The purpose of this article is to help potential developers figure out which modern building materials are attractive not only in terms of their price, but also in terms of the expediency of their use in the construction of private houses.
The growth of individual construction has led to the appearance on the market of various materials, including those that no one had heard of before. The range of building materials is so large that even specialists are often lost, not knowing what is better to choose.
As a rule, individual developers are guided by the following indicators: the price of materials (including facing); the ability to perform all operations with your own hands to the maximum; the total weight of the structure, since the type of foundation and the cost of its installation largely depend on this; the cost of finishing work; durability; the frequency of current (major) repairs and operating costs (mainly for heating).
Firstly, comprehensive information on each sample is a topic for a separate review. Secondly, ideal materials do not exist. Each material has its pros and cons, which will be discussed. Thirdly, many of the shortcomings of materials are very relative, since the manifestation of their defects is mainly caused not by product quality, but by the builder's excessive self-confidence, elementary violations of the technology of construction and installation works and the technical illiteracy of builders on issues of thermal and waterproofing, thermal expansion of building materials , their compatibility, etc., etc.
What kind of house do you need? Need to decide
There are three main types of houses built by private developers.
to the first type refers to a residential building for permanent residence those who live in the countryside, but their labor activity is connected with the city and for those who want to run their household on their own land.
These are, as a rule, capital buildings with a full range of additional premises, such as a boiler room, workshop, sauna, garage. Such houses are designed for year-round use, so their walls must have thermal insulation properties in accordance with the climate of the region.
The engineering equipment of houses for permanent residence should provide maximum communal amenities, surpassing a city apartment in terms of comfort.
to the second type rank as a "second home" or the so-called cottage, serving for temporary residence in the suburban area. Buildings of this type usually take into account the possibility of year-round living, so their walls are treated with the same attention as in houses for permanent residence.
to the third type houses include dachas and garden houses - houses for seasonal living or short-term visits, where you can come to spend the weekend in the warm season. Most often, such houses are operated at temperatures not lower than -5 degrees, so the wall thickness rarely exceeds 25 cm (in one brick), and engineering support is reduced to installing a stove, an outdoor toilet and a well, usually for several houses.
All of these well-known wall designs have their pros and cons. Therefore, the developer needs to have at least a little idea not only about the total cost of building a house from this material, but also about the advantages of the material for which he makes his choice in favor of this wall design, and what disadvantages he will therefore be forced to put up with in further during the operation of the house.
Before starting the construction of a cottage, it should be remembered that the box of the house - the foundation, walls and roof - sometimes takes more than 60% of the cost of the house. And in these costs, about 50% are enclosing structures or walls.
If you decide to build your own house, the first thing you will need to figure out is the amount of materials you will need to build it. The process of counting all the necessary things is quite capacious, tedious and time-consuming, but it is essential for a stable and successful construction. So let's start with the calculations.
- Decide on the size and volume of the house. Determine the exact footage you need for housing, distribute all the premises, rooms in this footage and select their arrangement.
- Use the services of a specialist. You can study specialized forums or sites that provide statistics on how much each type of building material is needed for a certain size of a building or room.
- If you could not find the necessary information on the network, go to the store and consult with the seller. Ask him which of the available materials suits you best, which materials have the highest quality ratings, and how much of a particular product you need to fill the entire footage.
- Make the final choice between traditional and modern building materials. You evaluate not only the means, but also the manufacturability of construction and the duration of operation. Modern technologies make it possible to obtain material with higher indicators of "survivability", and at the same time at a very reasonable price. The assembly process can be much easier and the end result look neater and cleaner.
- Review your notes before you go to the store. Make adjustments, calculate the quantity and price of all goods. Remember to order building materials with at least a five percent surplus for emergencies.
The strategic issue is the type of walls. To begin with, we will consider three options for wall structures that are widely used in private housing construction.
good old tree
The traditional material for Russian housing construction is wood. About 33% of our houses were built from it.
People who are wondering what it is better to build a private house from, this material often comes to mind. After all, a wooden house is health and comfort. Its walls not only “breathe”, but also make the air healing, retaining harmful substances. Wooden walls create optimal humidity in the room and smell pleasant.
The walls of the house made of wood have good thermal insulation and keep warm in winter and cool in summer. The heating costs of a wooden house can be significantly lower compared to brick walls.
A wooden house can be built from logs (rounded or profiled) and / or from timber (plain or glued).
Hand-cut log house
This method is the oldest, it was used by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. It's a hand-crafted cut. The tree trunk is cut to the desired length, and then locks and grooves are made on it. Next, the logs are connected, laying out the outline of the house. You definitely need to wait for shrinkage - this is about a year, no less. Then they caulk the cracks and sheathe the boxes of windows and doors.
Today, this method of building a wooden house is not used. Everyone can build a house from round logs. Such a structure is assembled, like a designer, we will talk about this later.
It is easier and faster to build a house from a bar
Neat smooth logs are processed under production conditions and marked. Ready-made parts are delivered to the construction site from which the walls are assembled. The beam can have different sizes and sections (rectangular, square, in the form of the letter D). If it is profiled, then it has protrusions and grooves for connection. An oblique cut helps drain excess water. You can build a house from this material with your own hands.
There are several types of timber for building a house.
Beam sawn made of logs with a moisture content of 50 to 70%. As soon as he is cut out, he immediately goes to the construction site. Because of this, the house is subject to shrinkage (up to 10 cm). And sometimes there are cracks on the walls.
Beam planed dried under production conditions. Humidity of the finished product - from 20 to 25%. After drying on a special machine, the products are planed. As a result, the shrinkage of the house, although it exists, is very small.
Glued timber made of several layers of lamellas (special boards dried to 6 or 10% humidity). They are glued under pressure, while the fibers of adjacent layers are perpendicular to each other. Finished products are up to 12 m long and 7.5 to 30 cm thick. They do not shrink, deform or crack. Therefore, many believe that glued laminated timber is the best material for the walls of a wooden house.
The positive aspects of wooden houses are obvious - these are environmental friendliness, frost resistance, speed of construction, seismic and wind resistance. In addition, wood does not need additional cladding, which promises good budget savings.
There are also disadvantages, but they are relatively few. Firstly, wood is a capricious material. For example, wooden houses often shrink. House shrinkage is a natural process of changing the volume of walls due to the drying of the material from which they are made. The maximum shrinkage is about 10% and is observed in houses from freshly cut logs. Such a building needs to stand without finishing for at least 8 months, and usually a year.
In the process of shrinkage, the house may crack, which are coated with special compounds. Minimum shrinkage is observed in houses made of glued laminated timber and ordinary dried timber. Such materials are almost immediately ready for finishing. However, it will take a lot of money to insulate a house from a bar.
Another disadvantage of wood is flammability, a fire can destroy such a structure in a matter of minutes. Therefore, wooden houses are impregnated with special compounds that increase their fire resistance.
Special compounds are also needed to protect against decay and insects. Impregnation is a necessary measure, and the special equipment themselves are not always environmentally friendly. In addition, a wooden house requires constant care, especially if it is intended for seasonal living, it must be heated, as damp wood begins to rot.
In general, the durability of wooden houses built by specialists, in compliance with all technological nuances, ranges from 70 to 100 years.
Briefly - the advantages of wood materials
This is one of the most environmentally friendly materials. Building a wooden house is not as expensive as a brick one. In terms of thermal conductivity, wood is significantly superior to brick. A wooden house is usually very beautiful. Often it does not require finishing either inside or outside. The foundation is required light and inexpensive. For example, columnar. A wooden house, especially a hand-cut one, serves for a very long time.
Briefly - the disadvantages of wood materials:
The tree burns, can rot and be "eaten" by the fungus. To prevent this, all parts must be treated with special preparations. Shrinkage of a log house can go from 3 to 5 years. Planed timber and log cabins can crack.
Brick - he is a brick
Brick is one of the most popular materials on the market. More than 50% of houses in Russia are built of brick
Ceramic brick and silicate brick. What is the difference?
Two types of bricks are used in construction: silicate (white) and ceramic (red) bricks.
ceramic brick has a red color. Such material is not afraid of frost and does not pass water. It can be full-bodied (no more than 13% of voids) and hollow (up to 49% of voids). The shape of the holes in the brick can be round, square, oval, horizontally or vertically. With an increase in their number, thermal insulation properties improve.
For the construction of external fences, construction teams prefer ceramic bricks. Seven grades of ceramic bricks are produced: from M75 to M300. The higher the numbers, the stronger the brick. You should also pay attention to frost resistance, denoted by the letter F. The lowest quality is F15, the highest is F75.
silicate brick consists of a mixture of quartz sand, water and air lime. It is strong enough, resistant to frost, has good sound insulation. The silicate brick is white. Its main components are lime, sand and a small proportion of additives.
This type of brick is also produced both solid and with cavities inside. The latter is lighter, and the walls made of it are much warmer (air is an excellent heat insulator). But a solid silicate brick may interest the developer in a variety of colors. For the strength of a brick, it does not matter whether it is full-bodied or with cavities inside.
Ordinary and front brick and their purpose.
Both types of bricks are used for different purposes. Ordinary brick is also called building brick - it is used for interior masonry walls. For him, small cracks are not considered marriage. It does not matter if the corners or ribs are slightly beaten off and there are notches in the corners.
The front (facing) brick must have an impeccable appearance, not have notches and flaws.
On the strength of bricks and resistance to frost
Strength determines the brand of brick. There is a special marking for this indicator: the letter M and a number nearby (from 75 to 300). This number is the load that this brand can withstand per square centimeter. The higher this number, the heavier the brick. For the walls of a two-story or three-story house, the M100 and M125 brands are suitable. The plinth or foundation is laid with bricks M150 or M175.
When choosing which brick to build a house from, frost resistance should also be taken into account (the ability to freeze and thaw without being damaged). The letter F was chosen to denote this indicator, next to which there is a number from 15 to 100. It means the number of freeze and thaw cycles without damaging the material. In warmer areas, F15 is sufficient for external walls, where it is colder - F25. The cladding is usually made with F50 brand bricks.
The main advantages of brick are strength, fire resistance, a wide variety and choice on the market, as well as an acceptable price. A small brick house can sometimes cost less than a wooden cottage. Brick keeps the temperature well and in this sense, it is ideal for houses where year-round living is planned. But at the same time, in terms of heat transfer, brick is seriously inferior to wood.
Brick also has a lot of drawbacks. To build a brick house, sometimes one and a half times more time must be spent than to build a wooden house. Brick is a heavy material, which complicates its logistics and storage. A brick building needs a strong and powerful foundation, and these are additional costs.
A brick house can stand for 100 - 150 years. He will perfectly survive the rains with hurricanes and hail, and severe frosts, and withering heat. Brick walls have been laid since ancient times, so the technology for their construction has been worked out to the smallest detail. But a good master is not easy to find.
Briefly - the advantages of brick: Attractive look. Durability. The ability to bring to life any complex project. Resistant to corrosion, mold and mildew. Fire resistance. Noise protection. Good heat retention.
Briefly - the disadvantages of bricks: Big weight. High demands on professionalism in laying. The need for a solid foundation. The need for a heat insulator
Inexpensive frame house
And from what cheaper build a house? For some, the answer to this question is the most important. In this case, take a closer look at the wireframe technology. In addition to the cheapness of such a home, the speed of assembly is also impressive. Just a few weeks - and you can move into a house that will be warm and comfortable.
The basis of such buildings is a frame made of wood or metal. It includes rafters, racks, trusses and other elements. Then a heater is placed, and on top all this is sheathed with dense sheets of chipboard or OSB. The wall of such a house weighs 15 times less than a brick one.
There is not much expensive wood for the frame - 5 or 10 times less than for a log house. Insulation is the main item of expenditure. However, he, even the best, gives the cost of the wall 1.5 times cheaper than from timber, and compared to brick - 2.7 times.
Frame houses can be of two types:
Frame-panel house- assembled from ready-made shields. First they connect them, then they make partitions between the rooms. The final stage is the construction of the roof.
Frame house- made on the basis of the "frame" - a frame of beams and logs, based on the foundation. Next, they put the rafters and make the crate. After the roof is made, the frame is sheathed with insulation (mineral wool or PPS). At the end, the outer skin is made.
Since the main material in the construction of a frame house is a heater, when making the correct calculations of the required amount, the building turns out to be warm enough, which will allow you to significantly save on heating.
Briefly - the advantages of a frame house: Extremely low price and fast installation. Good heat saving (when the heating is turned off in the cold at minus 10 ° C, the temperature will decrease by 2 ° C per day). There is no need for interior decoration, which reduces costs. Communications can be hidden inside the walls, which saves space. No special skills are required to build a frame house cheaply and quickly. With a wooden frame, the most incredible designs become possible. A real flight of fancy is possible. A small shallow foundation is enough for a frame house.
Briefly - the disadvantages of a frame house: a frame house is considered not very environmentally friendly due to the large amount of insulation. Another problem of these houses is various insects and rodents. Like all wooden houses, they are combustible, unstable to natural disasters. Another problem of frame houses is that they are stuffy, so supply and exhaust ventilation is required. A house on a frame will last less than a brick or wooden one.
Instead of a conclusion
What you need to know when choosing material for the walls of the house?
Wall materials and the production of works on the construction of enclosing structures is a third of all the costs of building a house. And if you, like the piglets Nif-Nif and Nuf-Nuf, carelessly treat this serious choice, you will inevitably incur serious expenses in the future.
Therefore, we will consider the most important criteria and factors that must be considered when choosing a material for building walls at home.
A) The question of price. Costs can be reduced by using lightweight material for the walls. Then you do not have to build a powerful and expensive foundation.
B) Thermal insulation. Cold walls will cost too much in winter. Therefore, before choosing a material, you need to make all the calculations, focusing on local climatic conditions. To achieve the desired degree of thermal insulation, you can resort to the help of heaters. If you take a material with good thermal insulation properties, then the walls can not be insulated, but it all depends on the region of development.
B) labor costs. Time and effort can be reduced by building walls from large blocks, and not from small pieces. Such walls are erected 3-4 times faster and easier. The highest speed is when erecting frame panel walls.
D) Subsequent finishing costs. Modern smooth and aesthetic materials do not require additional wall decoration - this saves money.
In order to decide what is better to build the walls of a house from, it is necessary to consider the main types of suitable building materials, determine and compare their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.
Comparison of different wall materials
| № | materials | Advantages | disadvantages | Cost of materials and works $/M2 | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 | Brick (minimum thickness - 380 mm) | Reliability, durability, environmental friendliness. |
The need for insulation, labor intensity, heavy walls, you need a powerful foundation | 75 | |
| 2 | Keramoblock (thickness - 380 mm) | Reliability, durability, environmental friendliness, erection speed. |
brittleness of the material, need a highly qualified specialist. |
82 | |
| 3 | Rounded timber (diameter - 200 mm) | environmental friendliness, rapidity erection. |
Shrinkage of walls, great dependence on the quality of the material and specialists, combustibility, decay. |
44 | |
| 4 | Glued profiled timber (200/230 mm) | environmental friendliness, construction speed, lightweight foundation. |
Flammability, decay. | 111 | |
| 5 | Aerated concrete (thickness - 380) | construction speed, durability, reliability, environmental friendliness, thermal insulation. |
A solid foundation is needed; low bending strength. |
60 | |
| 6 | Wooden frame + sandwich panels with insulation. | construction speed, good thermal insulation, lightweight foundation |
The durability of a house depends on technology and construction quality. |
44 | |
And more advice. When choosing a material for building a house, you should not approach the upcoming construction “in a big way”. A person, in fact, does not need so much space for complete happiness, especially outside the city. All the savings that you achieve by reducing the cost of materials and construction technologies can be crossed out by extra floors, rooms and spaces.
We wish you success in finding and finding the only right solution!
Text: Valery Bordyuzhenko -
In principle, each material for building a house has its undeniable advantages and disadvantages. The abundance of choice complicates the question of which house to build for permanent residence. One thing is for sure: for heavy and light materials, the main thing is skillful hands of the builder. An error in the calculations will come back to haunt you in any case and will surface the next day or 10 years later, when it will be very difficult to correct.
What material to choose, what is better and cheaper to build a house from? We will conduct a brief review, as well as materials for their construction.
What are heavy and light materials?
Heavy materials for construction include, as the name suggests, stones, various blocks, bricks, slabs. For houses made of heavy materials, an appropriate foundation is also needed. The most commonly used tape, but if the ground is not the best, it can be combined with a pile-screw.
When it comes to lightweight materials, it means wood, frames. Of course, these are only conditional names for such houses, which does not mean that the house will be really easy in the end. for wooden houses it is better to choose the best possible one. stand for several hundred years and the foundation should not fail.
For frame builders, you can save a little, choosing a simple pile option. The “shelf life” of the skeleton is up to 100 years, therefore, if the soil allows you to save money, this is quite realistic.
Brick - expensive, but for centuries
However, this material is able to withstand not so much.
According to statistics, the "shelf life" of a brick house reaches 200 years.
Due to the fact that the material has been used by builders for a very long time, usually there are no problems with hiring craftsmen.
The range of types of bricks is also for every taste:
- Ceramic bricks are made from clay, molded and fired in special kilns. Possesses high level of strength, refers to environmentally friendly materials for construction. Of course, if it is made with high quality and production standards are observed. It happens solid and hollow (inside up to 50% of voids). For construction, the second subspecies is a priority, since the more voids in the body of the material, the higher its heat-retaining property.
- Silicate brick is made from lime and sand. It is white in color and looks great, especially the whole subspecies. Lightweight silicate brick - looks very messy, but has higher thermal insulation property.
- Ordinary and front subspecies of brick will also find application in the construction of a capital house. Ordinary - in the inner masonry, facial - will decorate the house from the outside.
Be sure to pay attention to the labeling before ordering a batch of material. It is done in order to know whether the masonry of a particular brick will withstand the weight of the structure and natural phenomena. Usually the material is marked with the letter "M" with two or three digits. The minimum strength value per square centimeter is 75, the maximum is 200.
Important: During the construction of the basement, the minimum strength is 150; when building a two-story house, batches with a strength of M125 should be purchased. The more floors, the heavier the attic, the higher the coefficient should be, respectively, the brick will be heavier, and the cost per cubic meter of material will be higher.
For construction in Russia, especially in the outback, it is very important to take into account the fact that frosts in winter can disperse in earnest. The marking “F” is responsible for frost resistance, and the indicator varies from 15 to 100.
For facing a house in a temperate climate, the F50 marking is used; F25 masonry can be done inside. The higher the marking index, the more times the brick will survive freezing without damage to the structure.
Brief summary and characteristics of the material:
- you get an expensive box of a house and a foundation;
- very expensive, presentable appearance of the final work;
- phenomenal durability;
- precipitation, temperature fluctuations are unimportant;
- excellent fire resistance;
- difficult to lay out the box;
- rather "dirty" construction, you need a lot of extra space around.
Conclusion: brick building is a costly and time-consuming process.
However, all costs, including financial ones, will be more than repaid for the long life of the building. Properly selected brick and competent builders prolong the life of the house up to 100-200 years without changing the original characteristics.
concrete blocks
The second most popular material for laying load-bearing walls, in comparison with brick. Strong material, more profitable financially and much easier to build. In summer - the house is kept cool, in winter - warm and cozy, precipitation and other natural phenomena are not terrible quality concrete block.
Advantages of building from concrete blocks:
- The first thing I want to note is the fire resistance of the material. Concrete does not burn, so, unlike building with wood, the house is safe from external fires and will withstand direct fire for several hours.
- The material tolerates frost well.
- For those who need good sound insulation in the house, construction from concrete blocks is suitable. Due to the structure of the concrete itself, extraneous noise will not be heard in the house.
- With proper construction, thermal insulation is quite good. Together with an external, well-built heating circuit, you can achieve good savings on home heating.
- It is possible to operate a building from blocks, as well as from bricks, for a long time. On average, without a major overhaul, the house will please 80-120 years.
- Concrete blocks do not rot, are not covered with mold and fungus.
- The versatility of the material allows you to build residential buildings, and garages, and multi-storey buildings of any type.
The disadvantages include unpresentable appearance of the house without finishing. Therefore, when calculating the budget for construction, one should take into account the external “marafet”. In addition, construction should only be done in dry weather and takes a considerable amount of time, due in part to the changeable weather. Due to the high level of groundwater in some areas of the country, waterproofing may be necessary.
What you need to know about concrete blocks?
Concrete blocks are of several types and differ from each other:
- brand (from 50 to 100) - this is an indicator of the strength of the product;
- frost resistance - from 15 to 200.
Strength marking must correspond to the total mass of the building. That is, for the basement - the highest value, for a house of 2 floors - approximately M75 (it also depends on the size of the attic). Frost resistance, as already discussed, depends on the location of the future building.
Very important for quality construction explore the soil under the place for the house. To do this, it is better to play it safe and hire specialists, which will also be very costly. But, if you choose the wrong type of foundation and the building starts to drive, the costs will be even greater. For "restless" lands, a monolithic type of foundation is suitable (if the house is not large), as well as pile and tape.
Conclusion: concrete blocks are only slightly inferior to brick in their qualities.
However price and ease of construction are more attractive, if you choose between these two materials. Additional costs may apply for waterproofing, as well as external insulation and finishing.
Construction from natural stones
People have been using natural stones for a very long time. Many old-timers remember the times when the construction of this material cost a penny, as the stone was not highly valued and was simply mined. Natural stone was especially available in areas close to the place of extraction.
Now the situation has changed radically and allow yourself construction of sandstone, shell rock, granite, basalt is sometimes more expensive than you would like. Things are more or less good with the construction of natural stone near the mountains, that is, near the place of extraction.
Advantages use of natural stone for building a house:
- for non-remote areas, this material will be inexpensive, the farther from the extraction sites, the more expensive the quality material will be;
- the material is the cleanest in the ecological concept of all heavy building materials;
- the blocks are quite large, so the construction will not be delayed;
- depending on the deposit, the porosity of the shell rock is different, which means that the thermal conductivity also changes;
- good sound insulation;
- perfectly survives all weather changes, does not rot, is not covered with bacteria with proper construction.
Like any other material, natural stones have their own limitations:
- heavy: you need a good, expensive foundation and additional costs for the construction of the box;
- different shapes of each block create additional difficulties when docking, more cement will be required;
- very serious waterproofing is required: the material absorbs moisture;
- the facade of the wall made of shell rock is finished on a reinforced mesh, otherwise everything will quickly fly around.
Conclusion: minor difficulties associated with the construction are more than paid off, due to the fact that the material is environmentally friendly, the house will last a long time.
Having chosen the correct density (all natural stones are also marked) stone, it is possible to equip both the basement and the upper floors with it. And the cost per cube will depend on the location of the customer.
Construction from thermal panels
Thermal panels or panels from - a relatively new product for construction. If the material for construction is selected on the basis of savings, in the first place, then you can take a closer look at this option. Frame thermal panels declare themselves as the most heat-saving material. In addition, the construction of a house from a new material is quite fast.
The panel consists of clinker tiles and thermal insulation in the form of expanded polystyrene. The main disadvantage of frame thermal panels is that they 100% synthetic material. That is, for connoisseurs of environmentally friendly buildings, panels will not work under any pretext. The material does not absorb moisture, is not subject to destruction, withstands compression very well, pressure from all sides, does not burn, perfectly withstands any natural changes.
Other dignity panels:
- excellent appearance;
- in tandem with thermal panels outside, heat losses are immediately reduced by 30-35%;
- very tight joining of panels, thanks to their precise cutting.
To shortcomings already attributed that they are not environmentally friendly. In addition, you can supplement this list with the fact that additional corner shape panels are needed to decorate the shape of the house. These building materials have passed all known tests and meet modern requirements.
Conclusion: the use of frame thermal panels is an economical option that provides a very solid look to the finished building.
The outside of the house without exterior finish will look like brickwork. The clinker board is bonded to expanded polystyrene with a special high-quality construction adhesive under high pressure, which ensures high strength of the final work.
Which house is better?
Wooden houses
The most environmentally friendly type of construction. Since ancient times, wood has been used for construction. The best trees for building a house - pine, cedar and larch. Coniferous trees are less affected by fungi, have good indicators of resistance to weather conditions. Larch material does not rot, does not fade. Natural resin has a bactericidal property.
Since time immemorial, mankind has built its homes from clean, breathable natural material - wood. A huge number of surviving architectural monuments are built of wood. The durability of such buildings is estimated in hundreds of years and is amazing.
Larch wooden houses
No wonder this tree is called "iron", those who have dealt with this material know that this wood very thick and heavy. It has an amazing quality for wood - increased fire resistance. Over time, larch only becomes denser, this is the only tree that doesn't rot at all.
In addition, for people with respiratory problems, doctors strongly recommend visiting the larch forest more often. It turns out that it is three times better for health to live in a house made of this material. Great house for living with family, children.
cedar houses
One of the most expensive building materials is oak. It is close to larch trees in density, withstands phenomenal loads. A house built from this material can withstand an earthquake of up to 7 points. In addition, cedar has the property of thermal insulation, more than other trees.
Pine timber house
Most popular building material, due to the lower cost per cubic meter of material. This material has good thermal insulation, allows you to build a house in 2-3 floors. A properly assembled house will last at least 150 years with timely care, replacement of the lower rims.
log house
This construction technology has been perfected for centuries and has come down to us in the most refined form. The trunk is cleaned of bark and dried for a long time in natural conditions.
Professional builders know that the material that is dried under a roof or a canopy on the street retains its properties much longer than those dried in the dryers of timber processing enterprises.
Log houses are unique, each house can be completely different from the others. A well-built wooden house perfectly retains heat.
In room there will always be a healthy microclimate, clean air. The disadvantages include the cost of construction and its duration.
First, a bar is purchased and dried under the flooring for at least 3-4 months, then a box is assembled. The work of the masters also flies a pretty penny. Then the log house (read:) should stand for a year or two, otherwise it will be driven and cracks will go. After shrinkage, you can do the finishing, conduct water, connect to electricity, install windows and the like. All this takes a lot of money and time.
How log houses are made:
- The largest, resinous and thick logs are placed in the first rows - the crown of the log house. Waterproofing must be provided before laying. You can use roofing material, waterproofing, etc.
- In each subsequent log, a longitudinal recess is made for closer contact between the rows of logs. Thus, all rows are collected.
- After the initial shrinkage (about 3 months), the logs are marked, disassembled and assembled again, laying all the longitudinal grooves with moss, tow or modern materials.
- After complete shrinkage (1.5 years), the logs are caulked using a heater. Caulking is done only after the roof and windows are ready.
- Sometimes after 5-7 years, when complete shrinkage occurs, you have to caulk again, as new gaps appear and heat blows out.
Of course, the above stages are described only in general terms, but this will allow us to better visualize the stages of building a log house.
Conclusion: building a log house is a way to show your imagination to the fullest. The design of such a house can be absolutely anything. The thickness of the walls, the lower crown make the building not only warm, but also the most durable from all other wooden buildings.
Round timber construction
The construction of rounded logs is the use of even logs of the same size and diameter, which manufactured industrially. Of course, you can use your golden hands to prepare the material, but, as practice shows, this is a long and laborious task.
After the purchase, according to the construction plan, the customer receives a ready-made log impregnated with special compounds, which only needs to be assembled into a log house. The larger the house is planned, the larger the diameter of the log should be. Thanks to quality processing, the logs fit well together and each crown fits well on the previous one.
The method of building from round logs is similar to the chopped method. The advantage of this type of construction can be considered environmental friendliness and beautiful appearance, even without exterior decoration. By the way, it is not at all obligatory for most regions of the country.
Conclusion: ordering and buying a rounded log will cost more than buying unprocessed wood and peeling off the bark, processing and turning the log yourself. But, in any case, houses made of such material look very nice, respectable. The house will be warm, breathable, environmentally friendly.
frame houses
Another subspecies of construction, which is considered very new and seductive for its speed of construction.
A rigid frame is assembled from a bar, the main material is installed between the supporting beams.
Less commonly, a frame is made of metal beams, they will be discussed below.
- Frame-panel. A frame is built from beams, sheathed on the inside and outside with slabs of large chips or others, insulation is laid between the slab material. The main advantage is the speed of construction. Of the shortcomings - the need to use special equipment.
- SIP panels. These panels consist of insulation (expanded polystyrene), glued on both sides with OSB boards. Walls, ceilings, floors are built from this material. These panels are smaller than in the case of a panel house, so a crane is not needed and you can build a building with your own hands. Of all the wireframes, this method is the easiest for novice builders.
- Frame houses. Compared to the rest, such a building will be the cheapest. The frame is assembled from thick boards, stuffed onto a foundation box. You can use glued laminated timber, not a board (half-timbered method of frame-frame building). The finished frame is filled with bricks, stones, double-glazed windows, wood.
- Metal frame houses. The principle of construction is similar to the previous ones, with the exception of the frame material. Metal bases are used, in combination with slabs with insulation. Such houses are light, the service life is about 80 years (according to the guarantee from the manufacturers of such frames, which is not possible to verify). Despite the thermal profile used, more money will definitely be spent on heating such a house than on a wooden “brother”.
Conclusion: frame construction is clean, inexpensive.
In addition, little space is needed, construction can be carried out “from the body”, without unloading panels and material, if the space on the site does not allow or is occupied by plantings. To increase the life of a frame house, it is important to correctly calculate and design the frame itself, take the foundation seriously.
What is the cheapest way to build a capital house?
As already noted, a house that will stand for centuries - it is a priori expensive for its owner at the time of construction. However, for budget construction there is an innovation of the last decades - carcasses.
The lighter the walls, the cheaper it will cost. If you use inexpensive SIP panels, the price will be even lower. However, many are skeptical of the walls of the house, which can be pierced with a large knife with great effort.
Of heavy materials, construction will be the cheapest from cellular concrete or thermal panels. Construction will be expensive brick and ceramic blocks. For these buildings, the cost of work will be higher, since the blocks themselves are not easy to lift.
The same conditions will apply to the foundation: the more durable, stronger, the more expensive it will be both in terms of materials and costs for workers. Ideal for a small house pile foundation if there is an idea to attach a 2nd floor or a good attic, it is better to play it safe.
What to build a house on a small plot?
To organize the construction of heavy materials, you need a scope for the area. The site will need to be divided into zones for the foundation, for placing a warehouse with material (at least - a canopy), for mixing concrete. It is also worth thinking about the heap of garbage, which will certainly be collected.
Scraps, packages, empty boxes, defective materials, and similar working moments. Workers need a place to at least have lunch or have a smoke break.
Pay attention to construction from frame thermal panels. Despite the fact that this material is more of a heavy one, you can build from it directly from the machine. In terms of timing, finances and costs on the ground, this is a profitable material.
As for light materials, the work will require a much smaller area. Most of all - to work with beam, log, takes the least frame, especially from SIP panels. If the site is extremely small, there are already plantings or there is only space for the house, it is better to give preference to wood, carcasses.
What is the final cost of construction?
Evaluating and comparing materials, the question involuntarily arises: what, besides the main raw materials, will money still be spent on?
Not every site owner can immediately put on the table in front of the builders the amount that will be required for turnkey development.
Usually, especially for young families, it is customary to divide the work into parts and build it in stages.
So the total will be:
- the complexity of the shape of the house, its number of storeys (complication of the work of the team);
- internal layout;
- insulation;
- exterior finish;
- roofing costs;
- building materials;
- foundation - almost 40% of all costs;
- interior decoration;
- the severity of the base material;
- additional fittings;
- conducting communications;
- waterproofing;
- heating system installation;
- other minor expenses.
The list is pretty impressive. Depending on the choice of material, it can both grow and decrease. However, building your own home is a real a way to create a truly cozy dream home about which everyone fantasizes in one way or another.
The abundance of building materials in our time is growing every year. The search for the ideal material will probably continue for more than one hundred years. However, in order to build a solid house in which it will not be cold, scary or expensive to live, it is worth turning to materials that have been tested for centuries.
Out of competition will always be brick and wood. These are the most reliable, long-lived houses that are inexpensive to operate and are good in terms of environmental friendliness. If the question is financial, it is better to choose modern methods: frame houses, thermal panels.
Average by money investment at home - from sand blocks, sand-cement blocks, concrete blocks etc. Block buildings retain heat well in winter, as they cool down for a rather long time, and in summer a pleasant coolness remains indoors.
An individual developer is necessarily faced with the question of choosing the optimal material for the construction of a residential facility. The choice of building materials for walls takes into account climatic features, relief nuances, financial capabilities, etc. There is no single formula for this. All building materials have different strengths, require the use of a unique construction technology, and have different levels of thermal conductivity.
What determines the choice of material for the house
The construction of walls makes up a quarter of all the costs of building a house. A careless attitude to the choice of material will entail additional subsequent expenses. Therefore, it is worth considering and considering all the important criteria and factors when choosing the best material for building walls at home:
Labor costs. For example, the cost of time and effort will decrease if you build a house from panel blocks, and not from bricks and other small elements. Modern panel houses can be made several times faster, especially if they are frame structures.
Thermal insulation properties of the material. When choosing a deliberately cold material for the walls, the developer will pay a high price in winter for such a reckless step. The owner will also have to deal with the insulation of the walls of the house from the outside. When calculating this indicator, current climatic conditions are taken into account.
price issue. If you give preference to a durable and lightweight version of the material for the walls, then you can save on the construction of a powerful foundation, which is expensive to make.
Considering also the subsequent costs of finishing work. Today, there are smooth materials for modern-style walls that do not require finishing.
Log cabin - one of the options for walls that do not require finishing
Types of wall materials
The building materials market offers a wide range of different options for building the walls of your home. There are several types of bricks alone: silicate, clinker, ceramic, fireclay. And for many years, wood has been one of the most popular and sought-after building materials. The cost of such raw materials depends on the type of wood (pine, oak, birch, cedar), the type of material (logs, boards, timber). A very popular and more economical option are various types of blocks: foam blocks, ceramic blocks, thermal blocks, lightweight concrete blocks, etc. In Europe, for example, houses are most often built using the frame method, which is very fast and inexpensive. About 70% of the private housing stock in Europe is occupied by the frame technology of building buildings. Builders also note the cost-effectiveness and energy efficiency of SIP panels.
Consider the main types of materials:
Log cabins and log houses
A log house is an object made from cut trunks of solid wood. Work such as cutting corners, adjusting joints and grooves is always done manually.
Such houses look presentable, soundly and have a lot of advantages:
Architectural version of a log house
The disadvantages of log buildings include:
Timber house
Glued or profiled timber is a cheaper building material for house walls, which is in great demand today.
Beam pros:
In addition, such material is relatively inexpensive.
However, the bar:
They say that such a structure can be built alone, with certain knowledge and skills. But the scheme of its construction is more complex and ornate than, for example, brick.
Frame house under construction
All the advantages of frame houses:
The disadvantages of frame structures include:
The echo of walls and ceilings;
The need to have a competent construction project, where there will be all the drawings and diagrams of fasteners and assemblies.
The disadvantages of such houses can also be attributed to the conservative mentality of our citizens, who are wary of frame structures, considering them unreliable.
SIP panels
Canada and America have been actively using frame-panel technologies in construction for more than half a century. In our country, this method is not yet so popular. A SIP panel is a three-layer building material that is made from two layers of OSB and an internal polystyrene foam insulation.
This is what the SIP panel looks like
Advantages of SIP panels:
In addition, SIP panels are an environmentally friendly building material.
It looks like a built house from SIP-Panels without facade decoration
Its disadvantages include such aspects (of which, by the way, there are many):
brick walls
Brick is the most familiar and most affordable material for building the walls of a house from the outside. It is usually made from clay and enhanced with various impurities. All the advantages of brick:
The disadvantages of building materials include:
Expanded clay blocks
Ceramic blocks are made of red clay, like bricks. But the blocks differ from them in larger overall dimensions. This option for building walls from ceramic blocks is very similar to the technology for building brick houses.
Advantages of ceramic blocks:
The disadvantages of ceramic blocks include:
Foam blocks
Foam blocks are a universal type of building materials for walls. They consist of cellular concrete, which has good performance characteristics.
This article is useful for those who are looking for the cheapest materials for building a house with their own hands. With the advent of the latest technologies on the market, the owners of summer cottages have a real opportunity to install cheap houses with very good performance characteristics suitable for permanent residence.
Nowadays, there are plenty of methods for building economical and reliable housing.
We propose to consider in more detail the inexpensive materials used to build houses.
When deciding what the walls of housing, its ceilings and the roof will be directly erected from, it is necessary to focus on the relevant features.
Place of residence. Climate. In areas with a cool climate, it is preferable to use materials that retain heat well in building a house.
In the southern regions, the choice is much wider, which means that it is possible to use completely different innovative materials at an affordable price.
Features of the materials used. Of course, houses made of SIP panels either cost less than those made of timber or bricks.
Regional market. In wooded areas, wood will serve as the most inexpensive material for a house, and concrete in steppe areas.
Analysis of the cost of materials
Consider in more detail which one is for building a house. Very economical and comfortable housing can be built using materials such as described below.
bar
Outcome: about 2000 rubles, per 1 sq. m, excluding work. It is important to remember that building a house from gas blocks requires a lot of labor costs for workers, so we take into account the payment of specialists, and this is in the region of 1300-1600 rubles.
Wood
house from wooden beam will cost:
- timber 200x200x6000 mm - 0.8 pcs. - 1416 rubles;
- mortar for plastering walls - 70 rubles.
- insulation (vapor barrier or mineral wool) - 0.1 cu. m - 400 rubles;
Outcome: 1900 rubles, plus wages of workers 1700-1800 rubles.
Good for building a small home, designed to relax with family or friends, but not for permanent residence.
Calculation of materials for a frame house
- timber - 0.05 cu. m - 375 rubles;
- softboard - 230 rubles.
- insulation, vapor barrier, waterproofing - 270 rubles;
Outcome: 875 rubles, plus the wages of the construction team 1500-1700 rubles.
Conclusion
Having collected all the information about cheap materials for the house with our own hands together, we draw final conclusions based on the cost.
Timber houses are the most expensive type of housing. The most acceptable can be considered frame-type houses.
But there is one BUT! It's important not to forget. Thicker walls need a well-fortified foundation. Therefore, the final cost of houses will be approximately the same.
Read the article to the end and you will find out: what materials are best used today to build the walls of a house, what are their advantages and disadvantages. And also: at the end of the article - interesting reader poll regarding this issue.
Let's see what houses are built from today. More specifically, what materials are used to build the walls. We will present the information “without water” and structured. First, consider the most popular building materials, and then - those that are used less frequently.
Of course, each material has its pros and cons. Therefore, we will also talk about this. So…
Popular materials for building walls at home
There are many. Let's start with the most proven and reliable option.
Ceramic brick (red)
Made from clay - an environmentally friendly material. Firing gives it a red color, and also improves strength properties.
Previously, houses were built mainly of brick. And they performed well. We can say briefly about this material: this is a classic ... Time-tested.
Pros of red brick:
- high strength;
- reliability;
- the ability to withstand heavy loads for a long time.
Cons of brick:
- high cost of the material;
- complex and expensive masonry (highly skilled workers are required);
- relatively large construction time.
Red brick houses are always in price. They are reliable, durable, warm enough (with a wall thickness of 60 cm or more). Such a house after construction and after 25 years can be sold at a good price. Because brick houses serve for 100 years.
Ceramic blocks (porous ceramics)
Modern material for the walls of the house. In fact, the same red brick, only with numerous voids. It is made by firing the same clay. However, this creates voids in the material, which significantly improve its thermal insulation properties. In addition, sawdust is added to the raw material during production. When fired, they burn out, due to which microscopic pores are formed.
Advantages of porous ceramics:
- excellent thermal insulation properties;
- ecological cleanliness;
- large-format blocks (laying is done quite quickly);
- less weight (and therefore less load on the foundation).
Disadvantages:
- high price;
- reduced bearing capacity and strength (compared to solid ceramic bricks);
- increased fragility (especially noticeable during transportation, loading / unloading);
- easily absorbs moisture.
By the way, one point should be noted regarding the strength characteristics ... Manufacturers often claim that porous ceramic blocks (used for the construction of load-bearing walls) correspond in strength to M100 concrete. For example, you can often hear that "the strength is the same as that of a regular solid red brick." However… in practice this does not always work out. Different manufacturers have different strength of porous ceramics. Therefore, when buying, you need to be vigilant.
Despite the shortcomings, now this material is very popular. It is used for the construction of luxury houses.
aerated concrete
The material is a kind of cellular concrete. Produced from quartz sand, cement, special blowing agents. In addition, lime, gypsum, as well as slag and other industrial waste are used. The output is a material with an open porous structure (pore diameter is approximately equal to 1...3 mm).
Advantages of aerated concrete:
- small mass;
- low thermal conductivity;
- ease of machining;
- good strength;
- relatively low price.
Disadvantages of aerated concrete:
- strongly absorbs moisture (due to the open porous structure);
- increased fragility (a reliable foundation is required to exclude even small subsidence).
Now the popularity of aerated concrete is at its height. Indeed, for a relatively small price, you can get a warm and quite durable house. Due to the low thermal conductivity, it is possible to build walls of much thinner thickness than, for example, in the case of red brick. This further reduces the cost of masonry material. In addition, the labor cost of workers is noticeably lower. Aerated concrete houses are built relatively easily and quickly.
foam concrete
Also a type of cellular concrete. Unlike aerated concrete, this material has a closed porous structure. It is made from sand, cement, foaming agent and water.
The production technology of foam concrete is quite simple. The production does not require expensive equipment. And I must say that this fact gives not only a plus, but also adds an important minus: there is a lot of foam concrete on the market made by dubious private firms (handicraft production). Accordingly, the quality of such material cannot be high.
Advantages of foam concrete:
- light weight;
- good thermal insulation properties;
- ease of processing (easy to drill, saw);
- due to the closed porous structure (the pores are closed), foam concrete does not absorb moisture as much as aerated concrete.
Disadvantages of foam concrete:
- poor vapor permeability (walls "do not breathe", a good ventilation system is required);
- almost does not work on bending;
- over time, it shrinks significantly (which means cracking is possible).
Despite significant disadvantages, foam concrete is used for the construction of residential buildings. Also, this material is used for sound and heat insulation - walls, roofs, floors, etc.
Wood
Natural material, time-tested. Wood houses have been built since ancient times. This material has not lost its popularity even today.
Moreover, there are different technologies for the construction of wooden houses. So, they can be built from a log house (the old method) - when the trunks are cut to the required length, locks and grooves are made in them, and then they are laid, creating walls.
There is also a method of construction from rounded beams. In this case, the logs in production are processed to a smooth surface, marked. In this case, the bars can be planed, sawn, glued.
Advantages of wood:
- relatively affordable price (compared to other expensive materials);
- ecological cleanliness;
- excellent thermal insulation characteristics;
- aesthetic and attractive appearance;
- no need to build a strong foundation;
- a sufficiently long service life (with proper construction and care) - naturally, different types of wood have different wear resistance;
- ease of machining.
Disadvantages of wood:
Despite the shortcomings, houses built of wood have been and will always be in price. It is pleasant to be in a wooden house, it is easy to breathe. It is cozy and comfortable. In a word, wood.
shell rock
This is an absolutely environmentally friendly material, completely natural origin. The rock of this stone is porous, carbonate. It consists of pressed shells. Hence the name - "shell rock" (also called "shell rock", "limestone").
The stone is different in density, shape, type and number of shells that form its basis. Accordingly, the strength, aesthetic and other characteristics of different shells can vary greatly.
However, in general, the following can be said about the pros and cons of this stone.
Shell rock benefits:
- complete ecological cleanliness (surpasses even wood, as it requires impregnation with special protective substances);
- does not accumulate radiation (usually it is below the sensitivity level of measuring instruments);
- relatively low price (except for delivery);
- high construction speed (for example, it can be sawn into blocks 490 × 240x188 mm in size);
- dense stone has a fairly high strength (suitable for the construction of load-bearing walls).
Disadvantages of shell rock:
- increased ability to absorb moisture (especially for porous and low-strength stone) - higher than that of ceramic bricks;
- the dimensions of the blocks are inaccurate, significant deviations are often observed (due to the fact that the blocks are not stamped, but cut out);
- in terms of thermal conductivity, it is inferior to brick, aerated concrete, wood and some other materials;
- often there is heterogeneity in density and strength (the material is completely natural origin).
The attitude of people to this stone is ambiguous. In some regions, most of the houses are built from this stone. In others, they practically do not build because of the existing significant shortcomings and give preference to other building materials for building walls. Of course, this is also due to the fact that the delivery of stone to some regions can be expensive and unprofitable.
Other building materials for building walls
Now let's list what is used less often. And there are advantages here too.
Expanded clay concrete
It is made by pressing from a mixture of water, sand, cement and expanded clay (which is made from clay). Additionally, voids of various volumes and shapes (for example, rectangular, cylindrical) can be made in blocks.
Masonry is usually performed using a reinforcing mesh (after 3-4 rows).
Advantages of expanded clay concrete:
- low thermal conductivity;
- good strength (higher than, for example, aerated concrete);
- relatively low price;
- environmental cleanliness (in fact, the basis is clay);
- small mass (due to the presence of a porous and lightweight material - expanded clay);
- manufacturing technology is quite simple (you can make it yourself);
- durability (tested by time);
- good vapor permeability (walls "breathe").
Cons of expanded clay concrete:
- Increased water absorption (need waterproofing, protection from external atmospheric influences);
- Requires a solid foundation;
- The presence of cold bridges (it is problematic to make thin seams due to significant deviations in the size of the blocks);
- There is a material of "handicraft" production with low quality (due to the simplicity of manufacturing technology).
It should also be noted that expanded clay concrete is quite versatile. Suitable for both the construction of load-bearing walls in low-rise construction, and for the construction of partitions, floors, ceilings. This material is often used simply as a heater.
Arbolit
Refers to lightweight concrete. Another name is also used - wood concrete blocks. Cement, water, organic aggregates, chemical additives are used for manufacturing. Moreover, different materials can be used as fillers (80-90% of the total volume) - wood chips (often), flax or hemp fire, cotton stalks, etc.
Chemical additives are used to eliminate the negative impact of organic matter on the cement hardening process. It can be: liquid glass, calcium chloride, aluminum sulfate, etc.
Arbolite advantages:
- environmental friendliness;
- low thermal conductivity (you can do without a heater);
- good fire resistance (does not support combustion, and when exposed to fire it only chars);
- the speed of building walls (blocks of sufficiently large sizes);
- high bending strength (has the ability to restore shape after exposure to loads - due to the presence of wood particles);
- a powerful foundation is not required (as, for example, for aerated concrete);
- you can easily screw screws into the walls, hammer in nails (they hold securely).
Disadvantages of wood concrete:
- protection from moisture is required (due to the presence of organic substances in the composition);
- in some regions the material is difficult to find;
- the price can be clearly overstated by the manufacturer (therefore, making wood concrete with your own hands is popular).
In general, we can say that this is a pretty good building material for building walls. Moreover, if you wish, you can make it yourself.
It is used for low-rise buildings (usually up to 3 floors). It can be both residential buildings and commercial buildings.
cinder block
This stone is produced by vibrocompression or natural shrinkage of cinder concrete mortar is used. The binder is cement, the filler is slag from metallurgical production.
However, it must be emphasized right away that at present it is customary to consider all stones that are made by vibrocompression from concrete mortar as cinder blocks. As a filler, in addition to slag, granite screenings, broken bricks, hardened cement, cullet, etc. can also be used.
In this case, the resulting blocks can be both full-bodied and with voids (which, in turn, can be of different shapes and sizes).
Advantages of cinder block:
- does not burn;
- not afraid of temperature changes;
- long service life (about 100 years);
- affordable price;
- good sound insulation;
- retains heat well (due to the porous structure), although it is inferior in this regard to some other materials (for example, aerated concrete);
- high strength;
- building walls is easier than, for example, laying bricks (the block sizes are much larger).
Cons of cinder block:
- Hygroscopic (capable of absorbing moisture by 75%) - waterproofing is needed;
- The walls still need to be insulated;
- The composition may contain substances of dubious origin that can have a toxic effect on the human body (production waste makes itself felt);
- the environmental friendliness of the blocks depends on the integrity of the manufacturer;
- the high strength of the material makes it difficult to lay cables and pipes in it;
- the walls have an unpresentable appearance (therefore, finishing is required).
In general, we can say that cinder block is a good material for building walls. It is also used for laying the foundation, building partitions.
However, many are stopped by the question of harmfulness. Therefore, for residential buildings, they often prefer to use other options - brick, aerated concrete, etc. A cinder block - for outbuildings, garages, fences.
Building materials for the walls of the house: draw conclusions
As you can see, today the market offers many options for solving this issue. The house can be built the way you want - not only in appearance, but also in terms of thermal insulation, strength and other characteristics.
Therefore, choose the best material for building the walls of the house and ... for work.
And now, as promised, a survey among our readers.
Poll
What is better to build the walls of the house? How do you think?