Expanded clay block walls - masonry features, tips and

Despite the seeming fragility, claydite-concrete blocks with proper use can be an excellent material for one-three-storey buildings. The considerable thickness of the wall of expanded clay blocks provides excellent thermal properties of buildings, and ease of installation with their own hands allows the non-professional to perform construction work.

Features of laying of lightweight aggregate blocks

There are many masters who advocate for and against walls of expanded clay concrete blocks.

But even those who are not a fan of this building material cannot deny their high performance, namely:

1. Large size allows you to significantly speed up the construction process.
2. Walls of claydite are quite warm.
3. The material is reliable and very durable.
4. Reasonable price in comparison with a brick.

In addition, working with this building material is still quite convenient, due to the following aspects described in the table:

Note! To align the blocks in a row, you can use only a rubber mallet. Since claydite is hollow, even a non-strong blow with a metal hammer can lead to splitting.

Preparing the foundation for the implementation of masonry

For a house built of expanded clay, there will be enough of a strip foundation.

The following instruction will help you to correctly fill it:

1. Clearing the area of ​​vegetation and debris.
2. We mark the territory in accordance with the size of the future building.
3. We dig a trench, more than 1 meter deep.

1. We install wooden formwork.
2. Laying in the formwork reinforcement cage, which is knitted from four long rods, interconnected by short jumpers.

1. Fill the concrete.
2. Now you need to wait about a month until the concrete is strong.

Masonry technology of claydite blocks

The thickness of the wall usually corresponds to the width of the block, since laying in half a block is enough to get strong and warm walls in a low-rise building.

The technology is extremely simple:

1. Getting started with corners. After the corners are erected in several rows, you can proceed to the masonry walls.

1. We stretch the cord along the future wall. Regarding this cord, you can check the evenness.
2. Laying is carried out with a ligation of 10-20 cm.

Tip! If you decide to veneer the building with face brick, it is advisable to erect the bearing and decorative walls in parallel with the dressing of every third row. For dressing you can use masonry mesh or ordinary reinforcement with a diameter of up to 10 mm.

Some tips:

1. The seams need not be too thin. It is desirable that their thickness was 10 mm or more, since the size of the blocks of expanded clay concrete may differ slightly.
2. To align the series, you should not hit the block too hard, because individually such building materials are quite fragile and can break.
3. In the work you will definitely need the halves of the block, and it is possible that the quarters. For cutting is best to use a grinder. Cutting reinforced concrete with diamond circles is also quite popular, which can also be used for expanded clay.

Thermal insulation of claydite walls

Such constructions are already quite warm in themselves, however, this does not mean that the insulation of walls from claydite-concrete blocks from the inside is not an obligatory procedure. If you want to have a warm and cozy home, regardless of the time of year, then it must be properly warmed.

And if you are interested in how to insulate claydite-concrete walls, then it is best to give preference to the method of internal insulation. Before thermal insulation it is necessary to carry out all the necessary communications, for which you may require diamond drilling of holes in concrete.

The technology of warming houses from expanded clay concrete does not differ from similar actions for brick buildings. (See also the article Protecting concrete from moisture: features.)

Works are carried out in several stages:

1. Creating crates, which can be both wood and metal.
2. Laying insulation between the profiles of the batten. It is best to choose mineral wool for this.

1. Now we mount a waterproofing layer over the batten.
2. From above the design is sheathed by gypsum or clapboard. Drywall is an excellent material that allows you to create walls with different coatings, including wallpaper, paint, tile, plastic panels, and so on. (See also the article Cutting Concrete with a Bulgarian: How to Make It.)

Conclusion

The use of this material allows you to complete construction in a short time. Due to the characteristics of claydite concrete, internal and external hydro and thermal insulation is obligatory - this will allow you to get excellent conditions for living. In the video in this article you can find additional materials on the topic.