Monolithic foam concrete and construction technology

In modern construction more and more often use such material as monolithic foam concrete in fixed formwork or removable collapsible structures. This technology has several advantages over construction using traditional materials. Next, we will take a closer look at it, as well as consider its useful properties and disadvantages.

General information

Foam concrete is a lightweight porous material that does not even sink in water. At the same time, it meets all the requirements of regulatory documents that apply to building materials for cold resistance, strength and some other parameters.

In fact, it is a foamed cement-sand mortar. Moreover, the process of the formation of pores is controlled by special electronics, which ensures high precision of its manufacture.

Virtues

Monolith of foam concrete has a number of advantages, among which are the following points:

• Thermal insulation properties are 5-10 times better than that of a brick wall of the same thickness.
• It has the property of "breathing", so that a favorable microclimate is formed in the room, which is almost identical to the microclimate in wooden houses.
• Good flame retardant properties.
• Ease thanks to what load of the base decreases.
• The price of the material is lower than normal concrete.
• Moisture resistance - non-autoclave material, unlike autoclave, has a closed porous structure.
• Environmentally friendly - the material does not contain harmful substances.
• High speed construction.
• Ease of processing - for example, diamond drilling of holes in concrete or cutting of reinforced concrete with diamond circles is not required, as the material can be cut with a regular hacksaw, and you can use a drill to make holes.

disadvantages

The drawbacks of the monolithic foam concrete are primarily in the fact that the quality of the material depends on the accuracy of the recipe. Making foam concrete requires laboratory scrupulousness, and any deviation significantly reduces the quality of the material, which in this case is unacceptable.

However, this disadvantage is solved with the help of special installations with dispensers, which stir the concrete and even deliver it to the place of pouring with the help of a pipeline. In addition, the low density of the concrete material leads to the need for the construction of supporting frames. This requires additional time and financial costs.

Technology features

The main stages of construction

Construction of houses from monolithic foam concrete, provided that the foundation is ready, comes down to the following operations:

• The construction of the supporting frame;
• Frame construction (hard or lightweight);
• Filled foam concrete in the finished design;
• Roof installation.

Foam concrete manufacturing

As mentioned above, in contrast to the more traditional construction of buildings from foam concrete blocks, the technology of monolithic construction from foam concrete implies the production of material directly on the construction site.

When mixing the solution, special foaming agents are added to it, due to which the necessary porosity of the material is obtained. Of course, to perform the same mixture with your own hands is unlikely to work out, which can be called a lack of technology.

After the solution is ready, the mixture is fed to the place of pouring by means of a concrete pump.

Hard frame

The technology of monolithic foam concrete can be based on a rigid or lightweight frame. As it can be used fixed brick formwork. In fact, this technology consists in the construction of walls with voids, which are filled with foamed concrete. At the same time, a reinforcing mesh is laid in the brickwork, and rows are run with an inward release, which allows you to subsequently tie up the brick with poured concrete.

With this design, external brick walls are used as a supporting frame, and foam concrete serves as a heater. As a rule, the density of concrete in this case is less than 500 kg / m3.

There is also another type of houses, the construction of which uses frame technology. In this case, the metal frame is made of metal profiles. For cladding, instead of wooden SIP-panels, as in ordinary frame houses, use removable formwork or glass-magnesite sheets.

To improve the insulating properties of the walls, monolithic foam concrete is sometimes warmed with synthetic materials that are placed in the middle of the formwork. As a result, the heat-insulating properties of a wall about 300 mm thick correspond to a brick wall 1.5 meters thick.

Note! The use of insulation inside the walls allows not only to improve the thermal insulation properties of the walls, but also reduces the likelihood of shrinkage cracks.

The disadvantages of this technology include the fact that permanent formwork eliminates the "breathing" properties of foam concrete.

Lightweight frame

With such a construction technology, plastic frame structures or conventional NP profiles are used as a frame. They are poured into concrete and serve as support for formwork. To harden such a concrete structure, concrete columns are erected at a certain distance from each other, which serve as bearing elements of the building.

In this case, use thermal insulation structural foam brands D600-D1400. Its exact density is determined depending on the frequency of the bearing columns. The latter are also poured inside the walls and additionally insulated with expanded polystyrene.

Note! When building houses with a lightweight frame, fiber is added to the solution, which increases the strength of the material.

The overlaps are laid on foam concrete walls. The only prerequisite is the reinforcement, which connects the supporting columns. It must be said that sometimes monolithic foam concrete houses with wooden frames are erected. However, the instruction for their construction requires additional reinforcement.

In addition, there is a combined method of walling, which involves the use of cladding bricks as external formwork. On the inner side, GVL slabs can be used.

Conclusion

Monolithic foam concrete has several advantages over traditional building materials. However, the construction technology with its use has some disadvantages, such as the need to use special equipment for the production of foam concrete, and the construction of the frame.

Therefore, before making a decision about such construction, you should weigh the pros and cons. From the video in this article, you can get additional information on this topic.