrete and aerated concrete are produced using different technologies, have different internal structures and characteristics. In the production of foam concrete, a foaming agent is added to the cement mortar, which creates closed pores inside the material. A powder blowing agent is added to the raw material for the production of aerated concrete, which leads to the appearance of small through channels in the thickness of the block. As a result, gas blocks absorb moisture much more strongly and need waterproofing.
Various types of concrete blocks TEPLOSTEN blocks attract with their completeness. The outer and inner structural layers of the block are made of expanded clay concrete, and inside there is a polystyrene foam heat insulator. The design of the "hamburger" is completed by an external decorative element, painted in any color. Inside the block there is fiberglass reinforcement to prevent delamination of the material.
One of the disadvantages of the block is low vapor permeability, due to the presence of foam between the layers of expanded clay concrete. This can lead to wetting internal walls at high humidity and inadequate ventilation. Probably in the dry southern regions this problem will not arise. The TEPLOSTEN blocks are almost 2 times more expensive than expanded clay blocks, but they do not need additional insulation and finishing of the outside. The relative novelty of the technology under consideration should be noted. It makes sense to make sure that everything worked out well for someone before deciding to build HEATWALLS from blocks.
The design of the TEPLOSTEN block In Soviet times, mass production of houses from large-panel blocks was organized. By today's standards, a 34 cm thick expanded clay concrete panel does not provide sufficient thermal insulation, so it is necessary to add insulation. The main advantage of building from panels is the high speed of building construction. Today, the low demand for large-panel blocks is explained by a small range of sizes, which leads to a limitation of possible planning solutions.
old acquaintances Wall panels For the construction of a house using the TERMODOM technology, special foam blocks are used. The blocks are hollow inside and have thick walls. During installation, the foam blocks are laid in a row and filled with cement mortar. Reinforcement is inserted into the solution to strengthen the wall. Outside, the wall is plastered on a grid, or finished with siding. For interior decoration, drywall is most often used.
To strengthen the foam before pouring concrete, it is necessary to install a wooden formwork. Concrete is poured into the EPS formwork in layers, so it is necessary to wait for the previous layer to harden before moving on to the next one. Of course, this increases the construction time. It is allowed to erect 2-storey buildings with floor slabs.
The advantages of TERMODOM include:
THERMODHOUSE made of polystyrene was designated above the surface of the earth We note the following as disadvantages:
The presence of foam completely blocks the penetration of moisture through the walls, which can lead to wetting of the walls and the appearance of fungus. The use of a serious ventilation system in such conditions is simply necessary. Although in areas with a dry climate, such problems may not arise at all. In addition, it should be noted that the foam plastic burns, which means that the fire safety of the building will be noticeably lower than the option of brick and blocks.
In order not to disturb the inner layer of the insulation, it is necessary to provide channels for all types of communications even at the stage of pouring the solution. To hang heavy furniture on the walls, you will have to fix pre-embedded wooden elements to the concrete. The outer walls of the building must be closed from solar radiation in the foreseeable future.
This is how the construction of THERMODOM looks like In the recent past, most of the population of our country lived in wooden buildings. So the older generation evaluated the characteristics of such buildings from their own experience. Most often, wooden houses are light, eco-friendly, aesthetic structures. During construction, a light and not even a monolithic foundation is suitable, that is, relatively cheap. Delivery and installation of materials is easier than for buildings made of heavy materials.
A wooden structure can be quite durable and reliable, but no impregnation will save you from fire.
Wooden houses are prone to rotting, termite attack and require constant maintenance. Protective measures such as antibacterial and fire-fighting impregnations, varnishes and paints are valid for a limited number of years. Periodically, all treatments must be carried out again. However, there are tools and technologies that, to a large extent, compensate for the shortcomings and emphasize the advantages. wooden structures. About the pleasant: the technology does not prohibit building wooden houses at a negative temperature.
I want to touch with my hands a pleasantly smelling log house A log house cannot but evoke positive emotions associated with the smell of wood, tactile sensations and a reminder of antiquity. Assess the positive and negative qualities rounded log.
List of advantages:
The disadvantages also need to be mentioned:
Log house and stone: this option is possible I will give laconic memories from childhood about living in a log house. AT winter time the stove in the house was melted in the evening "red hot". Already in the morning it was terribly cold, and I flew like a bullet to get warm in the kitchen to the open mouth of the Russian stove, in which my mother was already wielding her tongs. In other words, with permanent residence in a log house, it is difficult to do without additional insulation. In order not to use additional thermal insulation, logs with a diameter of at least 0.4 m are required.
The walls of logs are quite vapor-permeable, and the house breathes easily. Sometimes moisture can condense in the thickness of the log as a result of temperature changes, which leads to rotting of the wood. The tree itself is very environmentally friendly, there is no doubt, but what will happen to it after a variety of chemical impregnation and coatings? Big question! Unfortunately, you can't do without them.
Another feature - wooden frame inevitably and constantly changes its geometry. You can somehow protect yourself from this by providing increased gaps in doorways and window frames. Fighting this problem, manufacturers dry and process wood, obviously not improving the environmental component and increasing the cost of the material.
In my opinion, it is better to abandon the use of round logs, if there are alternative options, in the case of building a house for permanent residence. On the contrary, for a summer residence, a guest house, a hunting lodge, a bathhouse, that is, a structure not intended for year-round use, perhaps nothing better is needed! The building will not warm up for a long time and delight its owners with comfort and warmth.
Of course, timber is luxurious! In short, a house made of glued laminated timber is still prettier at home from logs, somewhat better in performance and noticeably more expensive. The beam does not dry out, does not crack, cracks do not form in the walls, shrinkage is noticeably less. Probably, such a country cottage should be built solely for reasons of prestige: there may be a very small country house.
There is a lot of controversy around frame houses: some consider them the perfect fruit of progress, others consider them a product of “decaying” capitalism. Let's figure it all out together.
While in Toronto, I talked with a former neighbor on the landing. Her husband succeeded in business, and the lady decided to make money by building an elite cottage for sale. When asked about the progress of construction, she dumped a mountain negative emotions, the essence of which is reflected in the words: “They build from all kinds of garbage!” No more - no less! From myself, I note that, walking around the city, which largely consists of private houses, I did not find any traces of rickety, collapsing or withering buildings. Against! I was simply amazed by the variety of architectural solutions. Literally, in each of these houses you want to live. I think if beautiful houses are being built from garbage in Canada, then this is the highest professionalism.
Modern frame house in Toronto However, when I was going to buy my own house, I did not succumb to the temptation of the fashionable and cheap frame house, but built a house of expanded clay concrete. Because in Russia there are cheap blocks, and their masonry is inexpensive. Because I do not believe in the quality work of small frame house manufacturers in our country. Moreover, I will not undertake to solder or control each connection in the wiring of the house, because of which it can burn out like a match.
Another is the opposite. If we consider the issue at the age of 20, when there is neither housing nor money, then I would pick up a hammer and build the best beautiful frame house in the whole world. Now let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of frame construction.
Positive:
A half-timbered (frame) house in Germany has been standing for hundreds of years Disadvantages of frame houses:
A feature of a frame house is that it warms up quickly enough and can be used not only for year-round, but also for temporary residence. The foundation will need light and relatively cheap. During the construction of the frame, various insulation can be used and the most different variants exterior and interior finishes. Frame components can be produced with a wide variety of levels of processing and quality. You can not do the project at all, or you can purchase a ready-made and proven one. Thus, we get a fairly wide range of prices and quality of construction.
Definitely, a house can be built by two people, and all materials can be delivered using a car trailer. Probably a frame house is the best way for many of us.
Big house from SIP panels built quickly A house made of SIP panels is practically the same frame, which means it repeats many of its qualities. A feature of the house is SIP panels, which consist of 2 sheets of OSB, between which there is a layer of foam. Environmentalists have questions about OSB panels, and the foam makes the material absolutely vapor-tight. The problem of vapor permeability of walls is still the same: internal surfaces can get wet, covered with mold and fungus. However, in the dry climate of the southern regions of our country, this is unlikely.
Houses made of SIP panels have an undeniable advantage - the high speed of construction. At the same time, SIP panels are not the best offer for the price: a house made of aerated concrete, for example, will turn out cheaper. Probably, from such material it is convenient to quickly build a summer house or an extension to the house.
The tables brought to your attention do not aim to replace the calculation of building a house. The idea is to understand the order of prices and compare the parameters of houses built from different materials.
The prices shown do not take into account differences between regions and inflation, but they are quite suitable for comparison and valuation. It should be taken into account that there are much more options for building walls, the choice of wall materials affects the design and cost of the foundation, and the cost of communications and finishing works can easily reach 50% of the total cost of building a building.
| Insulation and finishing \ Wall material | Wall without insulation | Plus facing kipich | Plus decorative plaster | Plus insulation and facing brick | Plus plaster for insulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbolite blocks 400mm | 3000 | 2900 | |||
| Gas blocks 400mm | 2600 | 2800 | |||
| Foam blocks 300mm | 2500 | 2500 | 2800 | ||
| Ceramic porous blocks 510mm | 3600 | 3600 | |||
| Ceramic porous blocks 380mm | 3300 | 3500 | |||
| Expanded clay concrete blocks 400mm | 3300 | ||||
| Shell rock 400mm | 4300 | ||||
| Cinder block 400mm | 3000 | ||||
| Brick ceramic M150 double 380mm | 3200 | 3500 | |||
| 2500 | |||||
| Teplosten TB-400 | 2900 | ||||
| 2800 | |||||
| 3800 | |||||
| 2800 | |||||
| 3800 | |||||
| Glued laminated timber 279*210 mm without thermal insulation | 6700 |
| Comparison options | The cost of the builder stva | Ecological ness | Thermal insulation lation | Fire resistant responsiveness | Operating cost tions | Speed builder stva | Durability ness | Qualify- cation builders | Paroproni- value | Teploiner- rationality | Soundproof lation | Sum points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significance factor \ Wall material | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Arbolite blocks 400mm plus facing brick | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 60 |
| Gas blocks 400mm plus facing bricks | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 66 |
| Foam blocks 300mm plus facing brick | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 66 |
| Ceramic porous blocks 510mm plus facing brick | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 59 |
| Ceramic porous blocks 380mm plus insulation and plaster | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 54 |
| Expanded clay concrete blocks 400mm plus insulation and plaster | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 57 |
| Shell rock 400mm plus insulation and plaster | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 53 |
| Cinder block 400mm plus insulation and plaster | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 53 |
| Ceramic brick M150 double 380mm plus insulation and plaster | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 50 |
| Styrofoam fixed formwork | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 47 |
| Teplosten TB-400 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 61 |
| Frame-panel, thickness 174 mm | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 40 |
| Panel narcas based on SIP panels, thickness 174 mm | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 39 |
| Rounded tree with a diameter of 320mm | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 40 |
| Beam profiled with a section of 210 * 210 mm without thermal insulation | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 40 |
| Glued laminated timber 279*210 mm without thermal insulation | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 34 |
I hope that the above material will help you solve the key problem of building a house - what is more profitable to build walls from. Summing up, it can be noted that the fastest way to build a house using SIP panels; the cheapest housing frame technology, and the most reliable building has walls of stone and brick. If you want prestigious, expensive and environmentally friendly - this is a house made of glued laminated timber. In any case, which option is better is up to you.
The external walls of a private house should be:
Loads act on the wall of the house in several directions. Operating forces tend to compress, move sideways and turn the wall.
Compressive loads- these are vertical forces from the weight of the wall and above the underlying structures of the house. These forces tend to crush, flatten the material of the wall.
Low-rise private houses are relatively light in weight. Wall materials, as a rule, have a fairly large margin of compressive strength, which allows them to withstand the vertical loads of a private house even when.
Horizontal loads and torques act as a result of, for example, lateral wind pressure on the house or soil pressure on the basement wall, due to the support of the ceiling on the edge of the wall, due to the deviation of the walls from the vertical, and other reasons. These forces tend to move the wall or part of the wall from its position.
General rule for walls - the thinner the wall, the worse it withstands lateral loads and turning moments. If the wall does not withstand the specified loads, then it bends, cracks or even breaks.
It is the small margin of resistance to displacement that is the weak point in ensuring the strength of the walls of a private house. The compressive strength value of most wall materials allows you to make a fairly thin wall for a private house, but the need to ensure the stability of the walls to displacement, often forces designers to increase the thickness of the walls.
The stability of the walls to lateral loads is significantly influenced by the design of the walls and the house as a whole. For example, reinforcement of masonry, installation of a monolithic belt on the walls at the level of floors, strong connections between external and internal walls, as well as with floors and foundations, create the power frame of the building, which holds the walls together and resists the displacement deformations of the walls.
In order to provide the necessary strength and durability of a private house at reasonable construction costs, it is necessary to choose the right material and design of the walls, as well as the design of the load-bearing frame of the house, This choice is best entrusted to specialists - designers.
On sale there are projects of private houses with walls made of masonry materials with a masonry thickness of only 180 - 250 mm. . The thickness can be 100 - 200 mm.
In order for a person in the house to feel thermal comfort, three conditions must be met:
The first condition is the air temperature in the room should be about +22 about C. To fulfill this condition in the house, it is enough to install a boiler or stove of the required power and heat them.
The temperature of the surface of the outer walls in the house is always lower than the air temperature in the room. According to the requirements of sanitary and hygienic rules, temperature difference between air and surface outer wall the house should be no more than 4 about C is the second condition.
With the specified temperature difference, the surface of the outer wall in the house will be warm enough (+18 about C). There will be no “breathing cold” from the wall, condensation or frost will not appear on the surface of the wall.
To fulfill the second condition, the outer wall of the house must have certain thermal properties. The heat transfer resistance of the outer wall must be higher than the calculated value, m 2 * about C / W. For example, for the district of Sochi, this value should be more than 0.66, for Moscow - 1.38, and for Yakutsk at least - 2.13.
For example, an outer wall made of autoclaved aerated concrete (gas silicate) will be warm and provide thermal comfort in the house, with a thickness in Sochi - 90 mm, in Moscow — 210 mm., and in Yakutsk - 300 mm.
Third condition- building envelopes of the house must have. If the “clothes” of the house are blown by the wind, then there will be no heat, no matter how thick the thermal insulation is. Everyone knows this from their own experience.
Exterior walls with the above parameters will be warm and provide thermal comfort in the house, but they will not be energy efficient. Heat losses through the walls will significantly exceed the building regulations in force in Russia.
In order to comply with energy saving regulations, the heat transfer resistance of the outer walls should be several times higher. For example, for the district of Sochi - at least 1.74 m 2 * about C / W, for Moscow — 3.13 m 2 * about C / W, and for Yakutsk - 5.04 m 2 * about C / W.
Thickness of energy-saving walls from autoclaved aerated concrete (gas silicate) will also be more: for the area of Sochi - 270 mm., for the Moscow region - 510 mm. for Yakutia - 730 mm.
Aerated concrete (gas silicate) is the warmest material for laying walls. The thickness of energy-saving walls made of more heat-conducting materials (brick, concrete blocks) should be even greater. (The figure above shows the heat transfer resistance of a masonry brick wall with a thickness of 2.5 bricks (640 mm.) = 0.79 and in one brick (250 mm) = 0,31 m2* o C/W. Compare with the values \u200b\u200bgiven in the examples and evaluate in which regions such walls will provide thermal comfort?)
Wooden walls made of timber or logs also do not meet the requirements of energy saving.
It should be noted that comply with the requirements of building regulations for the resistance to heat transfer of walls and other enclosing structures of the house not required for a private developer.
It is more important for the home owner to reduce overall heating costs.
It can be beneficial to give up the energy-saving properties of walls, but to increase the heat-saving parameters of ceilings, windows, ventilation systems in order to meet the norms of energy consumption for heating.
Heat loss through the walls is only 20 - 30% of the total heat loss in the house.
Do not forget about one more condition of an energy-saving house. The house must have a minimum- walls, ceilings, windows.
From the data above, it can be seen that wall materials allow you to build strong, thin and fairly cheap walls private house. But such walls will not provide thermal comfort in the house or have the required energy-saving properties.
Technologies for building walls of a private house are developing in two main directions:
It should be noted that wall materials for single-layer walls have mediocre, both mechanical and thermal properties. We have to improve them with various constructive tricks.
A combination of these two technologies is also used when walls made of cellular and porous materials additionally insulate a layer of highly effective insulation. This combination allows make masonry walls and a layer of insulation of small thickness. This can be advantageous for structural reasons, especially when building a house in a cold climate.
Not so long ago, almost all private houses were built with single-layer walls. The thickness of the walls of the house was chosen from the conditions for ensuring thermal comfort and thought little about energy saving.
Currently, for the construction of single-layer walls, materials with sufficiently high thermal insulation properties are used, to make your home energy efficient.
What is better to make a single-layer wall of the house. All materials for single-layer walls have a porous structure and a low density of 300 - 600 kg / m 3. With a decrease in density, heat-saving properties improve, but the mechanical strength of materials is reduced.
There are several types of cellular concrete, which differ in the way they create pores (cells). The best properties for the construction of single-layer exterior walls of the house are density (brand) 300-500 kg / m 3.
Aerated concrete blocks can have precise dimensions, which allows them to be placed on glue with a joint thickness of 2 mm. The ends of the blocks often have a groove-ridge profile and are joined without mortar in a vertical seam.
Aerated concrete has an open porous structure and therefore absorbs moisture well, but also easily breaks up with it.
Porous ceramics is made from raw materials and in a manner that is similar to the production of ordinary ceramic bricks. The difference is that components are added to the clay-based mass, which form pores during firing.
Hollow blocks are made from porous ceramics. Hollowness further enhances the heat-saving properties of block walls.
The thickness of the masonry of single-layer walls from blocks of porous ceramics 38 - 50 cm. Porous ceramic blocks are laid on a special heat-saving mortar with a joint thickness of 10-15 mm.
The exterior finish of single-layer walls, as a rule, is. Facing plates made of natural stone or artificial products can be glued to the walls. Finishing by the ventilated facade method (cladding along the crate) is used very rarely.
The plastering of walls made of porous ceramics or expanded clay concrete from the outside is performed with a traditional plaster composition with a thickness of about 2 cm. In addition to plaster, you can do it in other ways (see link).
From the inside, the walls are plastered or.
Building a house with single-layer walls is faster. In a new house with single-layer walls you can start living without waiting for the finishing of the facade. This work can be left for later.
For building a wall with insulation almost any masonry material can be used- ceramic and silicate bricks, blocks of cellular and lightweight concrete, as well as porous ceramics.
The bearing layer of a double layer wall can also be make of monolithic concrete or wood- timber, logs. The choice of material is much more varied than with single-layer walls.
For walls with insulation use materials with higher mechanical strength and density than for single-layer walls. This circumstance makes it possible to reduce the thickness of the masonry of two-layer walls.
Thickness of masonry walls from 180 mm. - depends on the properties of the materials used, on the construction of the walls and the box of the house.
Wall masonry is most often carried out on ordinary masonry mortar, filling horizontal and vertical seams with mortar. The work is simpler, not requiring special qualifications from masons.
The mechanical strength of the wall material, as a rule, is sufficient for problem-free fastening to walls of various structures.
The thermal insulation properties of the wall depend mainly on the thermal conductivity and the thickness of the insulation layer.
The thermal insulation layer is placed outside ( double layer wall) or inside the wall, closer to the outer surface ( three-layer wall).
As thermal insulation, slabs of mineral wool or polymers - polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam are most often used. Less commonly used heat-insulating slabs of cellular concrete and foam glass, although they do have a number of advantages.
Mineral wool slabs for wall insulation must have a density of at least 60-80 kg / m 3. If it is used for facade decoration, then mineral wool boards with a density of 125-180 are used. kg / m 3 or slabs of extruded polystyrene foam.
Mineral wool insulation is plastered with a vapor-permeable composition - mineral or silicate plaster.
Thermal insulation of the facade with mineral wool is usually more expensive. and harder to work with. But a layer of wool insulation allows moisture to escape from the wall to the outside.
A continuous layer of thermal insulation on the outside allows block all cold bridges in double-layer walls without the use of special design tricks that have to be done in single-layer walls.
General thickness of two-layer walls (with plaster from 35 cm.) is usually less than a single layer wall.
The width of the foundation walls (basement) is also smaller, which allows save on their construction. This advantage does not apply to three-layer walls. The width of three-layer walls and their foundations is usually not less than that of single-layer ones.
Exterior finish of double-layer walls is performed thin-layer plaster on insulation. Insulation boards, preferably extruded polystyrene foam, are glued to the wall. The thickness of the insulation layer is not recommended to be more than 150 mm. A layer of plaster with a thickness of 5-7 mm.
Wall surface with thin-layer plaster more sensitive to point mechanical impacts than a single-layer wall with traditional plaster.
For double-layer walls often use ventilated cladding on the frame. In a ventilated facade, mineral wool insulation boards are placed between the frame posts. A cladding made of vinyl or plinth siding, wooden materials, or various slabs is mounted on the frame.
Fixing the insulation to the walls, installing a ventilated facade - all these works consist of many stages and operations, require skill, accuracy and responsibility from the performers. A variety of materials are used for work.
When installing double-layer walls in there is a risk that employees will do something wrong.
In three-layer walls a layer of highly effective insulation is placed inside the masonry or wall monolith. Three-layer walls also include walls with a lining of a layer of insulation with bricks or other masonry materials.
For the device of three-layer walls, a single-row masonry of (thermal wall, silicon granite, polyblock) is also used. Heat blocks have three layers of concrete-insulation-concrete fastened together.
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Depending on whether brick, blocks or wood is used for construction, a private house can differ not only in quality, but also in price. If a person with an average income makes a choice in favor of a brick house, then he should keep in mind that other modern materials used for construction have higher heat retention rates. In this case, there will be a clear cost overrun on.
Regardless of the material used for the walls, cement or cement blocks are used for the foundation. Only their number and amount of expenditure varies, depending on what material it is supposed to build a house from and how easy it will be to determine the thickness and depth of the foundation.
The same can be said about the roof. The composition of the roof is selected depending on the requirements of heat retention indicators.
The best material for building a house
The best building material for a private house can be considered a tree. But even such an advantage will not become a key argument for people who have insufficient funds. Unfortunately, materials with high environmental cleanliness cannot yet be called universally available to the inhabitants of Russia.
Wood as a material has many advantages, but the main one is its high cost. For a person with an average income, the construction of housing from such material is in most cases not available.
Describing modern materials, one cannot help but recall that the inhabitants of some settlements use exclusively environmentally friendly materials for building houses (straw, clay, hay). But these options can be attributed rather to exotic and not very common in Russia.
If you use the block construction option, then the insulation will be the same as for a brick wall - expensive, but the material itself will be cheaper, so a private block house is the most profitable in recalculating the final costs.
In addition, with block construction, a private developer will significantly save on time costs. After all, blocks are much easier and faster to lay than bricks.
Insulation for a frame house is mineral wool or monolithic foam concrete. This is a good budget option for a person with limited financial resources. A more expensive option for insulation can be Ecowool. In some cases, polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam is used. From the outside, the insulation is sewn up with cement-bonded particle board (DSP), particle-cement board (SCP), plywood or OSB.
Facade plaster or siding is needed for sheathing or cladding at the last stage of construction. Considering the light construction of the frame of the house, we can conclude that the economical use of cement for the construction of the foundation. Therefore, for the budget option for building a private house, it is most advantageous to still choose frame technology.
