Today there are many materials from which you can build the walls of a house with your own hands, which will meet almost any operational requirements, as well as serve for a long time and please with their heat and sound insulation characteristics in practice. Of course, everything depends on the choice of material for the construction of walls, as well as on the number of storeys of the building and the foundation, respectively.
These types of houses are difficult to insulate because traditional methods such as pumpable insulation cannot be used to improve the thermal efficiency of a home. In these cases, the only way to "warm up" these houses is to insulate the walls from either the inside or outside. We feel that interior wall insulation is an incomplete treatment because installation is very dangerous for passengers and treatment can be much more expensive than exterior insulation. Outside insulation consists of a rigid board with trim and is applied to the outside of the property, meaning minimal shock to the occupant.
In this article I will tell you not only how to choose a material, but also how to save money by combining cheap and expensive materials, but before proceeding to the description of materials for walls and technologies for their construction, I want to say that whatever the material is strong and warm , the outer walls still need to be insulated, and you will learn all the details in another article.
We can make the rendered property look like a brand new brick building or add a vibrant Mediterranean look to your dilapidated brickwork... Our experienced team of operatives is capable of adjusting the shade of brick finishes to match other functions or surrounding buildings. We can replicate stone titles and jewelry, brick or stone quotas and visually rejuvenate your property. We feel that our many years of experience in the industry allows us to do this, and it sets us apart from the competition.
So, let's make a list of materials for building walls.
Foam block;
Shell rock;
Foam block - this is the most popular material for the construction of walls of country private houses, and already now it is often used in urban planning. It fits quickly, it is light and at the same time relatively strong. In addition, it has a high degree of insulation from noise and heat, thus, there is less consumption for the insulation of the walls of the house, and this is all despite the fact that it is one of the cheapest materials. And even if you do not even insulate the walls erected from a foam block, you can not buy very powerful heating devices
How do I know if my home is right?
Our qualities cannot be replicated. Check the construction of your property. If it is built of concrete slabs, has "tin" panels, or is unusual in some other way, it may well qualify. Where all the bricks look the same, chances are you have a cavity. look the same and some of the bricks look the other way around, you may have what is known as a "headline" or "Flemish bonds".
Not hiding behind walls, you are the first to walk past passers-by. The synergy of the park house creates a local magnet: the environment of activities and interests. A cafe is included in all rooms. The cafe can be seen from all the surrounding streets from all sides. The cafe visitor is part of the house. Covered parking is a versatile park area offering a cheaper and more sustainable alternative underground garages.
Brick ranks second in construction country houses, and is also used very often in urban planning. There are red bricks and silicate bricks. Red brick is environmentally friendly, is not afraid of moisture and lends itself better to plastering unlike silicate brick.
What is wall insulation
The community center is a mirror of civil society. It is based on the inclusion of all, mutual solidarity, is a meeting point and destruction of prejudices. The proposed activities should not be hidden behind walls and the doors of the building should not be closed. The building must first go through a proposal for passers-by, thus due to its openness to support the much-needed low-threshold character. This is the only way to become a gentle public space that will blend in with the life of the city and become part of the park in which it is installed.
Sand-lime brick is very strong and is excellent for facing masonry, i.e. facing masonry.
Shell rock is the most environmentally friendly material. It has many disadvantages, it is afraid of constant influences environment, it is fragile and, as a result, it is not recommended to build houses with more than two floors from it or houses with a flat roof and a pool / garden or similar heavy elements and structures. But, despite the restrictions, it is in demand in suburban construction.
Structural skeleton design examples
Land with a border location is surrounded by houses without a public steamer; is the crossroads of footpaths. The synergy between the house and the park creates a local magnet: an environment where activities and interests are concentrated. The house is part of the park, the park takes over some of the functions of the house. The community center is part of a villa development where the land is wedged in: a low-rise building surrounded by greenery. The plot plots are characterized by different kinds Activities: a children's and fitness center in the west, laid out by a social "agora" around the hornbeam and open skittles, located in the northern grove.
Rubble masonry the strongest and most durable of all. Such walls can stand for thousands of years, if, of course, you choose the best mortar for its masonry. It has no weak points at all, but it is expensive and the thermal conductivity is high. It is difficult to finish, but from the outside it has an appearance acceptable for the facade and does not need to be painted or varnished at all, unlike many other natural stones.
Ways to insulate the house outside
All tracks are saved, allows you to choose your preferred route and invite you to visit the community center from all directions. Each route bypassing the house represents a different face of the community center, and from each route you can enter the heart of the facility - the cafe.
Covered parking is conceived as a paved park area, built among the crowns of trees, universally designed for parking, sports and cultural events. It represents a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to underground garages, emphasizes the social character of the center, the emphasis on passers-by on people, not on cars. The parking lot is closed with a green fence and is available for one-sided ramp heating.
Concrete walls and columns can act as additional load-bearing elements in construction country house... This is called monolithic frame construction. Concrete itself is a very cheap and sturdy material, but building walls requires formwork and cranes, as well as other means of large-scale mechanization, which makes building walls very costly. Thermal conductivity is high on a par with rubble walls.
Ways to insulate walls outside
The low centricity of the center reinforces the idea of \u200b\u200bthe cafe as the central space of the house, the nucleus of all events, from which it enters all rooms. The cafe can be seen from all the surrounding streets and park paths, as well as from the cafeteria across the street. Every visitor to the cafe becomes a part of the home. An informal meeting with a therapist can be a breakthrough therapy. Synergy can arise between individual companies and foundations. Outdoor seating is placed around the building, in the pre-therapy bays and in the living room, where visitors can socialize privately.
There are external walls of a private house, they enclose the inner area of \u200b\u200bthe house and interior walls, which divide the internal space of the house into premises for various purposes.
According to the functions they perform, they are:
Carriers;
Non-load bearing;
Partitions.
Load-bearing walls can be both external and internal. They, unlike all other types of walls, carry the weight from the floor slabs resting on them with all the overlying weights.
How to insulate walls in a private house outside with polyurethane foam
The concept of arranging functions around the cafe is based on completing the required degree of proximity. Curiosity can help break prejudices and increase interest in social activities. Thus, the hall, as the center of business cards, is conceived in accordance with current trends in the design of community centers, it is transparent with the possibility of opening on the sides. The summer program will attract every passer-by. Clubs are located between the cafe and the western part of the park with children's elements, and can be opened in the park or in a cafe according to the current activity.
Non load-bearing walls - these are those that do not support gravity, but they are present to separate the interior of the house from the environment, and therefore are more massive than partitions.
Partitions are internal fences in the house that look like walls, however, they differ significantly from the aforementioned ones in their design, requirements and functionality.
The group therapy rooms are oriented towards the quieter eastern part of the park and are partially separated from the dining room by built-in furniture. Thanks to their opening into a private garden, therapy can be carried out in a pristine outdoor setting, in parallel with the prevailing views of the surrounding family houses and gardens. Therapy for individuals is located in the farthest part of the house, in a quiet bay.
Therapists at top floor provide a calm and relaxed experience by opening into the dining room along the east side of the countertops to provide eye contact with the cafe and some opportunity to check out events. All public functions are located on the ground floor.
Wall technology
Whether brick, stone or concrete, all wall construction starts with laying a waterproofing layer on a laid and stable foundation. Waterproofing is usually one or two layers of roofing material, laid on the resin. The first row, like all the others, is laid along a cord stretched under the level. In order to pull the cord, stakes are hammered at the outer corners of the building's contours, then level marks are drawn on them using a level, laser or water level, and the cords are pulled along the marks. The second and the following rows are erected along the cord only for accurate control of straightness, checking the verticality of the second row relative to the first using a spirit level.
The simplicity and clarity of the home reflects the choice of durable and sustainable materials: concrete, wood, glass. The visual and material solution to the interior is simple, technical, and cheap. The materials used are natural in nature. Concrete floors follow the concrete surface of the exterior, wiping out the difference between interior and exterior, inviting passers-by inside.
The proposed shape of the object represents a reasonable compromise between the demand for low-threshold openness and the thermal requirements for a compact material. The building system is monolithic reinforced concrete, with beams and cast plates. Covered parking allows free placement of indoor bearing structures and open floor plan. The roof structure is inverted, thermally insulated with extruded polystyrene. The perimeter structures are cast reinforced concrete insulated with mineral wool inside, with an airtight layer.
Now let's look at how to make the walls of a private house from various materials. Building walls from blocks (foam blocks, cinder blocks, gas blocks, shell rock blocks). The blocks are laid on a cement-sand mortar or on a special glue, which is initially a dry mixture. Load-bearing walls are laid in 1.5 blocks, not in one, there are special thin blocks for partitions.
The walls have no storage capacity, which unnecessarily reduces the flexibility of controlled heating. The glazing on the ground floor is generous with respect to the moral need for contact and transparency of the community center, but this does not contradict the requirements for thermal savings. The basement of the existing cinema is preserved and rebuilt into a warehouse and technological territory with sufficient supplies for modern and future eco-technologies.
Summer thermal comfort is achieved by external blinds on the south, west and east windows. Ventilation is controlled in the same way as recuperation. The ventilation is divided into three circuits: a hall, a central part of a cafe, a room. Due to improper use of space, ventilation is controlled by air quality sensors. Hot water heating is provided by a heat pump for groundwater... The flat collector is designed below the surface of the common area to the west of the site to minimize field work in green areas.
Before laying on a cement-sand mortar, the blocks should be moistened with water or a primer, since they strongly absorb water and can absorb all of it from the solution, preventing it from grabbing. The blocks have a good thermal insulation coefficient, and as a rule, insulation of 5 cm is sufficient for such walls.
Erecting brick walls... Also, like all other masonry materials, bricks are laid in a straight line along the cord, which is the first row, which are the following. There are special masonry mixes for masonry, but you can also use a cement-sand mortar, but in any case, the seams should be 1 cm. Bearing walls are laid out in 2 bricks, non-bearing and internal bearing in 1.5 bricks, partitions - 0.5 or ¼ bricks. Outside, walls of 1.5-2 bricks can be insulated by 5 cm, but in very harsh winters, you will have to take insulation 10 cm.
It is theoretically possible to heat a building by electrically heating the intake air in heat recovery units. Due to the intended use, when different people alternate at different times, heating system offered with hot water radiators heated by a heat pump or heat pump combination and solar system heating. The inlet air is fed into the building using earthed heat exchangers, where it is preheated to a temperature close to that of the soil.
Construction of walls from natural stones (rubble, marble, granite). This material as a rule, they are used only for masonry walls that bear the greatest load, these include the walls of the basement floor, occasionally the walls of the first floor. The foundation is often made from it. The masonry is also carried out in rows, the thickness of the seams is 1-2 cm, the stones are selected individually, so as not to allow large gaps, and if small gaps have arisen, then they are laid with small stones. Insulation of 10 cm is relevant for this type of walls.
Preparation for wall insulation
The number of exchangers will be optimized in the next stages of the project, taking into account the financial capabilities of the investor and the required return on austerity measures. This area can be used for solar panels or for photovoltaic panels. Rainwater will be stored in reservoirs in the building's basement and used as industrial water. On the green roof of the ground floor and on the surrounding walls, pebble and sand filtration tanks.
Inorganic raw materials
Energy and environmental conservation measures add value to the building in favor of future operating costs. The technological design philosophy is based mainly on the maximum use of passive elements, especially high quality thermal insulation. Some active elements are solar panels, future technologies, etc. - can be completed after completion of construction, with sufficient space for them in the technical basement and assembly core.
Concrete wall construction... This process is very laborious and consists of several stages:
1. knitting of the reinforcement cage;
2. installation of formwork;
3. pouring and vibration of concrete mix;
4. demolding.
The reinforcement is knitted depending on the loads, the diameter and step of the reinforcement in the frame are selected, guided by SNiP and practical knowledge about how the knitting process itself is very responsible. You can also purchase a ready-made frame and mount it in design position... The frame or individual pins are welded to the pre-planned outlets from the foundation.
Count the benefits: Breathing healthy inside, all led by children and allergy sufferers. Everywhere you get the narcotic scent of wood. The sturdy North Polar Pine beams have rings so tight they seal, sound, and heat up perfectly. Only downside: Wood hovers as you climb the stairs.
A brick house is a brick house, that's a fact. You breathe in plaster, you sweep the dust, you are afraid to stick to the wall in your sleep so as not to get drunk. Contemporary contemporary architecture and design utilize large glass surfaces and an open and lighted interior. Models can be changed in variable fashion, and the building's advantage is its amazing speed. The family finds themselves in a 100% healthy environment of solid wood and walls that naturally breathe and maintain ideal indoor humidity.
When the frame is ready, shields are placed on both sides with an allowance for the protective layer of reinforcement according to SNiP, props are installed, concrete is poured and after a few days the concrete plates are removed. These walls are very thermally conductive and require full insulation of 10 cm.
After the walls of the house have been built with their own hands, they are built with their own hands or with the help of craftsmen, but in any case, you should not leave the walls without a roof.
How to save money with a combination of materials
If the house is being built with two storeys, then the walls that are at the level of the first floor hold the weights from the upper elements, you can build from stronger and more expensive materials, for example, from brick or stone, and the second from more fragile and cheap shell rock or foam block, because the walls the second floor contains only the load from the floor slab and the roof.
Another a good option - monolithic-frame walls, during their construction, load-bearing elements in the form of columns and separate walls are made of concrete, and the rest of the space between them is filled with a foam block or shell rock, while they are not load-bearing, which means that they can be laid in 1 or even 0 , 5 blocks. But due to the difference in thermal conductivity, concrete elements should be insulated more seriously than block ones.
Heat escapes from a private house not only through cracks in windows and doors - most of the heat energy escapes through the surfaces of the floor, ceiling and walls, even if they are finished with materials that relatively well prevent the entry of cold air. To ensure the effective maintenance of a constant temperature inside the room, it is recommended to insulate its walls from the outside with your own hands - not only in the area of \u200b\u200bthe basement, but also the surface of the entire facade.
Wall insulation options
You can insulate a house not only outside, but also inside, but external insulation has a number of advantages. So, when choosing this method, insulation will not only protect the house from the cold, but the walls will also become less susceptible to aggressive environmental factors - first of all, humidity and fluctuations in air temperature.
There is a wide range of materials for insulating the walls of a private house with your own hands, each of which is better suited for a particular situation and for certain operating conditions. You can use polystyrene foam or the more practical extruded polystyrene foam, mineral wool or polyurethane foam.
Consider the basic insulation technologies
As for insulation technologies, there are three of them:
- the simplest method is gluing the insulation to the surface of the facade or plinth, after which the thermal insulation material is covered with a layer of plaster for subsequent decorative finishing walls;
- three-layer walls without ventilation - an adhesive solution is applied to the base, a heater is fixed on it, then a brick face finish is erected, one stone thick, in compliance with the gap;
- ventilated facade - a frame made of a galvanized profile or wooden lathing is installed on the wall, then the surface is covered with a layer of waterproofing, on which the insulation is fixed, after which the whole structure is closed with decorative plates made of various materials.
The methods differ in their reliability, total cost and complexity of do-it-yourself execution. In order for any of them to be carried out efficiently, you need to carefully study the nuances of insulation - in any case, the procedure for thermal insulation of the basement or facade is more complicated than finishing the floor or ceiling.
In addition, the method should be selected based on the conditions in which the work is carried out. In winter, the only option is to design a ventilated wall, since this does not use adhesive solutions that cannot be diluted in the cold.
The nuances of choosing an insulating material
Each of the heat-insulating materials on the market fully fulfills its functions, differing only in price and additional parameters, such as resistance to moisture and ignition. Unlike the floor or ceiling, which can be insulated with your own hands with almost anything, exterior decoration the walls of the building should be carried out using one of the following materials:
- slabs of dense foam or extruded polystyrene foam, characterized by a low weight;
- mineral wool;
- polyurethane foam;
- volcanic stone slabs;
- cellulose wool (ecowool).
To the differences between materials, you can also add such a parameter as vapor permeability, which is very important when finishing external walls and a basement. The steam should penetrate the insulation as freely as possible so that the main wall does not begin to collapse ahead of time, and moisture does not condense inside the room. Because of this, when using EPS or foam, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation of the wall, since these materials do not allow steam to pass through well.
Although any of the materials provides a sufficient degree of thermal insulation for the house, they have different thermal conductivity values. This is due to the physical characteristics of the substances that make up the insulation. Depending on the value of these indicators, the thickness of the heat-insulating layer is selected: the lower the thermal conductivity, the better material retains heat and the thinner the insulation layer can be.
The nuances of the selection of the required thickness
The thickness of the plates of thermal insulation material, when finishing the walls of the facade and the basement outside the house, should be selected not only based on the parameters of the material, but also based on the relevant building codes and regulations. It is best to carry out the calculations with a special project organization, but if the construction of the house is carried out entirely by hand, it is quite possible to choose the thickness of the insulation yourself.
When calculating the amount of material in order to insulate the walls from the outside, it is necessary to take into account not only the heat loss of the facade itself or the basement itself, but also heat leakage through windows, doors, floor and ceiling surfaces, especially if there is an unheated basement. Based on all the data, a decision is made on the thickness of the layer of a particular material.
It may turn out that a more expensive material will become preferable due to its efficiency and, accordingly, a smaller required amount. So, you should not stop choosing foam, if you have to lay it in several layers in order to provide the necessary thermal insulation indicators - it is better to buy several times less polyurethane foam.
Preparatory work
Before proceeding with the insulation of the walls outside the house with your own hands, the base on which the heat-insulating material will be applied must be prepared so that the whole structure is reliable, effective and durable.
If the insulation is not carried out during the construction of the house, old finish the outside walls must be cleaned, except when a ventilated facade is being installed. Decorative material that strengthens the layer of plaster and everything else is completely removed right down to the base - as a result, a clean brick, wooden or foam concrete wall of the house should remain.
The following stages of initial surface preparation are as follows:
- The surface of the facade or plinth is leveled. If the elevation differences are negligible, you can simply cover the façade with two coats of strong, deep penetrating primer. If the irregularities exceed 20 mm, you will have to level the surface with cement mortar, which then also needs to be primed to protect it from destruction. When constructing a ventilated facade, the wall can be leveled with brackets.
- A beacon system is being installed. It is needed in order to lay the insulation in an even layer. Thanks to this, the insulating layer will not interfere with the application of plaster and the installation of decorative coatings. Lighthouses are installed on plumb lines and checked by level. Their upper plane will become the boundary of the insulation layer outside the walls. Lighthouses are made of wooden laths or aluminum profiles and fixed to the base using long screws or anchors.
After the preparation is completed, you can start laying the insulation with your own hands.
Installation of thermal insulation material
In general terms, finishing with one or another material is standard, but each of the heaters has its own characteristic installation nuances.
Laying mineral wool
When decorating a ceiling or floor inside a room, special fastening of cotton rolls is not required - often it is simply glued onto double-sided tape, and it adheres perfectly. However, when insulating walls - a facade or a basement - outside the house, a more reliable installation method is needed. In addition, the cotton wool must be weatherproof.
To keep the mineral wool, a frame made of wooden slats is mounted on the base with your own hands. It is advisable to make the dimensions of the crate sectors so that the cotton wool fits tightly into the space between the slats - that is, the frame elements should be installed in increments of a couple of centimeters less than the width of the insulation roll. Additionally, an anchor can be screwed into the wall to provide more secure material retention.
If the outside wall is uneven, it is best to use special mineral wool, which consists of two layers of different densities. Such cotton wool is placed with your own hands in a less dense layer against the wall, fits all irregularities and ensures the most tight fit of the insulation to the base. Thus, the best insulation is provided.
In most situations, further finishing can be done in any convenient way. For example, a layer of mineral wool can be covered with a special membrane that protects the insulation from moisture, then covered with a reinforcing mesh made of metal or fiberglass. After that, the wall is plastered and covered with a finishing finishing material - siding, stone tiles or facing bricks.
This method of insulation can be used not only with mineral wool, but also with some other insulating materials - basalt or cellulose wool.
Securing Styrofoam or Extruded Polystyrene Foam
The sequence of actions when installing plates of polymer insulation with your own hands is as follows:
- A metal profile is installed along the lower edge of the facade or plinth, which is needed to level the first layer of material.
- Foam or EPS boards are pressed against the wall. The benchmark for leveling the upper plane of the insulation is plumb lines lowered from the roof or tied to anchors screwed into the walls at the ceiling level.
- The boards are glued using special solutions - you can use both dry adhesive mixtures and polyurethane glue.
- Subsequent layers are mounted after the previous one is firmly attached to the base. Each layer should be offset horizontally by one third or one half of the slab. In addition, it is advisable to lay the slabs as tightly as possible to each other - for this, a corner can be cut out on the side edges.
- In addition to the glue, you need to use plastic dowels, which are fixed at the corners and in the center of each element of the heat-insulating layer. To save fasteners, you can fix two corners of adjacent foam plates with one dowel.
- The joints are covered with putty and glued with mounting reinforcing tape or filled with polystyrene or special foam (but not ordinary mounting foam, its use is not recommended).
- Front finishing a layer of insulation is covered with a reinforcing mesh and a layer of plaster.
Most often, polymeric materials are used for insulation outside concrete or brick wall, plinth, as this finish adheres best to these surfaces. It is better to insulate wooden houses with cotton wool, since polystyrene and similar materials will lead to rotting wood and the appearance of mold due to low vapor permeability.
