What's wrong with warm ceramics: an overview of the main disadvantages of a porous block

People tend to react to ads - that's what they're created for. In advertising, everything is shown beautifully, in a trusting manner, and often this encourages the adoption of one or another decision. This happened with warm ceramics: at first there was a construction boom made of this material, and then disappointments followed. For what parameters porous ceramics showed low results - read on.

Separating flies from cutlets

Before you scold something, you need to objectively consider the concept of an object of attention. The very idea of ​​a porous ceramic block is very good: it is based on an environmentally friendly and proven time, a material that has been transformed by technology into a large-format block with many voids in the inner structure. Logically, it should be durable, lightweight and warm. In fact, this is the case if the block is made in accordance with the technology.

But as always, especially in our country, there are many factors that turn a good idea into a low-quality product. Both Mercedes and Zhiguli are cars - you can't argue with that. But the implementation of projects is different and the output results are different.

The same happens with almost any wall material, which loses some useful qualities not only in the production process, but also during installation. Builders are generally a separate topic, because the wall is not only the brick itself, but also the mortar, and even the quality of the masonry. Let's look at the disadvantages faced by consumers in our country.

A little about the benefits

Manufacturers claim tempting characteristics of their product, namely:

• low thermal conductivity, and therefore the block is warm;
• a good indicator of compressive strength, exceeding light aerated concrete;
• frost resistance over 50 cycles;
• low moisture absorption;
• non-shrinkage - walls from a porous block do not crack;
• good sound insulation;
• high speed of building construction;
• low cost, comparable to aerated concrete.

Perhaps, the blocks made in accordance with the technology do, but what happens in reality?

Fragility

In the laboratory, warm ceramics show rather high strength characteristics. And in the wall, the porous block feels great: it holds the floor slabs without an armored belt.

But the problem is the excessive fragility of the material: this is due to the slotted structure and thin walls. For example, in case of improper transportation, in which side loads or impacts occur, the block can break, and even worse, get hidden damage - cracks. And hidden damage will make itself felt during the operation of the house.

And also the structure of the block walls itself has porosity. This effect is obtained from the use of porous agents (sawdust or rice husks), introduced into the composition of the clay. Porizators burn out during firing, which forms pores. On the one hand, this increases the thermal insulation qualities, on the other, it takes strength.

And there is also an opinion that ceramics in warm climates acquire the effect of shrinkage - this makes them even more fragile. All this is reflected in the installation of the fasteners: over time, they loosen and under load can fall out of the wall.

Geometry

Many people complain about the dancing geometry of warm ceramics. As planned, this large-format block is equipped with a tongue-and-groove system, which excludes the use of a vertical seam in the masonry. And also the porous block according to the technology should lie on specialized glue, when using which the seam is thin. A thin seam is a minimal cold bridge.

In fact and numerous comments, such an idyll does not work. Due to the unevenness of the block, the spike does not fit tightly into the groove, and the vertical seams become active cold bridges. A house made of warm ceramics is blown through.

For the same reason, special glue is practically not used, and ordinary lime mortar is used everywhere. By the way, lime mortar has five times higher thermal conductivity than porous itself block, and in this regard, a wall made of this material no longer has the same thermal insulation characteristics. If you do not use glue, then put porous ceramics on warm solutions, including perlite.

Thermal conductivity

Here, again, you need to look at the quality of the masonry itself. The thermal conductivity indicated by the manufacturer is often a filkin letter: it is not clear in what conditions the tests were carried out. In some cases, in the laboratory, an ideal wall is laid out of blocks on a warm solution and tests are carried out on it. But, a fragment of an ideal wall laid out in a laboratory and a wall built by an average bricklayer are two different things. Therefore, it is impossible to judge the thermal insulation qualities of warm ceramics according to the test report.

Some manufacturers go even further - in fact, they indicate the thermal conductivity of the block itself, and not the walls from it. That is, sensors are attached to the block on both sides and tests are carried out, the results of which are divorced from reality. Although it is stated that porous ceramics, like aerated concrete, are universal materials: at the same time structural and thermal insulating, in fact they both require additional cladding. Facades made of these materials must be insulated or plastered, even if insulation, according to thermal engineering calculations, is not required.

Moisture absorption

Ceramic absorbs moisture well and for this reason it must be isolated from groundwater and protected from precipitation. If water gets into the voids, this poses a problem that can lead to the destruction of the block structure under the influence of ice. Ideally, the walls of the house and the roof are best erected in one summer period.

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