Foam concrete construction - features and technology

Recently, this type of material, such as foam concrete, has been widely advertised on the construction market. As a result, many developers are interested in the expediency of its use and the features of such construction. To help understand this issue, below we look at the pros and cons of foam concrete, as well as look at the technology of construction of buildings from this material.

Features of foam concrete

General information

Building material foam concrete belongs to light cellular concrete. It is usually obtained by adding a foaming agent to a fine-grained concrete solution. It must be said that it is rather difficult to call it new, since it first appeared in the late 19th century.

True, foam concrete was widely spread only in the middle of the last century. Of course, during this time, its manufacturing technology has improved significantly, with the result that it has become not only heat-insulating, but also a construction material.

Types of foam concrete

To date, there are several technologies for producing foam concrete:

• Classic method - this method of manufacture consists in the preliminary preparation of a cement-sand mortar, after which organic foam obtained by the foam generator is added to the composition. As a result of uniform mixing and subsequent hardening of the composition, foam concrete is obtained.
• Barotechnology - in this case, the preparation of the material is carried out under pressure. To do this, a foaming agent, water and other components are added to the mixer. After that, air is injected into the chamber with the mixture, as a result of which pressure is generated. Foam concrete mixture formed by barotechnology, as a rule, is used for the manufacture of foam concrete blocks and pouring monolithic structures.
• The method of dry mineralization - this technology consists in the use of dry components that are mixed with steam generator foam. The result is a stable mixture with a small amount of water.

Characteristics of foam concrete

As a result of its structure, foam concrete has the following characteristics:

Virtues

Among the advantages of foam concrete are the following points:

• Low weight, so that the structure does not require a strong foundation.
• Environmentally friendly - the material does not contain harmful substances, and also has good vapor permeability. As a result, a microclimate is formed in the houses of foam concrete, which is similar to the microclimate of wooden houses.
• Good heat and sound insulation properties due to low density. As a result, heating costs are reduced by 25-30 percent.
• Low price, so you can save on construction.
• Durability - the material does not lose its strength over time.
• Frost resistance
• Fireproof.
• The use of foam concrete blocks provides high construction speed, due to their large size.

disadvantages

The disadvantages of foam are in the following points:

• Low level of strength, so the foam should not be used for the construction of houses on several floors, and even more so it can not be used in the construction of the foundation.
• Hygroscopicity, as a result of which the material is able to absorb moisture from the environment.

Construction technology

As a rule, in the construction of buildings from this material, use foam concrete blocks. This construction technology of foam concrete is quite simple and affordable for almost every home craftsman. The only thing is that you first need to familiarize yourself with all the stages of work that we will discuss below.

Training

As with any construction, should begin with the project structure. You can do it yourself or find ready-made foam concrete projects on the Internet, for example, on our portal. If you plan to build a house, you can contact the specialists who will create an individual project, taking into account all your wishes.

As a rule, in parallel with the execution of the project, geological studies are carried out, which allow to determine the quality of the soil and calculate the foundation. After all these works are completed, you can proceed to construction.

Foundation

Most often, structures of foam concrete are built on monolithic reinforced concrete.

Instructions for the construction of such a foundation is as follows:

• The first step is to prepare the construction site - clean it of debris and remove the top layer of soil with grass.
• Further, in accordance with the design of the future building should markup. To do this, the corners are driven in with pins and tensioned ropes. All dimensions need to be checked several times to prevent a mistake.
• Then along the perimeter, trenches are dug to the design depth. As a rule, the foundation is buried below the ground level. Trench width depends on wall thickness.
• Next, you need to align the bottom of the trenches and fill them with a sand pad at least 15 cm thick. Sand should be moistened and rammed.

• After this, the concrete foundation is formwork. For the strength of its construction, use struts and lintels.
• So that the liquid does not go into concrete, the bottom of the trenches must be covered with plastic wrap with a twist on the formwork.
• The final stage before pouring is reinforcement. To do this, a metal frame is installed in the formwork, consisting, as a rule, of four rods of reinforcement, fastened together with steel wire.
• Further, the foundation is poured with concrete of a grade not lower than M300. Fill should be done evenly, around the perimeter. In this case, deep vibrators are usually used, which allow the mixture to be compacted, and thus make the concrete more durable.
• The top of the solution must be leveled according to the beacons prepared in advance, so that a horizontal surface will be obtained.

Note! When performing the foundation of the house, it should be borne in mind that the base should rise 0.5 m above the ground. The base can be monolithic with a foundation or made separately. The only thing you should not do it from foam.

This process of making the foundation with your own hands is completed. A few days after pouring, formwork should be disassembled. Further work can be continued no earlier than 28 days.

Walling

When the foundation gains design strength, you can proceed to the construction of walls. However, before laying foam concrete, it is necessary to perform horizontal waterproofing of the base. For this, as a rule, two layers of roofing felt are laid on it.

I must say that the blocks can be put both on a normal cement-sand mortar, and on a special glue. The latter option is more expensive, but the thickness of the seam in this case will be only 3-5 mm, i.e. significantly less than with conventional solution. As a result, the glue will need several times less, besides, it will make the walls warmer.

The walling process is as follows:

• Start laying from the corners. Previously glue is applied on the base with a trowel and then the block is laid. His position needs to be checked by building level. As lighthouses, strings are usually pulled along the wall. Vertical joints between the blocks should be half filled with mortar.
• Next, the second row of blocks is laid with an offset of at least 8-12 mm, and the third row.
• After the third row of blocks it is necessary to perform reinforcement. To do this, in the laid foam concrete along the walls, it is necessary to make two grooves in which the reinforcement rods are laid with a section of 8 mm. At the corners, the grooves must be rounded so that the reinforcement does not fit at a right angle.

• In places where it is necessary to perform stiffening belts, for example, under the overlap, a kind of thin block formwork is performed on the wall and a metal frame is laid into it. The space between the blocks is filled with cement-sand mortar. The jumpers above the door and window openings are made in the same way.
• After erection of the box, beams are laid on the stiffness belt, and the roof is carried out in accordance with the design.
• Since foam concrete has the property of accumulating moisture, after erection of walls, finishing of foam concrete is performed outside. Most often for these purposes they use facing bricks. It allows you to reliably protect cellular concrete from the negative effects of the environment, and also makes the structure more attractive and durable. Also allowed is the option of finishing the walls with plaster.

Tip! In order to obtain additional blocks or narrow panels for making stiffness belts, you can cut foam concrete with a regular hacksaw.

Here, perhaps, all the features of building a house of foam.

Conclusion

Despite all the advantages of the above material, it can be used not for every type of construction, due to its low strength. Therefore, the best way to use it are extensions of foam concrete, outbuildings, or small residential buildings.

As for the construction process itself, it is fairly simple and fairly quick, however, it has some nuances. From the video in this article, you can get more information on this topic.