Features of wall structures of old buildings. Method of constructing external walls of a building

The walls are erected in accordance with the house design, which must contain all the data necessary for the construction of the walls. It is also important that the work is carried out by experienced specialists who know the sequence of actions and have the appropriate specialties (masons, carpenters, etc.). If wet processes are used, then the walls of the house must be erected in the warm, dry season, the temperature is not lower than +5 degrees C.

The choice of material for the construction of walls is made on the basis of calculations of strength and heat loss, taking into account the design features of the wall itself and the combination of the material with the foundation and roof. It is not permissible to change the adopted design decisions regarding type, brand, thickness, etc. The thickness (length) of wall blocks, or the number of bricks in the masonry, or the diameter of logs, cross-section of timber, etc. must be accurately implemented on the construction site in accordance with design decisions. The most varied and even very unusual walls can be designed, for example, made of glass and metal. But next we will consider the design features and construction features of the most common options.

Popular design options

• A single-layer wall can only consist of porous ceramics, foam concrete, thick wood, i.e. materials with low thermal conductivity. But at the same time, a single-layer wall made of known materials can meet heat-saving standards only in the southern regions. And in the northern regions, the heat-saving properties of a single-layer wall will be clearly insufficient, or the thickness of the layer will have to be significantly increased.
• A two-layer one is laid out from any building material, which forms a load-bearing layer and is covered with a heat insulator. She happens to be universal option and can be used in any climate, since the heat-saving properties will be determined by the thickness of the insulation.
• In a three-layer structure, in addition to this, a heavy façade layer is laid out, which can significantly affect the strength, heat-saving, and vapor-permeable qualities of the wall. Typically, this is a high quality, durable finish made from solid piece materials.

The importance of quality work

When choosing any material for walls or any wall structure, first of all, you need to pay attention to the selection of specialists who will build this wall. First of all, experience in performing similar work is taken into account. The wall of a house consists of many fragments, each of which must be individually laid correctly. And it will depend on the builder. Therefore, preliminary conversations with hired specialists, checking their certificates and documentation, inspecting the objects they have previously built and collecting feedback on their work are the usual concerns of a private developer who wants the walls of his house to be built properly.

Let's look at the features of constructing walls from today's popular building materials.

Aerated concrete walls

Not high price aerated concrete, simplicity and speed of construction are the main trump cards of this material. In contrast - low reliability, fragility, destruction by water. The main point during construction is that wide seams are not allowed. The maximum seam thickness is 3 mm. Layout is carried out only with special glue. This protects against uneven stresses along the wall, as well as against unnecessary heat loss. The foundation for aerated concrete is created only as a monolithic strip foundation that does not allow movement, the design of which is provided for by the project. Because foam concrete has low elasticity and is fragile.


The enemy of foam concrete is water. If the blocks become wet or damp through the finishing, or from the roof, or due to a violation of steam exchange in the wall, or due to capillary suction of water from the foundation, then they will very quickly become unusable and collapse. The house will cease to exist as such. Therefore, the issue of waterproofing and normal vapor exchange in project documentation and special attention is paid during construction. It is unacceptable to use vapor barrier finishing layers on the outside, but at the same time, finishing with such quality should be done on the inside. Also, the finishing should be with low air permeability, since the masonry itself is “leaky.”

For construction in one layer, structural and heat-insulating foam concrete of grades D500 - D800 is used. The heat transfer resistance of 400 mm thick masonry made of such material will be only about 2.2 m2 K/W, which is less than the standard value for temperate climate by 30 - 40%. Therefore, in principle, single-layer walls will be considered cold.

For two and three layer structures, it makes sense to use colder structural foam concrete of more than D600, with an additional layer of thermal insulation.

Monolithic walls

Walls cast from heavy concrete are increasingly gaining popularity. Permanent formwork technology is used, when the wall is assembled from hollow blocks made of polystyrene foam with outside, and the inside has a smooth plaster finish. The blocks are installed on the foundation, and concrete is poured into the cavity. The result is a ready-made two-layer wall with external insulation, and the facade is plastered on fiberglass mesh.

The economic feasibility of pouring walls in permanent formwork or in movable formwork arises when performing a large volume construction work, for example, during the construction of a cottage village, when equipment for the production and delivery of ready-made concrete by pumps to the pouring point is installed on the construction site.

Typically, filling is carried out by specialized construction organizations using approved technology. However, the production of lightweight concrete on site - slag concrete, expanded clay concrete and pouring it into the formwork can also be done manually.

Made from heavy piece materials

Brick and heavy cinder block are common materials for constructing walls of private houses. Laying is done manually and depends on the work of a specialist. It is important to maintain the same thickness of the seams and their location in one line. The verticality of the walls and the evenness of the plane of their surface are controlled.

The seams between the bricks may not be filled with mortar to a depth of 1.5 cm; this type of masonry is called hollow brickwork and is intended for subsequent plastering so that the plaster layer adheres better to the wall. If plastering is not planned, then the seams are given some kind of shaped shape - convex, concave; such masonry is called jointing.

Heavy block materials are also often used - various reinforced concrete structures, treated and untreated stone, etc.

The side of the piece material with the largest area is the bed, the smallest is the poke, the middle is the spoon. A row of material laid along the edge of a wall (along the edge) is called a verst. The inner row is backfilled. Depending on which side of the material is visible in the row of masonry on the facade (a mile away), the row is called a bonded or a spooned row.
Brick walls are not cheap. But they are the most reliable and practical. Their construction can be carried out even by one private specialist.

Made of wood

Wooden houses made from laminated veneer lumber, like brick ones, are not cheap, but this building material is worth it. During manufacturing, laminated veneer lumber is impregnated with “chemistry”, does not rot, does not crack, and loses its fire hazard. It is made from lamellas dried to 7 - 9%, it does not lead and does not shrink. The width of the timber can reach 40 cm, which in non-cold climates is almost enough to standard values by heat transfer resistance. Ordinary 20 cm walls made of wood need insulation, i.e. must be two-layer. Cheap option– construction wooden walls from rounded logs. But you need to be prepared that over a period of up to 5 years the house will shrink, cracks will appear that need to be caulked, etc. Rot is possible.

A wooden house is built quickly; for its construction it is necessary to conclude a contract with craftsmen specializing in working with wood. Since in every case there are many large and small nuances.

The construction of walls in any case requires the presence of a specialist at the construction site. Savings on skilled workers are possible, and “newbies” can do all the hard work, but one specialist must constantly monitor the entire process and he must also be responsible for the final result of the construction of walls under the contract.

Having completed the construction of the foundation, giving it time to harden, they work on the walls of the future house. What the developer will build them from depends on the climate of the area, as well as on the financial capabilities of the developer to purchase this or that material. The walls of houses must meet the following requirements: be strong (withstand design loads); durable (resist weather conditions); have sound and heat insulation.

For a house to have an attractive appearance, it must be decorated with various materials. The main ones: 1. Brick. 2. Monolithic. 3. Frame. 4. Chopped. 5. Cobblestones. 6. Panel. 7. Small block.

Brick walls. Brick as a building material is widely used in urban and rural construction. Basically it is red, white (silicate). Yellow is used for wall cladding. All types of bricks are produced solid or hollow, with round or rectangular voids.

Ordinary solid brick - for the construction of load-bearing walls, for the construction of columns, pillars, vaults. The color is predominantly red. Must be frost-resistant, i.e., withstand frequent temperature changes without visible signs of destruction. Porosity should be at least 6-8%, but not more than 20%. The amount of porosity of a brick determines the strength of its adhesion to masonry mortar, thermal conductivity of walls and moisture absorption when weather changes. In terms of heat protection indicators, it is inferior to many other wall materials. So, for example, for a design ambient temperature of -30°C, walls lined with solid brick masonry can be 64 cm thick (taking into account the brand of brick and mortar). For comparison, the thickness of wooden block walls at the same temperature “load” is 25-30 cm. To reduce heat loss and brick consumption, an economical design of external walls - well masonry - is quite common. With this type of masonry, the wall is practically laid out from two independent walls half a brick thick, connected to each other by vertical and horizontal brick bridges to form closed wells. Wells are filled with slag, expanded clay, lightweight concrete. The disadvantage is the weakened structural strength of the wall. Typically, ordinary brick has an unattractive, rough surface, as a result of which internal and external walls built from it must subsequently be plastered.

Rice. 8. Types of bricks:
1 - ordinary solid brick; 2 - hollow brick; 3 - facing brick; 4 - silicate brick; 5 - fireproof brick (fireclay); 6 - clinker brick

Hollow brick - for the construction of external walls with increased heat-insulating ability. Color: pale red, dark red, brown, yellow. Hollow brick is used to make walls thinner. The presence of voids in brick reduces the need for raw materials, transport costs, facilitates firing, and increases frost resistance. In order to reduce brick consumption, reduce the weight of walls and the load on the foundation, external walls can sometimes be completely laid out from hollow bricks. Hollow bricks are made with through and non-through round, slot-like, oval or square voids. Due to the fact that the diameter of the through voids does not exceed 16 mm and the width of the gap is 12 mm, during the masonry process the mortar slightly fills the voids, and the masonry has a reduced thermal conductivity. The brick can be plastic or semi-dry pressing: with plastic pressing, the brick is made with through voids, and with semi-dry - with non-through voids (it is also called five-walled and is laid with voids down).

Facing bricks - for almost all types of exterior work. The color, depending on the raw material, ranges from light yellow to dark red. Withstands exposure to water and frost. Some types facing bricks, used for exterior decoration of stoves, fireplaces, outer surface have beautiful patterns printed on them, giving them an additional decorative effect. With the use of facing bricks, the cost of the walls increases, but the difference is approximately equal to the cost of plastering the facade. If we take into account the costs of repairing plaster and periodically painting external walls, it turns out that walls lined with brick are 15% cheaper in materials than plastered ones, and 25% cheaper in labor costs. The facing bricks are beautiful in light colors - yellow and cream, made from light-burning clays. In general, in their natural state, clays are gray, yellow, reddish, greenish, brown and almost black. But the color of already fired brick is largely influenced by the content in clay various connections and above all iron oxides. A unique aesthetic effect is achieved by using profile facing bricks. In the old days, profile bricks were obtained by cutting ordinary bricks or in special forms. Thus, in St. Basil's Cathedral, 7 types of profile bricks were used, presented in various masonry options.

Figured brick - mainly for exterior finishing. The color is red-brown, has high frost and moisture resistance. Figured brick, as a rule, is used for exterior decoration of a house for an aesthetic purpose - giving it a special, unique shape. What can you do - beauty may save the world, but its creation requires funds, and considerable ones. Therefore, already at the design stage, it is worth realistically assessing your financial capabilities and what suits you best - classic right angles or intricate facade shapes? Unlike Russian enterprises, foreign companies offer a wide selection of shapes and colors. Typically, figured bricks are made to order, taking into account customer requirements.

Glazed brick - for cladding internal and external walls. Color - different range of colors. Glazed brick refers to facing bricks and is intended mainly for original cladding. Even the architects of Babylon decorated the facades of royal palaces with it. Nowadays, glazed brick is produced by adding various chemical solutions to the clay mass, which, during the firing of the raw material, form a colored glassy layer. Moreover, the decorative layer has good adhesion to the main mass and has increased frost resistance. In terms of its basic properties, glazed brick is similar to clinker ceramics, however, compared to other types of facing bricks, it is the most fragile. This fact significantly limits the scope of its possible application. However, it is quite interesting when laid out various kinds and mosaic paintings both on the facades of houses and indoors. We have glazed brick - a rather rare finishing material. As a rule, it is made to order and abroad.

Brick with straw - for cladding external walls. Color red-brown. The brick has a rough, relatively flat surface and a recess on one side, which is typical for antique handmade bricks. Masonry made from such bricks creates the illusion of an ancient building, which in itself is beautiful, and sometimes simply necessary (for example, when reconstructing ancient buildings or constructing new ones in historical places). The use of straw in the manufacture of bricks can significantly increase its strength characteristics. Moreover, the recipe for “straw” brick itself is not new - even the ancient Egyptians, to combat fragility, “reinforced” the brick with straw fibers.

Ceramic clinker modular brick - for cladding external walls. Color: white, gray, light black, red, has low moisture absorption, heat-resistant, frost-resistant. Features of ceramic clinker bricks include their frost resistance (withstands at least 50 heating-cooling cycles) and heat resistance. low level of moisture absorption (0.2%). This is achieved both by the choice of source materials and by a special firing technology (at a temperature of 1800°). The brick has smooth end walls, like ceramic tiles, and a non-standard size - larger than that of ordinary facing bricks (which is why it is called “modular”). Therefore, due to the smaller number of bricks required in the wall being built, the laying time can be reduced.

The outer walls of houses are made one, one and a half bricks or more thick. This depends on the minimum winter temperatures. The strength of the wall is ensured by bandaging the seams. There are two dressing systems - single-row and multi-row. With a single-row ligation system, each row of bricks is ligated. Multi-row dressing is much simpler. A multi-row system is recommended as the main one for laying the walls of a house. The thickness of the seams for any dressing system should be 8-10 mm. Check the horizontality of the masonry every 2-3 rows and, if necessary, correct it (reduce or increase the thickness of the seam).

Rice. 9. Brick wall:
1-4 - rows of masonry; 5 - transverse wall; 6 - brick layout; 7 - filling with insulation; 8 - mortar bed

The laying of walls always begins from the butt row and is carried out from the corner from the front mile. Along the edges of window and door openings for installing boxes, 2 wooden plugs the size of 1/2 brick are laid on each side. The plugs are wrapped in one layer of roofing felt, the box is also insulated with roofing felt.

Rice. 10. Brickwork elements:
a - without ligation of seams; b - with ligation of seams

Lightweight brickwork with an air gap - consists of a thin outer wall 1/2 brick thick, an air gap and an inner wall one or one and a half brick thick. After 3-5 rows, both walls are tied with a butted row of bricks along the entire length of the wall. Brick ties can be replaced by reinforcement with steel rods in increments of 50 cm. To ensure better adhesion to the mortar, the ends of the rods are not brought to the outer surfaces of the walls by 5 centimeters.

Rice. eleven. Brickwork elements:
c - masonry elements; 1 - outer direction; 2 - internal direction; 3 - forgetfulness; 4 - second row; 5 - first row; 6 - horizontal seam (bed); 7 - vertical longitudinal seam; 8 - vertical transverse seam; 9 - facade; 10 - longitudinal rows

Lightweight brickwork with slab insulation is ordinary masonry lined with insulation inside using mortar beacons. This creates an air gap 2-4 cm wide. Slab insulation is attached to the brickwork and using wooden slats, nailed to plugs embedded in the masonry. Slab insulation can be made of wood concrete, fiberboard, mineral wool, lightweight concrete and others. At an air temperature of -30°C, the necessary thermal insulation is obtained with a wall thickness of one and a half bricks and insulation made of slabs 80 mm thick. When laying a wall made of hollow bricks, a wall thickness of 25 cm is sufficient, i.e. in one brick.

Well masonry wall. The transverse walls are made using 3 bricks, the outer corners are laid out in a row of bricks. The backfill is laid as the walls are erected, in layers of 10-15 cm, carefully compacted. Every two layers are watered with lime mortar. Slag, expanded clay, sand mixed with sawdust and fluff lime in a ratio of 1:4:1 are used as backfill. At the end of the well masonry, lay out 3 rows of solid masonry with reinforced mesh in the last row. Well masonry is recommended for houses with wooden floors.

Analytical material on what to build the walls of a house from. An overview of popular materials and a brief description of each of them.

Walls are the most important structural element of any house or cottage. In the final cost of construction, the cost of erecting walls reaches 30%. Depending on a number of climatic and other conditions, the choice of material, design and wall thickness is made. These parameters are determined by the design solution, which in mandatory precedes the start of construction of any house.

The materials used for the construction of house walls are divided into three groups:

• Wooden.
• Stone.
• Heterogeneous.

How to choose the right material for the construction of walls of a residential building?

This article will help you find the right answer to this difficult question. Let's assume that we are faced with the task of choosing materials for building walls:

• two-story residential building
• with a total area of ​​150-200m2.
• in the conditions of a temperate climate zone, characteristic of most of the territory of the Russian Federation.

Essential characteristics of any wall materials

Before we begin to consider the characteristics and features of the use of the most popular materials belonging to the groups presented above, it is worth noting that for any wall of the house, regardless of the materials used and design features, there are a number of mandatory functions and requirements:

• Structural strength. This criterion is one of the most important, since for several decades the walls must bear the load not only of their own weight, but also the weight of the roof and ceilings, communications and engineering units, and interior decoration of the premises. That is why all erected walls must have a certain margin of safety. To build the walls of the house we are considering, you need to focus on a material strength indicator that does not exceed 150kg/cm 2.
• Minimizing foundation loads. This parameter is no less important than the previous one, since neglecting this factor can lead to the destruction of the entire building or to a significant increase in the cost of the zero cycle.
• Thermal resistance. This factor characterizes the thermal comfort indicator indoors. It directly depends on the thermal conductivity of the wall material and their thickness. For the material of the walls of our house, we can focus on the value 2.5m 2 K/W.
• Water absorption. The ability of a particular material to absorb and retain moisture is determined precisely by this criterion, which characterizes the percentage ratio of the mass of water absorbed by the wall to the mass of dry matter of this wall. The water absorption of wall materials used for the construction of the house we are considering should be in the range from 6% before 15% .
• Fire resistance. This criterion characterizes the ability of walls to limit the spread of flame.
• Frost resistance. This parameter characterizes the ability of wall materials and various structural elements resist alternate freezing and thawing. Most modern building materials have a frost resistance coefficient equal to 25-35 cycles. This value fully satisfies the requirements for the construction of the walls of our house. Experts do not recommend using materials with a frost resistance coefficient of less than 15 cycles, since in this case it is necessary to carry out additional processing that will prevent the penetration of moisture from the facade.

Option No. 1: wooden walls

The most widely used materials belonging to this group are the following:

• Beam (simple and profiled).

The construction market does not stand still. New building materials appear with enviable frequency. However, despite all the newfangled trends, houses made of logs and beams not only have not lost their popularity, but are also becoming increasingly relevant. Wood used to build walls has a number of advantages. Durability, strength, light weight, ease of processing - this is not a complete list of the advantages of this building material.

The construction technology of modern wooden houses is greatly influenced by the emergence latest technologies and equipment. Solid wood is practically not used anymore. It was replaced by a wooden beam, which is a log hewn from all sides. Exactly Preliminary processing logs ensures their almost perfect fit to each other. This technology helps improve the quality of housing and reduce construction costs.

However, construction logs used for the construction of walls have their own advantages:

• Strength.
• Ease of construction.
• Natural beauty.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Ease of machining.

Ability to ignite quickly, a necessity additional processing to prevent rotting and uneven shrinkage are the main disadvantages that characterize the use of construction logs.

Houses built from wooden beam (plain, profiled or glued), have a number of general benefits:

• Reduced costs (compared to the use of other building materials).
• Fast home assembly. Described at the beginning of the article two-storey house(150-200m2) is quite possible to assemble in two to three months.
• Creation and preservation of a special indoor microclimate.
• Multiple design options.
• Ecological cleanliness.
• Low thermal conductivity. Unheated house warms up completely in just a couple of hours and lasts 6 times more heat than a brick house, and about 1.5-2 times than a foam concrete house.
• Resistance to deformation.
• Ability to remove excess moisture.
• Excellent frost resistance. Houses can last more than a hundred years.
• High strength and elasticity.
• Virtually no internal and exterior decoration(especially for houses made of profiled and laminated timber).
• Aesthetic appearance.

In addition, houses built from simple, profiled or laminated timber have a number of individual features and advantages. So, to build walls from a simple wooden beam, you can use a columnar foundation or "floating columns".

Profiled timber provides increased durability of the building, high solidity, excellent vapor and air permeability, simplicity and speed of assembly of the house, maximum environmental friendliness. The low weight of the timber can significantly reduce the load on the foundation, and the low cost of the material (about 2-3 times cheaper than laminated veneer lumber) and the aesthetics of the building sometimes tip the scales in favor of profiled timber.

Houses built from laminated veneer lumber, are characterized by high strength, improved thermal insulation and higher (compared to natural wood) fire resistance. The advantages of laminated veneer lumber include a fairly short construction period and, of course, natural beauty wood and its texture.

Walls made of wooden beams, like those made of other materials, also have their disadvantages:

• Anisotropy of wood. This indicator characterizes the heterogeneity of strength, vapor conductivity, thermal conductivity and other properties depending on the direction of the wood fibers.
• Limitation of use depending on ambient temperature. Thus, houses made of laminated veneer lumber are not recommended to be used in conditions of prolonged heating above 35°C, all others - above 50°C. The temperature of 35°C is not typical for the temperate climate zone (which is where our house is conventionally located), but in last years is not such a rare occurrence. This fact makes us think once again about the use of laminated veneer lumber.
• Possibility of cracks (except for laminated timber). To be fair, it is worth noting that this drawback is quite easily eliminated by rubbing with special mastics.
• The need to use additional finishing materials when using simple timber. This will prevent moisture from getting into the space between the beams.

Thus, houses and walls made of wood quite successfully combine excellent consumer qualities and a relatively low price, and the environmental friendliness and beauty of this material cannot be overestimated. That is why wooden buildings continue to be erected for many centuries, despite the advent of modern building and finishing materials.

Option No. 2: walls made of blocks

The most popular and widespread are the following building materials belonging to this group:

Wall masonry made from a wide variety of blocks has become widely used and very popular. Walls built from one type of block or another have different physical properties and features inherent in the block filler material.

However, most buildings built from block building materials are characterized by excellent heat and sound insulation properties, increased fire and frost resistance, environmental friendliness, lightness, strength, durability, resistance to mold and mildew, and ease of processing. In this section we will dwell in detail on the advantages and disadvantages of various types of this building material.

Cinder blocks

Slag, which is the flux-containing components of waste rock, is the main filler of cinder blocks. The most suitable building stone fillers can be used various materials: cement, expanded clay, broken glass, broken brick and concrete, gravel, sand, granite screenings, crushed stone. Cement is the main binder cinder blocks.

The main advantages of cinder blocks include the following:

• Low cost, due to the low cost of the components used. As a result, the cost of masonry and construction of the entire house is significantly reduced.
• Easy to use. No special skills are required to build cinder block walls.
• Strength and durability.
• Fire resistance and frost resistance.
• Opportunity self-made.
• Low consumption of binder solution.

However, cinder blocks also have some disadvantages, among which are the following: poor sound insulation properties, high thermal conductivity, the need for double-sided plastering of walls and the difficulty of laying various communications.

Foam blocks

This type of building material is made from foam concrete, which is a type of cellular concrete. Used for the production of foam blocks cement mortar, sand, water and foaming agent. Foam block is an artificial porous stone that can float in water. A wall made from this material is able to “breathe”, creating an ideal indoor microclimate. Approximately the same microclimate is created in houses built from wood. However, foam blocks, unlike wood, do not rot or burn.

Advantages of foam blocks:

• Short specific gravity.
• Low hygroscopicity.
• Ease of processing.
• High durability.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Cheapness. Foam block is one of the cheapest materials.
• Good sound insulation.
• Cost-effective due to low weight. Thanks to this, you can significantly save on the construction of the foundation and the thickness of the plaster layer. Foam blocks can even be laid with glue.
• High fire resistance.
• Low shrinkage rate.
• High thermal insulation properties.

The only disadvantage of foam blocks is that the construction of walls is only possible frame method, and a synthetic foaming agent can enhance the hygroscopicity of concrete.

Gas blocks

This building material has unique characteristics and is becoming increasingly popular. It is gas blocks that provide real competition to classic brick due to their natural origin and excellent performance. Sand, lime, cement, water and aluminum powder are used to produce aerated blocks. Depending on the binder component used (lime or cement), it is possible to obtain gas silicate or aerated concrete block. Both types of gas blocks, due to their high porosity (up to 85%), have excellent performance properties inherent in both wood and stone:

• High strength.
• Ease of processing.
• Low thermal conductivity.
• High fire resistance and frost resistance.
• Excellent sound insulation properties.
• Excellent vapor permeability.
• Durability.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Ease.
• Resistance to fungi, bacteria and mold.
• Moisture resistance.
• Quick installation.

However, gas blocks also have a number of negative properties. In particular, additional cladding of external walls or protective plastering may be required; sound and heat insulation properties decrease with increasing density and strength. It is impossible to build high-rise buildings (more than 3 floors) from aerated concrete blocks. However, in our case (construction two-story house) this factor has absolutely no influence on the choice of material.

Sand-lime brick

This building material is made from sand, lime and some additives. Sand-lime brick is used for the construction of external and interior walls and for cladding. It is not recommended to use sand-lime brick in areas with high humidity and for masonry that may be affected elevated temperatures. These features of the use of sand-lime brick are due to its ability to absorb moisture well and decompose hydrate components with a significant increase in temperature.

The main advantages of sand-lime brick include the following:

• Reliability and durability.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Resistance to the influence of aggressive factors.
• High fire resistance.
• Possibility of use for a wide variety of architectural solutions.
• High noise absorption coefficient.

However, sand-lime brick also has a number of negative properties that limit its use:

• Increased construction time and high labor intensity of work. This state of affairs is possible due to small sizes sand-lime brick.
• High ability absorb moisture.
• Heavy weight. Sand-lime brick is one of the heaviest building materials.
• Low adhesion to cement mortar.
• Limited application (temperature and humidity).

Ceramic blocks

Ceramic blocks or "warm" ceramics are an environmentally friendly building material made from high-quality clay with the use of certain additives. Many builders use the expression " warm block", which indicates one of the main characteristics of this material - ceramic blocks are distinguished by excellent thermal insulation qualities. In addition, these blocks have almost all the positive properties of ceramic bricks:

• Resistance to aggressive factors.
• High strength.
• Light weight.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Ease of processing.
• High adhesion achieved due to the corrugated surface of the blocks.
• Durability.
• Frost resistance.
• Excellent heat and sound insulation properties.
• Optimal microclimate indoors.
• Reduced construction time (compared to brickwork).
• Saving mortar when laying.

Ceramic blocks have few disadvantages, but they do exist: high price, the need to plaster the walls to protect them from moisture, and fragility during transportation.

Arbolit

This building material is a type of lightweight concrete. To make it, a mixture of organic fillers (woodworking waste, fires, reeds, etc.), a binder and water is used. The mixture also contains some additives. For example, to accelerate the hardening of cement and mineralization of the aggregate, calcium chloride and alumina sulfate are added.

Arbolite very successfully combines the best qualities of stone and wood. This unique building material is characterized by excellent heat capacity (the thermal conductivity of wood concrete is 4-5 times lower than brick), high strength, and resistance to rotting. It is environmentally friendly and fireproof. A negative quality of wood concrete can be called high water absorption, which can be successfully overcome by creating a reliable protective covering.

Positive traits this unique material more than compensate for this shortcoming:

• Low thermal conductivity, which allows you to significantly save on heating your home during the heating season.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Plastic.
• Ease of processing.
• High strength.
• Low specific gravity.
• Fire safety.

In addition to the block building materials discussed above, they can be used to build houses ceramic bricks, expanded clay blocks, twin blocks, gas silicate blocks, sand concrete blocks, polystyrene concrete and sawdust concrete blocks. These building materials have almost the same performance qualities as all block building materials.

Option No. 3: heterogeneous (multilayer) walls

Among the building materials belonging to this group, the following are most widespread:

The materials listed above have a number of undeniable advantages, among which we can highlight such as a significant reduction in construction time, low weight, cost savings, excellent combination with other building materials, long term operation. Below we present in more detail the main performance qualities of each material separately.

SIP panel

The SIP panel is a structure that includes two oriented particle boards or OSB, between which there is a layer of insulation glued under pressure - solid polystyrene foam. Expanded polystyrene has a number of excellent physical and performance properties.

It is resistant to aggressive environments, environmentally friendly, durable, and easy to use. This material is characterized by a low degree of thermal conductivity and vapor permeability.

Houses built from SIP panels have the following qualities:

• Strength.
• Durability.
• Energy efficiency.
• Relatively cheap.
• Beauty.
• Fire resistance.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Practicality.

In addition, houses made from this material are very quickly assembled. Thus, the two-story house with an area of ​​150-200 m2 considered in this article can be assembled in 12-15 days on a prepared foundation, and full cycle construction, including interior decoration, will take no more than three months.

The relative cheapness of constructing buildings from SIP panels is achieved due to the following factors:

• Inexpensive foundation.
• Short term construction.
• Simplicity finishing works.
• No additional insulation is required.
• Significant savings on heating and home maintenance.

However, ideal building materials that have absolutely no disadvantages do not exist. SIP panels are no exception, the main disadvantages of which include the following: fire hazard, the need to use a ventilation system, and the possibility of rodents entering.

Permanent formwork

Permanent formwork consists of panels or blocks made of various materials that are mounted into a formwork structure. The use of permanent formwork can significantly speed up and simplify the construction process by combining several operations into one technological cycle.

The main advantages of using permanent formwork include:

• High speed of construction. For example, the box of the house discussed in this article can be erected in just a week.
• Light weight of blocks.
• Variation of architectural solutions.
• Low cost of material.
• High fire safety.
• Environmental friendliness.
• High strength.
• Excellent heat and sound insulation.
• Can be used in any climatic conditions and on any soil.

This material also has its drawbacks. The use of permanent formwork is characterized by the difficulty of compacting the concrete mixture and installing door and window openings, the need to use protective finishing materials and install a grounded loop that protects the building from lightning.

Multilayer heat blocks

Multilayer heat blocks are made using the injection method from expanded clay concrete and contain a thermal insulation liner made of expanded polystyrene. The decorative front surface, made of expanded clay concrete painted with iron oxide pigment, represents the third layer of this building material.

Multilayer heat blocks are practically free of disadvantages, but they have many advantages:

• High speed of construction.
• Significant cost savings.
• No additional heat and sound insulation is required.
• Excellent thermal efficiency.
• Durability.
• Aesthetic appearance.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Fire safety.
• Possibility to increase living space.
• Light weight.

Brisolite and insulated laminated veneer lumber, like the heterogeneous (multilayer) building materials discussed above, have found wide application in the construction of houses and have many similar physical and operational properties.

Summary

Thus, this article outlines the comparative characteristics of the main building materials used for the construction of walls and houses. As you can see, all presented materials have their pros and cons.

From what building material (group of materials) is it better to build the house discussed in this article? I am sure that each reader found the answer to this question on his own, having analyzed the physical, operational, aesthetic and economic features of each building material.

Questions and answers on the topic

In this article we will look at single-layer and multi-layer wall structures, used in the construction of a private house. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages and when choosing the right decision we must be guided by the cost, timing of the work, as well as methods of thermal insulation of the walls. To build good house the right choice must be made between the different technologies used and the materials used.

Single-layer walls

The walls of a house built from one layer will be erected in the shortest time, and the material from which they are built performs two functions: structural (load-bearing) and thermal insulation. For single-layer construction, materials with high thermal insulation ability are used - for example, porous brick, cellular concrete or expanded clay concrete. The thickness of single-layer walls, depending on the type of blocks used, ranges from 30 to 50 cm.

Structures built using this technology are lightweight and relatively inexpensive compared to others. When deciding on single-layer structures, you should pay special attention to ensure that they are built with great care and precision to eliminate cold bridges that will ultimately force you to add an additional insulating layer.

When choosing a material for building walls, you should pay attention to such parameters as the value of the heat transfer coefficient U, which should be less than 0.3 W / (m 2 K), then there is confidence that the wall will not require a thermal insulation layer. Blocks of single-layer walls are placed on an adhesive mortar, and the walls are finished with traditional plaster.

Advantages:

Easy and quick to build;

Light weight;

Having sufficient thickness of the material, no thermal insulation layer is required;

A large selection of building materials that meet the necessary requirements.

Flaws:

Thermal insulation is also required for lintels, supports and columns;

Wall masonry must be carried out by highly qualified specialists.

Double-layer wall structures

This is one of the popular solutions that is used when building a house. This type of construction consists of load-bearing elements and insulation. Load-bearing walls can be constructed from almost all commercially available building materials used for these purposes. The load-bearing layer should be approximately 24 cm thick and have at least 12 cm of thermal insulation, which will depend on the U-value of the material used.

The construction of double-layer walls does not cause any serious problems, so they can be carried out by almost every qualified construction team.
Installation of the thermal insulation layer can be carried out using a wet or dry method. Wet method thermal insulation involves gluing (fixing with dowels) the insulation to the wall using glue. A special mesh is placed on top of the insulation, and a layer of plaster is applied to it.

The dry construction method involves fixing insulation (usually mineral wool) to wooden or metal profiles. This method can be used in almost any weather conditions.

Advantages:

Walls are relatively easy to build;

Good heat transfer coefficients due to the use of a thermal insulation layer;
- big choice materials for wall construction;

Evenly laid insulation eliminates the appearance of cold bridges.

Flaws:

Requires more time and money to build than single-layer walls;

It is advisable to lay the thermal insulation layer after several months of wall construction due to possible subsidence of the building;

It's important to find optimal thickness thermal insulation so that it fulfills its purpose and at the same time is optimal.

Three-layer (multi-layer) structures

This is the most labor-intensive technology. The contractor must have actual work experience. The wall consists of a load-bearing layer, an insulating layer and a facing layer. The layers are connected using special anchors. A definite argument in favor of using multilayer walls will be the good thermal insulation characteristics of this technology. It would be wrong to believe that a three-layer wall must be expensive.

By using appropriate materials, its cost can be reduced to the same as for the two-layer wall method. The load-bearing layer of the walls is made of heavy materials (brick, concrete, stone), which without insulation are not able to ensure good heat retention in the house. The thermal insulation layer is usually made of polystyrene or mineral wool 8-15 cm thick. When laying a layer of mineral wool, do not forget about a ventilation gap of about 3 cm so that moisture does not accumulate in the insulation.

The cladding layer for walls is usually performed as the final layer. Clinker or silicate bricks are used for cladding the facade of the house. The thickness of the facing layer, depending on the material used, is about 6 cm.

The facing layer is connected to load-bearing wall by laying rigid connections - special anchors made of of stainless steel, fiberglass or basalt plastic.

Advantages of multilayer construction:

Good thermal insulation properties;

High fire resistance;

Improved heat and sound insulation;

Many possibilities for finishing the facade;

The supporting layer can be relatively thin, approximately 18 cm thick.

Flaws:

Increased cost and time of wall construction;

The work should be entrusted to qualified specialists.

The choice of single-layer and multi-layer wall construction is yours!

Traditional wall material is brick– artificial building stone used for manual laying.

The most widespread in domestic construction is clay (red) brick. This brick resists the action well high temperatures, does not absorb moisture, and therefore was used without limitation in the walls and pillars of civil, public and industrial buildings.

Sand-lime brick It is distinguished by more regular shapes and precise dimensions and thus has a number of advantages in the production of masonry. However, it is more thermally conductive, less resistant to high temperatures and moisture-intensive.

Solutions for brickwork are composed of inert, lowering and various additives. The following are used as inert ones: ordinary (quartz) sand, sand from heavy boiler slag, sand from light and granulated slag, pumice sand, etc. The lower the density, the higher the thermal insulation properties of the solution and the lower the thermal conductivity of the masonry laid on it.

According to their structure, brick walls are divided into dense (homogeneous), made of brick, and lightweight, heterogeneous, made of brick with fillings made of other less thermally conductive materials or with air pockets.

Pre-revolutionary housing construction (before 1917) was based on the construction of walls with massive brick walls 660–1480 mm thick. Excessive thickening of the walls was caused by the lack of a theory for the calculation of stone structures at that time.

The thickness of the walls by floor was taken in relation to the developed practical rules, according to which the thickness of the walls of every two floors from top to bottom, starting from the third floor, increased by half a brick. The wall cuts were made inside the building.

The load-bearing capacity was used by 50–70%. The following types of solid masonry were most widespread at that time (Fig. 1):

• chain (spoon and butt rows alternate, the vertical seams of all spoon rows coincide);
• cross (vertical seams in spoon rows are laid out in a dressing);
• Dutch (bonded rows alternate with mixed ones; in a mixed row, spoon and interlocking bricks go through the mines);
• Gothic (consists of mixed rows, interlocking and interfacing bricks alternate in each row);
• English (for every two spoon rows there is one bond row, all rows are tied in 1/4 brick).

Rice. 1. Types of brickwork:

a – chain; b – cross; v-Dutch; d – Gothic, d – English, f – multi-row, g – multi-row without bandaging the horizontal seams of the outer verst.

Pre-war housing construction was distinguished by the construction of buildings with both massive brick walls and lightweight ones.

Continuous masonry was carried out in two types of seam dressing: chain, giving in cross section ligation of all seams with overlying bricks, and American, which ensures ligation of seams in only one row out of six; therefore it is often called six-row.

Lightweight walls

There is a relationship between thermal conductivity, dead weight and mechanical strength. The greater the dead weight, and therefore the density of the material, the lower its thermal resistance, but usually the higher its strength.

This leads to the fact that in the walls of the upper floors there are excessive safety margins, and in the walls of the lower floors there is a lack of thermal resistance, which causes excessive weighting of the wall structures and foundations and loss of usable area of ​​the premises.

Where there was a reserve of strength, so-called lightweight walls made of lighter and therefore less thermally conductive materials were used. This made it possible to reduce the thickness of the walls so that the strength of the material was maximally used.

Such materials are types of bricks that have significantly less mass and lower thermal conductivity than ordinary clay or silicate, for example:

• clay-tripod, obtained by firing clay with an admixture of tripoli;
• porous, in the production of which coal dust or sawdust is added to the clay, which burns out during firing;
• non-firing - slag and ash, produced from granulated slag and oil shale ash.

The listed varieties of bricks have the same dimensions and shape as ordinary clay bricks, and are produced in the following grades: respectively, “35”, “50”, “75”, “100”; thus, on average, they are less durable than ordinary clay bricks.

Structurally lightweight brick masonry no different from ordinary brickwork, but minimum thickness walls was reduced by 1/2 brick, since their thermal resistance is 30–50% higher (depending on the type of brick).

Masonry from these types of bricks was carried out exclusively with light mortars of grades “8” and “15” and was used only for low-rise (2-3 floors) buildings or upper floors multi-storey buildings. The use of such bricks was not allowed for the walls of rooms with high humidity (baths, laundries), as well as for laying chimneys, hogs, stoves, etc.

A significant reduction in the mass of the wall was achieved by replacing part of the brickwork with other lightweight and therefore low thermal conductivity materials.

Masonry with backfill

One of the oldest wall designs of this type was proposed in the 90s. XIX century architect Gerard. The masonry of the Gerard system consists of two walls, each half a brick thick, laid out on a mortar grade of at least “15”, with a gap between them of 18–33 cm, filled with a low-thermal conductivity material:

• filling of boiler slag, ash, crushed coal;
• slag-sawdust concrete with a composition of 1:10:6 (lime paste: slag: sawdust).

For areas with 1= –30°C, the wall thickness was assumed to be 51 cm, for areas with a temperature of –40°C – 56–64 cm. To eliminate the risk of dampening of the backfill due to condensation of vapors penetrating from inside the premises, the inner surface of the walls was covered with dense (cement) plaster, oil paint, etc.

To connect the walls, they were connected to each other by releasing pokes - through one row from each wall. If a gap of 3–5 cm wide is left between the poke and the wall, the danger of freezing along the line of the pokes can, as practice has shown, be considered eliminated. Connecting walls with metal brackets requires a significant amount of metal, complicates the work, and therefore was rarely used.

Backfills give some settlement over time, resulting in the formation of voids that reduce the thermal resistance of the wall. To combat this, a gap was left in the upper part of the walls, within the attic, through which the backfill was periodically replenished.

Guerard system

Compared to solid brick wall Gerard's system is more economical in terms of material consumption. However, it required the use of only good, intact bricks; in addition, laying such a wall is more labor-intensive than laying a solid wall.

These shortcomings were partially eliminated in N.S.’s masonry. Popova – N.M. Orlyankin, in which two low walls in four horizontal rows of trays were overlapped by horizontal diaphragms made of solid brickwork two rows thick.

The low-height backfill resulted in virtually no settlement, and the masonry of the wall with horizontal diaphragms was simple.

Infill walls were used for the exterior walls of buildings no more than five stories high. The distance between the transverse walls or columns of the frame did not exceed 7.5 m. Such walls were not installed in buildings with high air humidity: laundries, baths, kitchens, washing rooms.

The plinth was built from solid masonry with appropriate thickening. The partitions had a width of at least 51 cm. The lintels with a span of up to 1.5 m were arranged in rows, separate under each wall.

The backfill was supported by an antiseptic (creosoted) board laid over window frame. The row lintels had a height of at least six rows and were laid out on a 1:4 cement mortar.

Bundle iron was laid under the bottom row of bricks. Non-load-bearing lintels with a span of more than 1.5 m, as well as all lintels bearing the load from floor beams (regardless of the span), were reinforced concrete or made of rolled steel beams.

The floor beams rested on both walls through wooden or reinforced concrete pads. To increase the stability of load-bearing external walls, sometimes a reinforced concrete belt 6.5 cm thick was provided under the beams of the interfloor floor. In order not to rest the beams on the walls, internal pilasters were installed along which wall purlins were laid along the wall, supporting the ends of the beams.

Brick-concrete masonry and masonry filled with ready-made liners - masonry N.S. Popova. The masonry of this system consists, like those described above, of two parallel walls the thickness of a brick. The gap between them was filled with lightweight concrete (approximate composition 1:2:24 - cement: lime paste: slag).

With a density of lightweight concrete of 1250 kg/m3, the total wall thickness using a warm solution was taken in areas with a temperature of -20 degrees. at 42 cm, in areas with –30″С at 52 cm, and in areas with –40″С at 60 cm.

When masonry was less than 51 cm thick, to connect the walls with lightweight concrete, every fourth to sixth row in height was overlapped in a checkerboard pattern with pokes.

When the thickness of the masonry was over 51 cm, the connection was carried out by a through horizontal row of brickwork, laid in height every three tray rows of the side walls.

Masonry by N.S. Popov

Masonry was used for external walls up to 15 m high, i.e. for four-story buildings. By replacing the internal part of the masonry with lightweight concrete, savings of 20 to 40% of bricks were achieved without compromising the thermal properties.

The structure of the plinth and cornices was not fundamentally different from the structure of those with solid brick walls. The lintels over the openings were usually made of ordinary brick.

The advantage of brick-concrete walls is their high strength. This is explained by the fact that the concrete absorbs part of the load transmitted to the wall, and, in addition, the connection between the front walls is well ensured. Therefore, brick-concrete walls, depending on the grades of brick used and the class of concrete, were allowed to be built up to six floors.

The disadvantages of such walls are:

1. introducing a large amount of moisture into the brick wall during laying;
2. increased labor intensity of work;
3. difficulties in carrying out work in winter.

These shortcomings are eliminated in the design of a brick wall with thermal liners developed by V.P. Nekrasov (Fig. 2).

This wall differs from a brick-concrete wall in that its internal space, instead of a concrete mixture, was filled with pre-made low-thermal conductivity stones (thermal liners). For the manufacture of thermal liners, lightweight concrete, foam concrete, foam silicate, etc. were used.

Well masonry walls of the L.A. system Serka and S.A. Vlasova(Fig. 3, a, b, c) consists of two front walls with a thickness of 0.5 bricks, between which there are transverse half-brick walls (diaphragms), which provide a connection between the front walls and divide the internal cavity of the wall into a series of wells.

Rice. 2. Lightweight masonry with thermal liners: 1 – brickwork; 2 – thermal insert

The distance between the diaphragms was set from 530 to 1050 mm, i.e. from two to four bricks. The wells were filled with lightweight concrete or lightweight concrete liners.

The walls were made with a thickness of 1.5 to 2.5 bricks, depending on the brand of brick and class of concrete. Well masonry walls were used in the construction of buildings up to five floors high. In buildings up to two floors inclusive (as well as in two upper floors multi-storey buildings) wells were filled with slag.

To avoid settling of the backfill, reinforced mortar diaphragms 15 mm thick were installed every five rows of brick along the height of the wall from a solution of the same composition as for the masonry (see Fig. 3, d).

Under the floor beams, the mortar diaphragms were thickened across the entire width of the wall to 40 mm and reinforced with additional reinforcement.

In the corners and places where the internal walls adjoin the external ones they were reinforced with steel ties. Ties with a diameter of 5–6 mm with hooks at the ends were laid in mortar diaphragms at the levels of ceilings, window sills and lintels.

All described structures of lightweight walls, depending on the results of thermal engineering calculations, were made with a thickness of 380–420 mm (1.5 bricks), 510–580 mm (two bricks) or 640–700 mm (2.5 bricks). Intermediate thickness was obtained by widening the vertical joints between the interlocking bricks of the transverse walls.

Rice. 3. Well masonry wall of the L.A. system. Serka and S.A. Vlasova:

a – rows of masonry; b – sections along the well; c – section along the transverse wall; d – cross-section along the well when backfilling is installed; 1– spoon row bricks; 2– bricks of a bonded row; 3 – slag; 4 – thermal insert; 5 – solution diaphragm.

Walls with an air gap (proposal by G.F. Kuznetsov) consist of two walls with a gap between them (Fig. 4, a). The main internal wall has a thickness of 1 or 1.5 bricks, depending on the required strength and thermal requirements.

The outer wall was laid out with a thickness of 0.5 bricks. A closed air layer 50 mm thick has thermal resistance, equivalent to the resistance of brickwork with a thickness of 0.5 bricks.

Therefore, the presence of such a layer in the masonry significantly saved brick and mortar and made it possible to reduce the thickness and weight of the wall without deteriorating its thermal properties.

The connection between the inner and outer walls was carried out by bonded rows of bricks placed every five rows of bricks, as a result of which such walls were allowedused in multi-storey construction.

Walls with an air gap could be laid out of solid bricks, as well as hollow and porous ones. When using bricks with a height of more than 65 mm, transverse ligation was performed every four rows (see Fig. 4, a).

Rice. 4. Walls with an air gap:

a – made of solid brick; b–from multi-hole brick; c – filled with mineral felt; 1 – air gap; 2 – external plaster; 3 – internal plaster; 4 – mineral felt on a bitumen binder; 5 – stitching.

To avoid blowing through the outer wall, its surface was plastered. If the air gap was filled with inorganic backfill (slag, mineral wool, etc.), no plaster was used, and the seams were carefully unstitched.

An example of such filling with mineral felt on a bitumen binder is shown in Fig. 4, c. The disadvantage of this design is its increased labor intensity.

Walls with slab insulation consist of load-bearing masonry 1–2 bricks thick and an internal heat-insulating board (gypsum, gypsum slag, gypsum sawdust, foam concrete, fiberboard) (Fig. 5).

The slab insulation can fit tightly to the wall with a mortar fastening, but it was recommended to install it on a wall, that is, create an air gap 20–40 mm thick between the wall and the slabs, which provides additional insulation (see Fig. 5, 6).

The slabs within each floor rest on reinforced concrete floors or on brick wall outlets so that their settlement does not differ from the settlement of brickwork.

Rice. 5. Walls with slab insulation and panel cladding: a – installation of insulation on mortar; b – installation of insulation on the site; 1 – cement mortar; 2– insulation; 3– grout; 4 – jointing; 5 – air gap 20–40 mm.

The installation of the slabs was carried out using lime-gypsum mortar and gypsum beacons (slats) applied to the wall. The beacons were applied in regular rows, and their surface was made strictly vertical.

The distance between the beacons was determined in such a way that the joints of the slabs were located at the beacons. The slabs were installed in rows, bandaging the seams and connecting them to the masonry with special fasteners.

The advantage of walls with slab insulation is that they did not interior plaster, limiting ourselves to grouting their surfaces and seams.

A rational design for mid-rise residential buildings is wall construction insulated with large-size cladding panels. These panels were used only in the areas between windows. The installation of the panels was carried out immediately after the completion of the laying of the walls of the corresponding floor before the installation of the ceiling and partitions.

The panel was fastened to the walls with nails, which were driven into tarred plugs. Special attention walls made from warm solutions with slag additives obtained from burning coal with a high ash content (about 20%) deserve to be used. Light (warm) solutions, in which fine slag was used instead of ordinary sand, are inactive and strongly deformed when compressed.

As a result, with the same brand of mortar, the strength of masonry using warm mortar is almost 30% less than the strength of masonry using regular mortar. It is also less durable and resistant to moisture, especially to strong soaking of the surface of a wall with a damaged plaster layer by precipitation, which leads to a significant decrease in the strength qualities of the masonry.