Aerated concrete is the best wall material for a self-builder. I made a conclusion after 10 rows of masonry

In this article, I will not re-examine the characteristics of the main building materials for walls. This is done in the article here. And I will show you about the convenience of working with the material based on my experience and construction. At the beginning, there are a few more advantages that were not reflected in previous articles.

Autoclaved aerated concrete is a non-handicraft material (like most industries, for example, foam concrete). It can be purchased in almost any major city. And where there are no warehouses (partners of manufacturers), then a truck will arrive at your site when ordering. The only question will be unloading.

The range of block sizes, their density is also wide. From aerated concrete for insulation (density D200) to D600. From a width of 100 mm to 400 mm (somewhere I met 500 mm). Beams, floor slabs, U-blocks made of aerated concrete - this is also there to speed up and facilitate construction. I chose a wall thickness of 400 mm and a density of D500 with a strength of B2.5. Some do not even insulate such walls in the future.

Because large-format blocks, the speed of wall construction is higher than from other materials. The speed of masonry from gas blocks is the highest (not counting construction from timber). No need to knead and drag the solution in buckets. Two incomplete buckets of diluted glue are enough for me for the perimeter of the walls. Some brigades lay up to 5 rows per working day of an average home area. I have an average speed of half a row per evening (4 hours).

It would be faster if the wall blocks were 300 mm wide. With a width of 400 mm - at the limit of the strength indicators of an ordinary man. Especially when laying the upper rows with wet blocks after rain. Consider this, especially for those with back problems.

When using certain subtleties in work, like marking planes with a mooring thread, level control - the walls are smooth both inside and outside. Subsequently, a minimum of plaster is needed inside. I use two strands: to control the plane of the wall and to control the wall fall.

Using mineral glue - the seam is 1-2 mm thick. This is the absence of cold bridges as when laying from other blocks (arbolite, expanded clay concrete, brick, warm ceramics, etc.).

Eight years ago I built a bathhouse from a bar - I can make a comparison with aerated concrete in the construction process. In short: it is more difficult for one to build a house from a bar and not faster.

You don't need to use mineral glue at all. And lead the laying on glue-foam. But for this you need to ideally display (grind) the horizontal edges of each row. The foam glue shrinks under load and cracks can form in the vertical joints between the blocks at the “steps”.

A coarse sandpaper grater solves this issue of grinding edges and high-quality masonry on glue-foam without seams.

I foame only vertical seams (there are grooves in the blocks from Sibit). There is no wasteland. Consumption in this case: 1.5 cylinders per row.

It is easy to saw aerated concrete blocks with a special hacksaw. For large-scale work (sawing for gluing U-blocks of jumpers and armo-belt), I made a machine based on an electric saw (with a chain with teeth with victorious solders). See past articles about it.

I have seen many reports where masonry builders are constructing decking and scaffolding around the entire inner perimeter of the house. I made two such tables out of old boards and pallets and just move them during the laying process:

And for laying on the uppermost rows, I also made a platform of 4 pallets. For me, this is faster than constantly assembling and dismantling decking and having a wobbly structure. Moreover, to purchase boards for them.

These are photos from mid-June 2020. At the moment, I started installing the armopoyas (I will show it in the following articles).

Minus in this material, as I wrote, I see only one - these are chips. I try to put the whole side out, and with the chips - in. Wet work (laying on mineral glue) does not bother me, because I have been working with concrete for a long time and the process is familiar and familiar.

Yes, the blocks also gain moisture, but they give it away just as well. Frost resistance class F100, says that the material will withstand 100 freeze-thaw cycles. And in a residential building this will not happen. So the material is practically eternal.

Erection of insulated fixed formwork from U-blocks is possible only when using aerated concrete. The process is shown here. This cannot be done from other materials, and there monolithic lintels and an armored belt are poured into the formwork from boards. And then you need to insulate.

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Photos of the author (c)

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