Anyone who wants to build a house is concerned about the question of what material to choose for building walls. After all, the strength, durability and comfort of the home depend on it.
The choice of wall material directly affects the cost of building a house.
To choose a wall material that you can handle, let’s turn to FORUMHOUSE specialists for clarification.
Where does the choice of wall material begin?
Aerated concrete or warm ceramics, timber, wood concrete or frame technology... Any novice developer when choosing a material for building a house under permanent place residence is faced with an abundance of conflicting information. There seem to be so many materials that choosing the right one seems like an impossible task. We have to narrow the scope of our search and select exactly what is needed!
According to a forum user with the nickname Abysmo, It is enough to understand just ten things to decide whether to build a house. Namely:
- What kind of housing do you plan to build - for permanent residence or for short-term visits;
- What requirements do you have for strength and environmental safety wall material;
- How quickly do you want to check in?
- What fuel is planned for heating;
- How much will it cost to operate?
- How much money are you willing to spend on construction?
- What building materials are available in your area;
- Is it possible to carry out independent work, or workers will be involved;
- Which construction technologies and mechanization tools are available in your region of residence;
- Are you considering the possibility of selling the building on the secondary market?
There are no universal wall materials, suitable for any project. A large or small plot, the characteristics of the region of residence, climate, personal preferences require the use of their own materials.
Construction consultant's opinion Romana Nikonova:
– When choosing wall materials, it is necessary to take into account a number of technological features and protective properties of the material: fire resistance, durability, thermal conductivity. In addition, you should be guided by your feelings - whether you like the material or not.
In conditions middle zone Russian walls should provide good thermal protection. They must also be strong enough to withstand the weight of floors, roofing, snow and wind loads.
Snow in the conditions surrounding Moscow can give a load of up to 180 kg per 1 sq.m. roof surfaces. Don’t forget about the fire resistance of structures.
The point of view of an expert from our forum Alexey Melnikov(nickname on the forum Lyokhin ):
– If building codes and technologies are violated, even modern and expensive wall material can be damaged.
And vice versa - a competent approach and careful planning make it possible, with a very limited budget, to build a reliable, practical and not so small comfortable house for permanent residence.
For your information: the cost of constructing a box (relative to the total construction budget) usually does not exceed 20-30%.
The following example is indicative:
If the house is planned to be used as a “dacha”, then erecting stone walls is not profitable for the following reasons:
- Economic component. If the stone housing has cooled down, then upon arrival it needs a long heating. It is not profitable to do this for the sake of one or two trips per week.
- Operational component. Irregular heating of a stone structure in winter negatively affects its durability.
What kind of house to build. ABOUT features of wall materials
Among the most well-known materials used in the construction of walls are the following:
- brick and warm ceramics;
- foam concrete and aerated concrete;
- tree;
- frame technologies;
- wood concrete
Let's consider their main features.
1. Brick and warm ceramics
Advantages of this material:
1. Strength – denoted by the letter “M”. The number after the letter indicates how much load the brick can withstand. This value is expressed in kg per 1 sq.cm.
2. Durability. Brick buildings are among the most durable.
3. Environmental friendliness. Brick is based on clay, sand and water. Due to its structure, brick allows air to pass through well. Therefore, a favorable microclimate is established in the room, and excess moisture is removed outside. In addition, the walls accumulate heat well and then release it into the room.
4. High frost resistance. The higher the frost resistance, the more durable the building. Frost resistance is the ability of a building material to withstand freezing and thawing in a water-saturated state. The frost resistance of the material is indicated by the letter F. The numbers after the letter indicate the number of freezing and thawing cycles that the material can withstand without losing its qualities.
5. Aesthetics. A cottage built of brick can be made in any architectural style, and the masonry technology itself has been developed for decades.
6. High degree of sound insulation. Brick walls dampen both street and interior noise well.
Despite a number of undoubted advantages, simple brick also has significant disadvantages.
Alexey Melnikov:
– Traditional ceramic bricks measuring 250x120x65 mm do not comply with modern thermal engineering standards.
Calculations show that required thickness homogeneous brick walls(even for the southern latitudes of our country) is at least 1 meter.
It is possible to build a house for permanent residence with such thick walls, but it is not economically feasible. Therefore, the brick received its further development - in the form of this modern solution like warm ceramics.
Roman Nikonov:
– Ceramic block, or porous ceramics, is a high-tech clay-based material.
Thanks to the smallest pores filled with air, ceramic stone is very warm and has high mechanical strength. The dimensions of a block of warm ceramics exceed the dimensions of a standard brick several times, which increases the speed of masonry. But warm ceramics are a rather fragile material. Therefore, to fasten any structures in a wall made of a ceramic block, you have to use special anchors.
Alexander Toporov(nickname on the forum 44alex) :
– Warm ceramics have a thin-walled structure, so it is not easy to attach any heavy objects to it, and cutting it requires an expensive special tool. After laying warm ceramics, it should either be plastered on the outside or additionally filled with vertical joints. Before purchasing ceramic stone, I recommend paying attention to the geometry of the blocks and making sure there are no cracks.
When scoring and drilling walls made of warm ceramics, you need to be very careful, otherwise you can split the block.
The main disadvantages of brick:
- 1. High construction costs. Brick is an expensive building material, which leads to an increase in construction costs;
- 2. The large mass of a building built of brick requires the laying of a carefully calculated, powerful and expensive foundation;
- 3. Seasonality of construction work.
Wet processes (preparation of building mixtures and water-based mortars) impose restrictions or make it impossible to lay bricks in winter.
2. Foam and aerated concrete
Today, gas and foam concrete blocks are the most common materials for wall construction. This is due to a good balance in the price-quality ratio.
Alexey Melnikov:
– The advantages of such blocks are their relatively low thermal conductivity (as a consequence of high thermal resistance), high fire and biological resistance, ease of processing with hand and portable power tools, as well as their lightness.
It was these qualities that allowed the user of our forum with the nickname Dimastik25 independently, in one hand from aerated concrete.
– I chose aerated concrete because it makes it possible to carry out the masonry independently, without using auxiliary force.
The size of the block allows it to be laid by one person, but due to the large format of the block, the work is done quite simply, quickly and without unnecessary labor costs.
Even an untrained person can lay blocks on their own. No need to knead a large number of cement-sand mortar, the masonry is carried out on a fairly thin layer of glue. Also a significant advantage is the uniformity of the wall, a large selection of blocks and their good geometry.
Alexander Toporov:
– Gas silicate is easy to process, it is easy to saw. It is also easy to organize various armored belts, lintels, arches, etc.
One of the main advantages of aerated and foam concrete as wall materials is their good heat and sound insulation, which leads to reduced costs for heating and insulating materials.
Aerated concrete blocks are produced by large enterprises. Therefore, the quality of such materials corresponds to the declared characteristics, and geometric deviations are minimal.
But this material is not without its drawbacks.
Alexey Melnikov:
– Gas and foam concrete blocks are a very fragile material. Low bending strength requires the use of a relatively expensive and powerful foundation (usually a monolithic reinforced concrete slab), and additional elements reinforcement - armored belt.
Foam concrete, although cheaper than aerated concrete, can be produced using so-called “garage” methods. Therefore, when purchasing it, you need to carefully consider the issue of choosing a supplier and not chase the lowest price.
You can familiarize yourself with all and.
3. Wooden houses
Wood is a classic construction material, but despite its widespread use, it also has a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Roman Nikonov:
– Wooden house breathes, beautiful. This is a very flexible, “homemade”, universal material, easy to transport and install. But it is less durable than stone.
Because When constructing a log house there are no wet processes, then such a house can be erected at any time of the year.
When starting a construction project, we think about which log is best to build a house for permanent residence from. Experts believe that it is better not to build a wooden house from logs!
Alexey Melnikov:
– Timber is more practical in terms of cost-energy efficiency ratio, but for connoisseurs of log facades, the aesthetics of a log house usually come first.
Rounded logs and profiled timber (including chamber drying) - all this modern types logs aimed at improving the aesthetic properties and simplifying the construction of a house.
Well made wooden houses can last 200-300 years.
Among the disadvantages wooden houses can be distinguished:
1. The installation of “wet” rooms in a wooden one is associated with certain difficulties.
2. Based on standard sizes logs (6 m), covering rooms over 5 meters wide is difficult to implement. Interfloor ceilings in wooden houses they are usually wooden beams. This reduces the degree of sound insulation in the house (wood conducts sound well) under shock loads.
3. Wood is susceptible to shrinkage and cracking.
4. A wooden house must be caulked and painted regularly. Thermal protection sufficient for a comfortable life in the house is provided by a wall made of wood with a thickness of 200 mm.
5. Wood can rot and requires treatment with antiseptic agents to protect against mold and wood-boring beetles.
Therefore, the next stage in the development of wooden house-building was the development of laminated veneer lumber - a wall material devoid of the disadvantages of conventional timber.
Let's name the advantages of laminated veneer lumber:
- The material is durable and, thanks to its special profile (the toothed connection protects the wall from blowing), better retains heat in the house;
- Glued laminated timber has a clear geometry, which facilitates and speeds up the process of building a house;
- The material practically does not shrink, which allows you to immediately begin laying communications and interior decoration premises;
- Thanks to factory fire-bioprotection, laminated veneer lumber is highly resistant to fire, mold and fungi;
- The walls of a house built from laminated veneer lumber do not require interior or exterior decoration.
The main disadvantage of this material is its high price, as well as the need to attract highly qualified specialists to build a house.
4. Frame technology
Frame houses are considered one of the most rapidly erected and warmest houses. Therefore, if you need housing urgently, and you are wondering what temporary resources and what material to build a house from, feel free to choose this option. The main advantages of frame housing construction are cost-effectiveness and high – in a matter of months – construction speed.
Because Since a frame house is lightweight, it does not require a strong foundation to be built under it, which also greatly reduces construction costs. The absence of wet processes allows a frame house to be built all year round.
Denis Reznichenko(nickname on the forum silent):
– If you are going to permanently live in a frame house, keep in mind that heating costs will be noticeably lower compared to wooden or stone houses, because The ability to retain heat in modern insulation materials is higher than that of traditional materials.
Advantages frame houses:
- high speed of construction;
- frame technology does not require the use of heavy construction equipment;
- the construction of such a house can be carried out independently;
- due to the lack of shrinkage, internal and exterior finishing frame house can be done immediately after construction is completed;
- wall thickness in frame houses usually does not exceed 30 cm, which increases the usable area of the house;
- during the cold season, frame houses quickly warm up to a comfortable temperature.
The disadvantages of frame houses include:
- High demands on the quality of materials used. To build a frame house, first of all, you need well-dried and planed wood, treated with fire and bioprotective compounds that protect it from damage and rotting. When constructing a frame, it is unacceptable to use raw wood, because It warps as it dries. This leads to a change in geometry wooden structures;
- Construction carried out by low-skilled workers with deviations from technology entails a significant reduction in the operational characteristics of the house;
- Compared to stone houses, frame houses lower degree of sound insulation.
Alexey Melnikov:
– Also among the disadvantages is the low heat capacity (heat storage capacity) of frame walls.
A frame house with the heating turned off quickly cools down. However, there is a way out - you can use an insulated Swedish stove as a foundation.
5. Arbolit
Wood concrete is a material made from cement binder (concrete) and organic fillers obtained from wood processing waste.
Sometimes wood concrete is called wood concrete, because this wall material absorbs the advantages of both concrete and wood.
Arbolite has high thermal insulation properties.
This is an environmentally friendly material that does not need additional insulation. It does not dry out like wood, does not rot and does not burn.
Arbolite walls “breathe” (the vapor permeability of an arbolite wall is more than 35%). This regulates the humidity level in the room. This ensures good air exchange in the room.
Alexey Melnikov:
– Arbolite is an old and, at the same time, undeservedly forgotten material. Attempts to implement it were made back in Soviet times.
However, the segment of individual low-rise housing construction was not developed in those days; mainly panels of high-rise buildings were built, and over time, wood concrete gave way to other wall materials.
However, now wood concrete is experiencing a rebirth.
After all, it is devoid of a number of disadvantages inherent in gas and foam concrete blocks, the material is relatively light, and building a house does not require the construction of a powerful foundation.
Also, wood concrete has high bending strength and will not crack when the foundation moves or settles.
Arbolite, like wood, can be sawed and drilled well, nails can be easily driven into an arbolite wall, and the material itself holds heavy objects well without the use of special fasteners.
Among the disadvantages of wood concrete, two can be identified: its high cost and the insufficient number of house designs developed specifically for these blocks. Therefore, when choosing arbolite block(in order to avoid purchasing low-quality material with poor geometry or strength characteristics), you must carefully consider the issue of choosing a supplier.
On our portal they will help you find out everything a novice frame builder needs to know, what kind of house, understand what is better,. We will help you choose best material for walls and how to build
Watch a video on building a house from wood concrete blocks. And after reading our next video, you will learn how to build your own in six months
The external walls of a private house must be:
- Strong and durable
- Warm and energy saving
- Quiet
- Harmless to humans
- Beautiful
Which house walls are stronger?
Loads act on the wall of a house in several directions. Active forces tend to compress, move sideways and rotate the wall.
Compressive loads- these are vertical forces from the weight of the wall and the underlying structures of the house. These forces tend to crush and flatten the wall material.
Low-rise private houses are relatively light in weight. Wall materials, as a rule, have a fairly large margin of compressive strength, which allows them withstand vertical loads of a private house even with.
Horizontal loads and torques act as a result, for example, of lateral wind pressure on a house or soil pressure on a basement wall, due to the ceiling resting on the edge of the wall, due to the deviation of the walls from the vertical and other reasons. These forces tend to move the wall or part of the wall from its position.
The general rule for walls is the thinner the wall, the worse it is it withstands lateral loads and turning moments. If the wall cannot withstand the specified loads, then it bends, cracks or even breaks.
It is the small margin of resistance to displacement that is the weak point in ensuring the strength of the walls of a private house. The compressive strength of most wall materials allows you to make enough for a private home thin wall, but it is necessary to ensure the stability of the walls against displacement, often forces designers to increase the thickness of walls.
The resistance of walls to lateral loads is significantly influenced by the design of the walls and the house as a whole. For example, masonry reinforcement, installation on walls monolithic belt in the floor level, strong connections between external and interior walls among themselves, as well as with floors and foundations, create the strength frame of a building that holds the walls together and resists the displacement deformations of the walls.
In order to ensure the necessary strength and durability of a private home with reasonable costs for construction, it is necessary to choose the right material and design of the walls, as well as the design of the power house frame, It is best to entrust this choice to specialists - designers.
Projects of private houses with walls made of masonry materials are available for sale. with a masonry thickness of only 180 - 250 mm. . Thickness can be 100 - 200 mm.
The walls of the house are warm and energy-saving - what's the difference?
In order for a person in the house to feel thermal comfort, Three conditions must be met:
The first condition is the air temperature in the room should be about +22 o C. To fulfill this condition, it is enough to install a boiler or stove in the house required power and drown them.
The surface temperature of the external walls in the house is always lower than the air temperature in the room. According to sanitary requirements -hygienic rules, temperature difference between air and surface outer wall there should be no more than 4 in the house o C - this is the second condition.
At the specified temperature difference, the surface of the outer wall in the house will be quite warm (+18 o C). There will be no “cold breath” from the wall; condensation or frost will not appear on the surface of the wall.
There will be thermal comfort in the house if the difference in air temperature in the room and on the surface of the outer wall is no more than d t<4 о C. Обе стены на рисунке не соответствуют этим требованиям при температуре наружного воздуха t н =-26 о С и ниже.
To fulfill the second condition, the outer wall of the house must have certain thermal properties. The heat transfer resistance of the outer wall must be higher than the calculated value, m 2 * o C/W. For example, for the Sochi region this value should be more than 0.66, for Moscow - 1.38, and for Yakutsk at least - 2.13.
For example, an external wall made of autoclaved aerated concrete (gas silicate) will be warm and provide thermal comfort in the house, with a thickness in Sochi - 90 mm, in Moscow - 210 mm., and in Yakutsk - 300 mm.
Third condition- the enclosing structures of the house must have. If the “clothes” of the house are blown by the wind, then there will be no heat, no matter how thick the insulation is. Everyone knows this from their own experience.
External walls with the above parameters will be warm and provide thermal comfort in the house, but they will not be energy efficient. Heat losses through the walls will significantly exceed the building standards in force in Russia.
In order to comply with energy conservation regulations, The heat transfer resistance of external walls should be several times higher. For example, for the Sochi region - no less than 1.74 m 2 * o C/W, for Moscow - 3.13 m 2 * o C/W, and for Yakutsk - 5.04 m 2 * o C/W.
Thickness of energy-saving walls from autoclaved aerated concrete (gas silicate) there will also be more: for the Sochi region - 270 mm., for the Moscow region - 510 mm. for Yakutia - 730 mm.
Aerated concrete (gas silicate) is the warmest material for masonry walls. The thickness of energy-saving walls made of more thermally conductive materials (brick, concrete blocks) should be even greater. (The figure above shows the heat transfer resistance of a brick wall with a thickness of 2.5 bricks (640 mm.) = 0.79 and one brick (250 mm) = 0,31 m2* o C/W. Compare with the values given in the examples and evaluate in which regions such walls will provide thermal comfort?)
Wooden walls made of timber or logs also do not meet energy saving requirements.
It should be noted that to comply with the requirements of building regulations for the heat transfer resistance of walls and other enclosing structures of the house not necessary for a private developer.
It is more important for the home owner to reduce overall heating costs.
It can be beneficial to sacrifice the energy-saving properties of walls, but increase the heat-saving parameters of ceilings, windows, and ventilation systems in order to meet the energy consumption standards for heating.
Heat loss through walls accounts for only 20 - 30% of the total heat loss in the house.
We must not forget about one more condition of an energy-saving house. The house must have a minimum- walls, ceilings, windows.
Which is better to make walls - single-layer or two-layer?
From the above data it is clear that wall materials allow you to build strong, thin and fairly cheap walls private house. But such walls will not provide thermal comfort in the house or have the required energy-saving properties.
Technologies for constructing walls of a private house are developing in two main directions:
- Relatively thin and durable walls are insulated with highly effective insulation. The wall consists of two layers- a load-bearing layer that absorbs mechanical loads, and an insulation layer.
- For the construction of single-layer walls, materials are used that combine a sufficiently high resistance to both mechanical stress and heat transfer. The construction of single-layer walls made of cellular concrete (autoclaved aerated concrete, gas silicate) or porous ceramics is popular.
It should be noted that wall materials for single-layer walls have mediocre both mechanical and thermal properties. We have to improve them with various design tweaks.
A combination of these two technologies is also used when walls made of cellular and porous materials provide additional insulation layer of highly effective insulation. This combination allows make wall masonry and a thin layer of insulation. This can be beneficial for structural reasons, especially when building a house in a cold climate.
Single-layer walls of a private house
Not so long ago, almost all private houses were built with single-layer walls. The thickness of the walls of the house was chosen based on the conditions for ensuring thermal comfort and thought little about energy conservation.
Currently, for the construction of single-layer walls, materials with sufficiently high thermal insulation properties are used, to make the house energy efficient.
What is the best material to make a single-layer wall of a house from? All materials for single-layer walls have a porous structure and low density 300 - 600 kg/m 3. As the density decreases, the heat-saving properties improve, but the mechanical strength of materials decreases.
There are several types of cellular concrete, which differ in the way they create pores (cells). The best properties for the construction of single-layer external walls of a house have density (grade) 300-500 kg/m3.
Aerated concrete blocks can have precise dimensions, which allows them to be laid on glue with a seam thickness of 2 mm. The ends of the blocks often have a tongue-and-groove profile and are joined without mortar in a vertical seam.
Aerated concrete has an open porous structure and therefore absorbs moisture well, but also dissolves easily.
Porous ceramics It is made from raw materials and in a way that is similar to the production of ordinary ceramic bricks. The difference is that components are added to the clay-based mass, which form pores when fired.
Hollow blocks are made from porous ceramics. The hollowness further enhances the heat-saving properties of block walls.
The thickness of the masonry of single-layer walls made of porous ceramic blocks is 38 - 50 cm. Porous ceramic blocks are laid using a special heat-saving mortar with a seam thickness of 10-15 mm.
As a rule, the exterior decoration of single-layer walls is. Cladding slabs made of natural stone or artificial products can be glued to the walls. Finishing using the ventilated facade method (cladding over lathing) is used very rarely.
Plastering of walls made of porous ceramics or expanded clay concrete from the outside is carried out using a traditional plaster composition with a thickness of about 2 cm. In addition to plastering, it can be done in other ways (see link).
The inside of the walls is plastered or...
It is faster to build a house with single-layer walls. In a new house with single-layer walls you can start living without waiting for the facade to be finished. This work can be left for later.
Walls with insulation - two-layer and three-layer
For installing a wall with insulation Almost any masonry material can be used— ceramic and silicate bricks, blocks made of cellular and lightweight concrete, as well as porous ceramics.
The load-bearing layer of a two-layer wall can also be make from monolithic concrete or wood- timber, logs. The choice of material is much more varied compared to single-layer walls.
For the construction of walls with insulation materials with higher mechanical strength and density are used than for single-layer walls. This circumstance makes it possible to reduce the thickness of the masonry of double-layer walls.
Wall masonry thickness from 180 mm. - depends on the properties of the materials used, on the design of the walls and frame of the house.
Walls are most often laid using ordinary masonry mortar, filling horizontal and vertical joints with mortar. The work is simpler and does not require any special qualifications from masons.
The mechanical strength of the wall material is, as a rule, sufficient for problem-free fastening of various structures to walls.
The thermal insulation properties of a wall depend mainly on the thermal conductivity and thickness of the insulation layer.
A layer of thermal insulation is placed outside ( double layer wall) or inside the wall, closer to the outer surface ( three-layer wall).
As thermal insulation, slabs of mineral wool or polymers - polystyrene foam, extruded polystyrene foam - are most often used. Less commonly used thermal insulation slabs made of cellular concrete and foam glass, although they have a number of advantages.
Mineral wool slabs for wall insulation must have a density of at least 60-80 kg/m3. If used for finishing the facade, then use mineral wool slabs with a density of 125-180 kg/m 3 or slabs of extruded polystyrene foam.
Mineral wool insulation is plastered with a vapor-permeable composition - mineral or silicate plaster.
Insulating a façade with mineral wool usually costs more and it is more difficult to work with. But a layer of wool insulation allows moisture to escape from the wall to the outside.
A continuous layer of thermal insulation on the outside allows block all cold bridges in double-layer walls without the use of special constructive tricks that have to be done in single-layer walls.
General thickness of two-layer walls (with plaster from 35 cm.) usually turns out less than a single-layer wall.
The width of the foundation walls (basement) is also smaller, which allows save on their construction. This advantage does not apply to three-layer walls. The width of three-layer walls and their foundations is usually no less than that of single-layer ones.
Exterior finishing of double-layer walls is carried out thin-layer plaster over insulation. Insulation boards, preferably made of extruded polystyrene foam, are glued to the wall. The thickness of the insulation layer is not recommended to be more than 150 mm. A layer of plaster 5-7 thick is applied to the insulation mm.
Wall surface with thin layer plaster more sensitive to point mechanical influences than a single-layer wall with traditional plaster.
For double-layer walls often use ventilated cladding on the frame. In a ventilated façade, mineral wool insulation slabs are placed between the frame posts. The frame is covered with cladding made of vinyl or plinth siding, wooden materials, or various slabs.
Attaching insulation to the walls, installing a ventilated facade - all this work consists of many stages and operations and requires skill, accuracy and responsibility from the performers. A variety of materials are used for work.
When constructing double-layer walls in There is a great risk that employees will do something wrong.
In three-layer walls a layer of highly effective insulation is placed inside the masonry or wall monolith. Three-layer walls also include walls with an insulation layer facing with brick or other masonry materials.
For the construction of three-layer walls, single-row masonry made of (insulated walls, silica granite, polyblock) is also used. Thermal blocks have three layers of concrete-insulation-concrete bonded together.
Mineral insulation - low-density cellular concrete
Continued on next page 2:
When starting to build your own home, you want to choose the cheapest material for building a house - in order to maximize savings. But the pursuit of low prices for building materials can result in both expensive maintenance in the future and an increase in the cost of construction as a whole. How to build a cheap house?
What determines the cost of a house?
The final price tag for construction depends on several factors. Materials play an important, but not the only, role here. So, the construction estimate will include:
If you do a monolithic fill, you will need a large amount of wood for the formwork. And working alone on weekends, construction is delayed indefinitely, which is also not always economically profitable.
The cheapest materials for building a house are those made by yourself?
There is an opinion that materials made with your own hands will be much cheaper than those purchased from the manufacturer. Of course, there are recipes for different brands of concrete; you can build your own walls from straw or even fill the frame with sawdust.
This is economically justified in the following cases:
- the presence of free assistants - it is difficult to stir, fill and press alone, which can lead to poorly performed work;
- no need to travel to work five days a week - otherwise construction will often have to be postponed due to weather conditions;
- opportunities to obtain equipment and raw materials for building materials at very low prices - delivery of sawdust from another region will not be cheap.
So, the cheapest construction options:
- Straw walls with clay coating. They have good thermal insulation, but require repairs due to rodents that live in the thickness of the wall.
- Abrolite or sawdust concrete. You can make it yourself or purchase ready-made blocks. In the first case, you will have to wait a long time for the sawdust concrete to dry, in the second, you will have to build the walls as quickly as possible and do the exterior finishing, since wood concrete is hygroscopic.
- Clay burr or cordwood. Dry logs and logs, cleared of bark, are used. They are laid across the wall on a clay mortar. The ends of the wood must be impregnated with antiseptics or fired, otherwise they will strongly absorb moisture.
- Backfilling with sawdust or expanded clay. To do this, a permanent formwork is made on the frame from edged boards, into which the insulation is poured.
The appearance of a house made from these materials is rather unsightly. And if it’s quite easy to beat up straw walls or peeking out logs, you’ll also have to make a screed on top of the wood concrete. Another significant disadvantage of homemade materials is that they are not strong enough. But this is a problem with all frame houses. To hang shelves or install kitchen units, you need to provide embedded boards at the construction stage.
Economical building materials - what are they?
If, out of common sense, you decide to abandon independent production, you should take a closer look at the prices on the market. What is the cheapest building material? Paradoxically, almost any:
- wood - can be purchased extremely cheaply in the forest belt, but in the steppe zone it is expensive;
- brick – when building next to a brick factory, you will be able to buy red brick at manufacturer prices;
- aerated concrete and foam concrete are lightweight and relatively easy-to-construct materials that have good thermal insulation;
- frame construction is the most budget option, suitable for any climate, but requires the organization of forced ventilation.
Not every carpenter can assemble a log house with high quality, so you will also have to take into account the cost of the builders’ work. The same applies to a brick house - the distortion of the masonry will result in large-scale alignment of the walls.
So when choosing materials, you need to take into account the cost of working with them. For example, aerated concrete is laid with a special glue, due to which the gaps between the blocks are minimal.
This allows you to save on finishing costs, but requires careful attention from builders. Foam concrete does not differ in the quality of its geometry - the blocks can be skewed and differ in size. It is unpleasant to work with such material; it is difficult to level the walls.
As a result, the cost of work is higher.
How to save money globally on construction?
It is not building materials alone that can reduce the cost of building your own home. To save as much as possible, you need to:
- Think over a plan for the future building. The simpler the layout, the cheaper it is to equip it. You shouldn’t place bathrooms at different ends of the building - laying pipes will cost a pretty penny. Placing the kitchen next to the bathroom will also save on pipes. The even geometry of the walls, the absence of non-functional niches and differences in floor heights, although they look simple, do not require extra costs. Together this will give up to 20% savings on the total cost.
- Refuse architectural excesses. Balconies, terraces and a multi-level roof can increase the value of a home by 10-15%. It is much more rational in the future to build a small gazebo or add an open terrace.
- Use building materials produced in your region, abandoning popular and advertised ones. This will not only allow you to buy them cheaper, but also not overpay for delivery. Thus, houses made of shell rock in the Altai Territory are among the most budget-friendly, but Moscow cannot boast of a low price for this material.
- Lighten the rafter system as much as possible by using lightweight roofing materials. Then, instead of a 10x10 cm beam, it will be possible to use a 5x10 cm board laid on the end, without reducing the pitch of the rafters.
- Avoid the basement. Activities for pouring, waterproofing and rough finishing of the basement will add another 20% of the cost to the estimate.
Selection of building materials
If the building materials market offers several types to choose from, that’s great. Indeed, in this case, you can compare all the advantages and disadvantages and purchase materials that combine low price and good quality.
General characteristics to look for:
- durability - if the house lasts for a maximum of 10 years, savings on materials are quite doubtful;
- simplicity and accessibility of installation - the need to use heavy equipment at a construction site can negate all savings;
- environmental friendliness - maintaining natural humidity in the house is achieved through “breathable” materials, otherwise you will have to take care of forced ventilation;
- heat capacity and thermal insulation are two parameters responsible for future efficiency, because the house should not only be cheap during construction, but also during operation.
Having considered the most popular building materials, you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.
Wooden houses
Houses made of timber are considered the most environmentally friendly and one of the best at maintaining an optimal microclimate. Wooden construction has advantages:
But this structure also has disadvantages. Thus, the quality of literally every log is very important - an undried tree will begin to twist, longitudinal cracks may appear, the ends must be “sealed” with an ax to prevent the tree from becoming waterlogged due to precipitation. If you deviate from the classical processing of logs in favor of using modern antiseptic and fire retardant solutions, the house ceases to be environmentally friendly.
Ready-made kits are expensive, but only professionals can assemble an inexpensive log house from round timber. After all, you will have to adjust each log! In addition, in regions with cold winters, the thickness of the walls of a wooden hut should be at least 50 cm to ensure minimal heat loss during the heating season. Finding logs of this diameter will also cost a pretty penny.
To allow the house to “breathe”, it cannot be insulated with polystyrene foam, only with vapor-permeable mineral wool. And to prevent the insulation from getting wet, be sure to install a ventilated façade. There are also certain restrictions for interior decoration - it is better to use modern vapor-permeable membranes if you plan to cover the house with plasterboard or clapboard.
But the log house is beautiful in its original form. To get a cozy and draft-free home, you need to regularly check and caulk cracks in the walls. Particular attention is paid to the system of corner locks - a simple cut into half a tree will not provide the necessary insulation and will lead to the formation of cold spots.
Brick houses
Brick has excellent heat capacity. This means that when heating is started, the house will warm up for a long time, but then cool down for just as long. For permanent residence - an excellent option. But for a country house visited on weekends, this will be a waste of money on heating. After all, by the time the house warms up, you need to go back to the city.
For one-story buildings, walls of 1.5 bricks will be sufficient. But this wall thickness is completely unsuitable for winters, where the temperature drops to -20 degrees.
In order not to increase the cost of brickwork, the house will have to be insulated from the outside. What’s especially nice when building brick buildings is that you can use any insulation! Thus, by choosing foam plastic with a thickness of only 5 cm, you can reduce heat loss at home from 125 kWh per square meter to 53 kWh per heating season. In other words, you can cut your heating costs in half.
The disadvantages of brick houses include:
- large weight of the structure - you will need a buried strip foundation, which will significantly increase the cost of construction;
- duration of construction - a team of five people can lift the frame of a house in three weeks, subject to continuous work, but working alone increases the time significantly;
- finishing work - if you can live in a log house immediately after construction, a brick house requires mandatory screeding of walls and floors followed by finishing.
Houses made of aerated block or foam block
These buildings have all the advantages and disadvantages of brick houses. At the same time, they have their own characteristics:
At the same time, the price per cubic meter of brick and aerated block is almost the same. And given the need for insulation on the facade, the advantages of aerated concrete over ceramic bricks are quite illusory. But due to the large size of the blocks, building a house is quite simple, which determines the low cost of the work.
Frame houses
For those who are really strapped for money, frame construction is a real salvation. A house on a wooden frame with mineral insulation is several times cheaper than all previous options. And that's why:
But, despite the obvious advantages of frame construction, preference is still given to brickwork. All because of no less significant shortcomings:
On the other hand, by approaching the construction of a frame house wisely and without skimping on building materials, you can get a good and reliable structure that will last for decades. And in the future, it will be just as easy to dismantle the frame and put a solid brick house in its place.
You can build a small and cozy house in a few months, and this video confirms this:
The correct choice of material for building a house affects not only its strength and durability, but also the cost of the work. Today's construction market provides a huge range of different materials, ideal not only for prefabricated buildings, but also for solid structures.
First you need to decide for what purpose the future building is intended. If the house is intended for permanent residence, then the main qualities when choosing a building material should be durability, strength, resistance to moisture, as well as high-quality heat and noise insulation.
Houses made of foam concrete, brick, frame and wood have all the above advantages.
Pros and cons of building a country house from timber
A building in the construction of which timber was used will be reliable and beautiful. Material made from logs cut in winter is excellent for construction, as such timber shrinks much faster. There are certain advantages and disadvantages that can influence the choice of this material.
Wooden house made of laminated veneer lumber
For example, the advantages include the smaller depth of the foundation required when building a house. In addition, walls made of timber have lower thermal conductivity compared to walls made of brick, so you don’t have to think about the external or internal decoration of the walls. An important point is that the house can be built at any time, be it in winter or in summer.
Despite the large number of advantages, timber has a number of disadvantages. This material is susceptible to rotting, so it is short-lived, like any other wood material. Also, after the construction of housing, drying should be carried out for some time. In addition, the fire safety of the material is also not at the highest level.
Coniferous trees are used to make profiled timber. The outer side can be flat and may look like a log, but the inner side most often has a flat surface and is processed by planing. The remaining two sides are equipped with special tenons and grooves, which improves the fit with each other. The grooves are filled with jute insulation.
Profiled timber is a high-tech material that allows you to build a house in the shortest possible time.
Profiled timber Glued laminated timber does not have significant flaws and defects because it undergoes special processing during production. The material is protected by a special impregnation of fire retardant and antiseptic, which gives the wood a high level of resistance to rotting and fire resistance. , can serve you faithfully for several decades.
Glued laminated timber In addition, they are erected quite quickly, which provides comfortable conditions not only for construction, but also for further living. Currently, many different companies can help with the construction of houses made of timber, however, if you wish, you can do the construction of a house made of timber yourself, since there are no particular difficulties in this matter.
A wooden house is always very cozy and does not require unnecessary interior decoration Here you can watch a video in which issues of building a house are discussed, but it is worth considering that it was recorded at the Forest Fair, and, naturally, the author is promoting the topic of building wooden houses. But at the same time, the video contains very useful tips.
Read also
Construction of a wooden house in winter
Foam concrete houses: pros and cons
The choice of building material is largely determined by such qualities as ease of installation, environmental friendliness, heat and sound insulation. Foam concrete has all of the above qualities, which is why it is gaining increasing popularity among builders. Today, mass housing developments are carried out using this material.
Private country house made of foam concrete An important quality for many consumers is that this material has a high level of environmental safety. To make foam concrete, only natural materials are used, such as cement, water, sand. Of course, it is also possible to add dyes with plasticizers, but their quantity is usually very small. Walls made of this material allow air to pass through perfectly, which ensures a favorable microclimate in the room.
House wall made of foam concrete Foam concrete has a fairly low price compared to other materials. In addition, it is very light, which undoubtedly affects the speed of installation. You can build a house in two to three months. In addition, building a house from foam concrete does not require the construction of a powerful foundation.
One of the main qualities of foam concrete is the presence of good heat and noise insulation, which leads to a reduction in the cost of heat energy and insulating materials. This material is completely fireproof and easily withstands high temperatures. In addition, interior walls can be finished using almost any materials.
But, like any building material, foam concrete has its drawbacks. One of them is insufficient strength, so the blocks may be damaged during transportation and construction. There is a possibility that cracks may appear on the walls after installing the building frame, which appear during the shrinkage process or under the influence of temperature changes. In order to avoid adverse consequences, you need to spend money on high-quality reinforcement of the structure.
Reinforced structure Once it’s built, don’t try to immediately finish finishing the interior walls; it’s better to wait for a while. The reason is that there is a possibility of carbonation shrinkage, which can occur as a result of the formation of chalk inside the material. Such changes can occur due to a chemical reaction between the cement and the carbon dioxide that penetrates it.
Pros and cons of brick houses
Brick houses are among the most popular in the construction industry because they are durable, strong and comfortable. If such a house is built competently and thoroughly, then it can easily stand for more than 100 years, delighting residents with a cozy layout and the warmth of its walls.
Beautiful brick country house Brick is the most suitable material for exterior finishing work. Brick cladding will require less money than a full-fledged building made from the same material. Such cladding both decorates the building and protects it from the harmful effects of the environment. The best option when building a reliable and warm house is to combine foam concrete with brick.
Brick is ideal for building a house because it is completely natural.
Construction of a brick house A brick house will not burn down. Of course, the fire will destroy everything that was inside, but the frame of the house will remain standing, which contributes to the beginning of a new life.
If necessary, you can build on it and add additional rooms. A house with only one floor can become a comfortable cottage or a house with several floors.
Brick walls can support roller shutters or an additional attic. You can also line the walls with wood, wild stone or decorative brick.
