Cinder block houses. Building a house from cinder blocks with your own hands: fast, economical and fun! Choosing the right cinder block
Slag concrete - a variety lightweight concrete, in which blast-furnace slag is used as a filler. In construction, slag concrete is used in the form of blocks, the maximum dimensions of which are 400 * 200 * 200 mm.
This article discusses the technology of building a house from cinder block. We will study the advantages and disadvantages of this material, specifications and features of working with it.
Partial hardening of the blocks, which allows you to store products in stacks, occurs within 2-3 days. Self-hardening takes place at a temperature environment, its period can be reduced by adding special hardening modifiers (relaxol, fulleron) to the composition of the solution. Slag concrete gains its final strength within 25-28 days.
The production of cinder blocks at home can be set up with only a concrete mixer and a vibrating machine, the cost of which varies between 10-100 thousand rubles. The performance of the vibrating machine is average price category is 500-700 blocks per day, which will allow you to build a house from a hand-made glakoblock. The required number of blocks for a one-story building with an area of 10 × 10 can be made within 7-10 days.
Cinder blocks are classified into two types:
- corpulent - with their use, the laying of load-bearing walls is carried out;
- hollow - used for thermal insulation or laying internal partitions.
There are also decorative cinder blocks, in which one side has the texture of some material - stone, wood. The decorative surface is made of concrete, which allows it to perform not only an aesthetic function, but also protect the walls from moisture.
The most common size of cinder block is 390*190*188 mm, less common are 400*200*200 and 395*195*195 mm. The voidness of products can vary within 28-40%, while the shape of the perforations is different, they can be rectangular, round or square.
To find out how many blocks will be required to build the walls of the house, it is necessary to determine the volume of the wall (the length of the wall multiplied by its height and width) minus the volume of window and doorways, and divide the volume of masonry by the volume of one wall block.
1.1 Material characteristics, pros and cons of a cinder block house
Consider the main technical characteristics of cinder blocks:
- density - from 750 to 1500 kg / m 3;
- coefficient thermal conductivity - 0.28-0.64 W / mS;
- strength class - from M35 to M50;
- frost resistance class - F20-F50.
The scope of this material is extremely wide, but in individual construction it is most often used for the construction of utility buildings and garages. The use of cinder block for the construction of residential buildings is less common, since in terms of performance it significantly loses to cellular concrete - cinder blocks and gas blocks.
Advantages of using cinder blocks:
- comparatively low cost (about 2 thousand per cubic meter, while the price of foam concrete starts from 3 thousand);
- low weight of the blocks, which simplifies the work with the material and makes it possible to use inexpensive types of foundation for construction;
- large size of cinder blocks - accelerates the pace of masonry and reduces the number of masonry joints, which affects the consumption of mortar or glue;
- simple masonry technology that even an inexperienced builder can perform;
- the ability to save on the purchase of material and produce blocks at home;
- excellent soundproof qualities;
- long service life with proper construction technology.
The disadvantages of this material are as follows
- high thermal conductivity, due to which the walls of the house do not hold heat well - you will need to perform additional insulation masonry;
- high moisture absorption, in comparison with heavy concrete, which negatively affects the frost resistance of the material (this problem is solved by external waterproofing of the masonry).
It should be noted that blast-furnace slag, which is a waste product of the metallurgical industry, which is part of the slag concrete, contains sulfur and acid. These materials are dangerous to the body, and in order for them to completely weather out, the unit must be kept in a ventilated room or outdoors for 12 months. When purchasing material, be sure to ask the supplier for a certificate of sanitary conformity.
1.2 The technology of building a cinder-block house (video)
2 Features of building a house from cinder block
Since the cinder block is a hygroscopic material, the first row of masonry must be raised above ground level to a sufficient height. For this, the foundation base must be high (about 50-70 cm above the ground). For buildings made of cinder concrete, a strip foundation is most often chosen.
If the construction is carried out in conditions of stable soil, then a shallow-depth tape is used (depth 50-60 cm), on heaving soil - a deep foundation (the sole of the tape is placed 20 cm below the freezing line). The width of the foundation corresponds to the thickness of the masonry. The base must be reinforced with a spatial frame of reinforcement bars with a diameter of 12-16 mm, concreting is carried out with concrete grade M400. You can start raising the walls 2-3 weeks after pouring the foundation.
Cinder block masonry has the following features:
- the first row of blocks is placed on top of the rolled waterproofing made of roofing material, felts or glass isol laid on the foundation surface;
- it is necessary to reinforce every 4th row of masonry, this is done by means of a steel mesh with 5 * 5 cells and a wire thickness of 2-3 mm;
- thickness of masonry joints when used cement-sand mortar is 1.5 cm;
- the second and all subsequent glads are placed with dressing in the floor of the block;
- the upper contour of the wall along the line of placement of the interfloor ceiling or roof is reinforced with a monolithic armored belt 15-20 cm high, for the installation of which special U-shaped blocks are used;
- if it is planned to insulate the wall, then you need to make masonry 1 block thick and clad the wall with brick, while the heat-insulating material (extruded polystyrene foam or basalt wool) is placed between the blocks and the brick.
The roof of a cinder block house can be any, best option- classic double roof structure. Mauerlat, in which the rafter legs will rest, is made from a bar with a section of 15 * 15 cm fixed on a monolithic armored belt. Reinforce the lower contour with an armored belt window openings there is no need, since cinder block walls do not shrink.
If insulation of the house and brick wall decoration are not provided, then it is necessary to veneer the box of the building from the outside immediately after its construction. The reason for the haste is the increased moisture absorption of the material, which must be eliminated. Facade decoration can be done using siding or a block house; options using hydrophobic plaster are also popular.
Before you insulate a cinder block house from the inside on your own, you need to know the rules for carrying out such work. It is important to choose materials that are suitable for this.
Today, the construction market is saturated with such products. There are a large number of them. Usually they are made on the basis of mineral wool or polystyrene. Warming a building with one product or another requires certain skills. How to properly insulate a cinder block house will be described below.
The slag house itself is warm, especially if the thickness of the slag-cast wall in it is more than 30 centimeters. But in order to spend less on heating in winter, the building can be further finished. In this case, you can do both external and internal insulation of the cinder block walls of the house with your own hands.
Which side to finish the cinder block house?
Thermal insulation can be both outside the walls and inside. If the finishing is done in the first way, then you can save space inside the building. Warming a cinder block house from the outside will also require less effort, time or money.
How to insulate a cinder block house?
How to insulate a cinder block house from the outside? Outside, the finish can be made with expanded polystyrene. This material is easily glued with a special mixture. Beforehand, it is worth leveling the wall under it and priming it so that moisture does not seep through. So how to insulate a cinder block structure correctly?
To create thermal insulation inside, preparatory measures will be required. To do this, the surface is leveled, and then primed. Such work can be done using plaster or putty mixture. The walls must first be cleaned of dirt or dust.
In order for the thermal insulation to last for a long time, it is important to put a layer of waterproofing under the thermal material. This will help prevent condensation.
For interior decoration you will need:
- Insulation. The thickness of the sheets should not be more than 5 centimeters.
- Putty knife.
- Glue.
After the site is prepared, you can proceed with the installation of plates. The adhesive mixture must be prepared according to the instructions on the package. It is applied to the surface with a spatula. Then the insulation material is glued to the glue. At the same time, there should be no air under the plates.
Important! Glue should be applied only to the base, not to the slabs. The thermal material itself must have a clean surface. The sheets fit snugly together after gluing. If gaps remain, they can be blown out with foam or sealed with putty.
How to lay insulation on cinder block walls?
Before you insulate a house from a cinder block, you need to choose a thermal insulator. Insulation of a cinder block house from the inside can be done different materials. Their installation has certain nuances depending on the type of insulation. It is important to know such moments before the start of the event.
Foam insulation
The difficulty of using this product is that its installation requires a flat base. If this is a cinder block wall, then it will require preliminary plastering, and then a primer. The surface must be free of dust or paint.
So that it does not absorb moisture, waterproofing is mandatory under it. This will allow the insulation to last longer. Waterproofing will not allow condensation to form, and therefore the walls will always be dry.
To work you need:
- Styrofoam.
- Putty knife.
- Glue.
Installation is simple. The prepared surface is covered with glue, and then the plate clings there. Then the plate must be pressed to squeeze out the remaining air from under it. Glue is recommended to be applied exclusively to the wall, and not to the sheet. Then all the gaps between the plates are sealed with plaster.
Also, installation can be done with plastic dowels. But usually inside the house they are glued with a mixture. The final step will be finishing or painting.
This method is fast and practical. The main advantage is that it is not necessary to level the surface for laying mineral wool. The installation process is carried out on the frame. It can be wood or aluminum. Before strengthening, the tree should be treated with mixtures that will not allow it to rot and will prevent the appearance of insects.
The frame consists of cells of a certain shape, where the mineral wool is placed. Then from above it is all sewn up with drywall, and then gets off.
Insulation sealing
After laying the thermal material, it is important to check its sealing at joints, sockets, switches and other things. Air can get into the gaps left in these places. To prevent this from happening, sealants are used. If the gaps are large, foam is used.
Output
A video on how to insulate a cinder block structure from the inside or outside is below. On it you can get acquainted with the process of installing insulation in more detail. It is also worth noting that mineral wool insulation will cost less than foam.
To the benefits mineral wool refers to the fact that it does not burn like polystyrene. Also, when smoldering, harmful gases will not be released into the air. The downside is that cotton wool can absorb moisture when communications leak. But here everyone should calculate their capabilities and strengths, and then, based on this, choose the best option for themselves.
Increasingly for construction modern houses use a material such as cinder block. And the secret of such popularity lies not only in its low cost. It has many benefits. It is no worse than modern building materials, which are made according to the latest technologies. It is ideal for the construction of residential buildings.
The cinder block is a building stone. It is obtained by shrinkage cement mortar in different forms. The manufacturing technology is not particularly complicated, it does not require special equipment and installations. The solution is made up of various components, but this does not greatly affect the final characteristics. Therefore, you can make such a building material yourself. To do this, you will need to make a form into which the solution mixture will be poured.
Manufacturing
Usually cinder block industrial production always larger than red or sand-lime brick. By making it yourself, you can give it the size and shape of your choice. You can make a form from ordinary wooden planks. The solution is made from ash, which can be replaced with slag waste from boiler houses. Cement is also added to it. All these components make it possible to obtain building materials of increased strength. For even greater strength, sand, dolomite crushed stone, brick chips, and limestone screenings can be added to the solution. Of course, all this must be filled with water. From such a solution, concrete cinder blocks are obtained, which have a significant weight. To get a lightweight version, the solution is kneaded on the basis of cement, expanded clay, slag and ash.
Such elements are used not only for the construction of residential buildings. Other types of buildings are also built from them. Due to the relative lightness of the material, you can easily build a house on your own in the shortest period of time. A cinder block house is warm and comfortable.
Construction Benefits
A cinder block is essentially a concrete block. As a filler, slag is used for it, which determines the basic properties of the material. Slag is a vitreous mass. It consists of the smallest particles of waste rock, which is mixed with flux. This substance removes impurities that form during the melting of the metal.
What are the advantages of buildings built from such material?
- First of all is the cost. This type of block material is inexpensive. In addition, it is generally possible to make it yourself.
- Minor weight. This allows you not to focus on the strength of the foundation, and saves on construction.
- High strength. Blocks are made on the basis of cement, slag, sand and sawdust. As a result, the material is durable. After its surface is plastered, it will be no different from silicate brick.
- Fire resistant. There are simply no components left in its composition that could catch fire. Under influence high temperatures they can melt, but not catch fire.
- The building is not afraid of insects and small rodents. Therefore, residents may not be afraid of such a neighborhood. But it is worth noting that such non-love is caused by the fact that some components carry a certain harmfulness.
- Technological simplicity. You can build a house from cinder block yourself even with a complete lack of experience in construction.
If we talk about insulating properties, then the prospects look rather sad. The cinder block has a porous structure that absorbs moisture. This leads to freezing of the walls in winter time of the year. Therefore, a building that is not insulated will serve as a poor protection for you from cold and frost.
Construction Disadvantages
Knowing all the shortcomings of the building material, you can more accurately understand whether this material meets your needs. Unfortunately, the cinder block also has them.
- High level of thermal conductivity. The house requires mandatory insulation. If you do not fulfill this condition, then the fuel costs will shock you.
- An increased degree of hygroscopicity, that is, the material is too porous. This means that the walls will catastrophically absorb any moisture. This will lead to dampness and cold indoors in winter. To avoid this, you will need an exterior plaster and a wall waterproofing agent. The latter must be used even when the facade of the building will be insulated from the outside using wet technology.
- Low level of environmental friendliness. Of course, manufacturing companies convince that this building material does not contain anything bad. However, no one can guarantee you that radioactive slag was not used in its production.
The list can go on for a very long time. You can add some nuances that make the process more complicated. But in reality, all this is not important if the builder is armed in advance with modern and reliable high-quality tools.
Construction features
The technology of erecting buildings from cinder block material is practically no different from building, for example, from brick. In the same way, the foundation is made, walls are erected, a roof is put up and communications are laid. Differences are noticeable only at certain stages.
- Protection of the foundation from water. Due to the fact that this species building material is hygroscopic, it just needs to be protected from moisture, which will come from everywhere, taking into account the foundation. Therefore, the waterproofing work of the foundation must be carried out with special care.
- Masonry. The cinder block is laid in almost the same way as a brick. The block binding method is the same and has not changed long years. The difference lies in the fact that the cinder block has voids. They are used depending on what the goal is. If the house is low, then the voids are simply filled with cement. This allows you to achieve additional strengthening of the structure. If the building will have several floors, then a reinforcement frame is inserted into the cavity. This allows the material to withstand the load coming from the upper floors.
- A cinder block house cannot do without an armored belt. Of course, I use it in the construction of all buildings from blocks. It is designed to distribute the load that comes from the floor slabs to all walls. If the house is being built from cinder block, then the armored belt is especially important. It is even made a little larger than usual.
Start of construction
Before starting the construction process, you need to decide on the size of the budget. There should be enough money to purchase ready-made material or components for its subsequent manufacture. In addition, the construction process will also require funds from you, as well as the repair process.
So, if you get everything you need to build a foundation, and build walls on it, and there is not enough money to continue building, then all the work will go down the drain. After all, we already wrote earlier that the cinder block absorbs moisture, which means that it will quickly become unusable, and everything will eventually have to be redone. If you cannot make all the calculations yourself, then contact a construction company that specializes in planned development and calculates the number required material with budgeting.
Also, you must put in order all the documentation proving your right to property and so on.
Building a foundation
When the documentation is put in order, and all materials are purchased, you can take on digging a foundation pit. To build the latter, you will need cement, reinforced concrete foundation blocks, crushed stone, gravel and sand. If you are planning to create basement or want to build a garage under the house, then the pit should be larger and deeper than usual.
The foundation itself, as a rule, has a tape structure. Especially when it comes to low-rise buildings. The quality of the soil on which the house is being built also affects how the foundation will look. Its height should have a height of at least 70 centimeters above ground level. This will protect the blocks from possible wetting.
When the foundation is ready, it must stand for at least one month. But laying the plinth is an exception. Its layer should be at least five rows if the building is built from concrete blocks. lower part the basement must be completely isolated from the surface of the foundation itself. The upper part of the plinth is covered with a layer of waterproofing.
Wall and roof construction
When the foundation is settled, you can start laying the walls of the house. To do this, you need to prepare the cinder block itself and, of course, the solution. It is prepared from cement and plasticizer. The latter will not allow the cement to harden very quickly. Therefore, it can be mixed large quantities. So, for the process of building walls, the following tools will come in handy.
- Hacksaw. You will need it for sawing blocks to give them the desired size.
- Respirator. When sawing, a lot of dust is generated.
- Building level.
- Hydraulic level.
- Hammer.
- Trowel.
- Plumb.
- Order.
Construction stages
As with building a brick house, you need to carefully align all the corners. The result should be a perfect rectangle shape. Then four cinder blocks are placed on the surface of the foundation. They are leveled with a building level and a stretched cord. After that, a layer of cement mortar is applied to the surface. It is on him that the first row of cinder blocks is exposed. If necessary, to give the solution a viscosity, ordinary ash is added to it. If there is red clay, then it will do the same.
The blocks are very easy to install. There are very few differences from brickwork. The solution is applied with a trowel. The stone is placed at an angle to the surface, turned so that it is parallel to the surface of the wall, and pressed firmly against the stone that was laid earlier. In this case, you need to lightly tap with a hammer on concrete block. Excess residues of the solution are removed with a paint trowel.
The very first rows must be laid out as accurately as possible. When erecting them, you need to check how even the surface is with the help of a building level and a plumb line. The more often you conduct such a check, the faster the work will go. In addition, you do not have to correct the mistakes made.
Laying methods
Laying walls made of cinder block material is possible in several ways.
1) In two stone blocks.
2) One and a half blocks.
3) In one cinder block.
4) Half a stone.
The solution must be laid with a thickness of no more than one and a half centimeters. If the layer is thicker, then the thermal insulation properties of the finished structure may decrease. To increase these properties, voids within blocks are best left unfilled. The solution is laid only at the joints of the blocks and where it is needed. When the wall is ready, the voids in it are covered with very fine slag, which is then carefully compacted.
In any case, the construction process is much faster than if you used ordinary brick. This is due to the size of the material and ease of use. So, the brick is smaller, so it will need twice as much. Therefore, more movements will have to be performed. Yes, and the same cement will go a lot. This means that the cinder block saves money. When the process of building walls is completed, you need to take on their hydro and thermal insulation. This is necessary so that moisture does not get on the surface of the material. This is especially important to do before you mount the roof.
When the walls are completely insulated from the effects of weather conditions, the roof frame is installed. It is designed after all the work related to the box of the building is completed. So that condensation does not form between the ceiling and the roof of the house, moisture does not collect, steam and waterproofing materials should be laid between them.
When the installation of the roof is fully completed, it is necessary to perform a vapor barrier on the ceiling. It, like the entire roof, must be insulated inside with basalt or mineral wool.
Video. We build a house from cinder block
Video. Cinder block its pros and cons
Any reasonable person and prudent owner, before building a house from cinder block, carefully studies the advantages of this building material, his physical and mechanical characteristics, thereby choosing the most optimal type of wall blocks.
The low price, ease of installation and the possibility of making the material with your own hands, about thirty years ago, made the cinder block popular with both individual and large developers. But it is from those times to this day that there is an opinion among the people that building a house from cinder blocks is dangerous to health. This is partly due to the fact that earlier “improvised” material was used as a filler in wall blocks: blast-furnace slag, which desperately “fonil”, and solid waste industrial enterprises.
Nevertheless, as the well-being of the population grows and the market is saturated with new, modern building materials, the construction of cinder block houses has not lost its relevance, because technological progress has also affected this simple product.
What is it, a modern cinder block
There are the following types of cinder blocks:
- Solid - used for the construction of foundations, plinths and load-bearing walls;
- Hollow - external walls and internal partitions are laid out from it.
To select a hollow material most often used in low-rise construction, it is necessary to take into account its properties, which directly depend on the type and number of internal voids:
- Most high performance in terms of thermal conductivity, blocks with a voidness of 40% are also the least durable. Therefore, these products are used as thermal insulation in addition to more durable materials;
- A voidage of 30% allows you to combine in products a balance of the necessary strength and good thermal insulation characteristics;
- It is believed that blocks with round (oval) internal chambers are more durable, and with rectangular ones they are more convenient for installation, they are evenly cut.
Wall block fillers
Perhaps another important aspect to pay attention to is fillers. As mentioned above, industrial waste was previously used as fillers, often their use had a negative impact on the health of residents.
Now you can also find products with blast furnace slag inside, but most often the manufacturer tries to produce a product that meets the requirements safe use and residence.
To obtain durable, dense blocks with high thermal conductivity, sand, pebbles or crushed stone are used. From a lighter concrete mix with the addition of gravel, perlite or expanded clay, blocks are made with less weight and thermal conductivity. The most environmentally friendly filler is sawdust, the only disadvantage of such products is rabies.
Weight and dimensions of the cinder block
Physical and mechanical characteristics of cinder blocks
- Strength. The M35 brand is used in conjunction with other material for structural insulation; M50 and M 75 - for laying walls and internal partitions; M100 and M 125 - for foundations and plinths;
- Frost resistance– 15 to 50 freeze and thaw cycles. For external walls it is recommended to use blocks with frost resistance of at least 35 cycles, and in the northern regions - 50;
- Thermal conductivity cinder block is not inferior to brick indicators.
Knowing the above features of the building material, you can easily choose the most suitable one, and building a house from a cinder block will not bring unpleasant surprises.
