Over time, almost every family needs additional living space. The ideal option would be an annex to a house made of aerated concrete with your own hands in compliance with the basic rules of construction work. Considering all the indisputable advantages of this modern analogue of concrete, the construction of a new building will be quick, easy and does not require a lot of money.
Preparatory work
Before making an extension of aerated concrete and starting construction, you must obtain official permission from the relevant authorities. For this, the design of a new part of the building is preliminarily done, preferably with the participation of specialists in order to avoid significant mistakes in self-construction, entailing destruction during operation.
An additional room, bedroom, veranda, kitchen, loggia, etc. can act as an annex. When constructing any type of extension, the required elements are the foundation and walls. The roof can be made in the form:
- adjoining the roof slope of the house;
- adjoining the pediments;
- devices for a common rafter system;
- independent design option.
Taking into account the differences in loads, it is recommended to make the foundation of the new room separately to prevent the formation of cracks with possible seasonal heaving of the soil. It is more rational to make the walls of the annex from modern concrete analogs. We are talking about aerated concrete and blocks made of this porous heat-insulating material. Aerated concrete is indeed a very effective material with a high degree of thermal insulation, due to the presence of a lower density and a large number of internal pores.
Features of aerated concrete
The more voids in the material, the higher its heat-saving property. This is confirmed by building practice with the example of hollow bricks. In aerated concrete, the pores are evenly distributed throughout the volume. A kind of foamed concrete is a material in the case of the construction of not a whole house, but its part in the form of an extension. Aerated concrete extension is an inexpensive and reasonable solution to the problem of a lack of living space, especially if done by hand.
Tip: laying gas blocks is similar to laying a brick wall, the only difference is in size. Aerated concrete blocks have a standard of 20x20x40 cm.
The popularity of this building material is also explained by its optimal strength, ease of use and high environmental friendliness. Aerated concrete walls "breathe" and do not create dampness in the room, they are erected easily, quickly and without significant investment of time and money.
Foundation - the basis of the extension
The construction of a new room in your house must be preceded by a mandatory foundation for its load-bearing and internal walls. The connection diagram of two foundations, old and new, assumes the coincidence of the contours of the buildings. Before starting the construction of a new foundation, the angles of the future building are measured. The diagonals of the resulting perimeter should be equal to each other and located at the same distance from the existing walls of the house. It is necessary to conduct a control measurement of the angles of the future building - they should be 90 degrees.
Under the walls of aerated concrete, the standard thickness of the foundation is selected. For the middle lane, this is 40-50 cm. The depth of the foundation is chosen taking into account the depth of soil freezing in this climatic zone. A depth of 50-60 cm is usually considered optimal. After marking and excavation of the trench for the foundation, it is necessary to reinforce it using metal elements to give the foundation more strength. Ribbed steel reinforcement is best suited for this purpose.
Important points of construction
The crucial moment at this stage of construction is the obligatory binding of the new foundation and its armored belt to the old one. To do this, end cuts are made in the old foundation and the reinforcement of the new and old foundation is connected by welding or bonding using a strong metal wire. After that, you can proceed directly to pouring the foundation. For this, a concrete mixture is prepared from sand, gravel, cement and water. It is advisable to use high grade cement with a short shelf life, since the strength of the cement is lost during long-term storage.
To prevent wall shrinkage during operation, the new foundation must be given time to stand, gain strength. This takes about two weeks. The basement of the new building is laid out on the surface of the foundation. Brick is usually used for this purpose, because it is easily formed around the perimeter and provides good additional insulation from soil moisture. This is very important in our case, because aerated concrete has a porous structure, prone to absorption, absorption of moisture, which can further give dampness in the corners of the house.
Attention: The finished foundation is covered with bitumen mastic and covered with roofing material for additional waterproofing.
After observing all the preparatory processes, you can proceed directly to the construction of the annex from aerated concrete. In order to improve the thermal insulation properties of concrete by foaming, its structure changes, pores are formed, and the density of the starting material decreases. It turns out that with an increase in the ability to store heat, some of the strength is lost and the ability to withstand loads decreases. Therefore, the construction of new buildings entirely from aerated concrete blocks requires special building technologies.
Features of working with aerated concrete
The construction of an extension to a house made of aerated concrete is technologically and economically justified and contains many advantages, namely:
- there is no need for insulation;
- walls are easy and quick to build;
- construction skills are not required;
- aerated concrete has optimal strength with high heat retention.
Aerated concrete blocks are produced in autoclaves, which significantly increases and ensures a sufficiently high strength. The walls, built of 40 cm thick aerated concrete blocks, have a thermal retention equal to a meter thickness of a brick wall. To simplify the installation and construction of walls made of aerated concrete allows its property to be sawn with a hacksaw. Installation of blocks for annex is carried out using a special building adhesive or concrete mortar.
Tip: Working with aerated concrete blocks is carried out exclusively in dry weather, as it is very hygroscopic.
A feature of working with aerated concrete is also the need to cover it with waterproofing layers. Typically, such walls are plastered from the outside and inside. The annex will be even warmer, drier and more reliable if glass-fiber is glued to its surface before applying putty and plaster. After the finishing layer of plaster, the facades of the walls made of aerated concrete blocks are painted or subjected to another design at the request of the developer.
As you can see, aerated concrete has a number of advantages and advantages in the construction of just attached premises, especially good heat preservation and ease of installation. It is better to construct a roof for such a building from flexible tiles, bituminous slate and other non-heavy roofing analogues.
To increase the usable area of a private house or improve its appearance, an extension from foam blocks is considered the most successful solution. The excellent characteristics of this building material make it very popular with individual developers.
What you need to know before starting the construction of an extension to a foam block house
Advantages, advantages and disadvantages of foam concrete
Foam concrete blocks are great for self-erection of an extension: they are lightweight, easy to install and not time consuming.
When compared with the main types of building materials, foam concrete has several significant advantages:
- Installation of foam blocks does not require professional skills, which are necessary for brickwork
- The process of laying blocks requires much less time and effort than brick or timber
- Foam concrete is not flammable and meets all fire safety requirements, which is unusual for wood materials
- Due to the porous structure, the blocks practically do not shrink, while the wooden walls are significantly reduced in height
In addition, foam blocks have their own advantages:
- Environmental Safety
- Low thermal conductivity due to unique cellular structure
- Long service life - at least 50 years
- Relatively low cost
- Easy to fit and flexible to drilling
- Strength
- Low labor costs due to large block sizes
- The ability to conduct construction on difficult soils
- Ability to "breathe" and create an optimal indoor climate
The light weight of the foam concrete simplifies construction work and does not require the laying of a strong foundation, which saves on the total cost of the new extension.
There are only two disadvantages of foam concrete blocks:
- Rapid loss of thermal insulation qualities due to high hygroscopicity, which requires an obligatory special protection device
- Unattractive appearance, which leads to additional costs for finishing
Which houses can an additional building be attached to?
Experts focus on the strength of the house to which it is planned to attach the building. There is a professional opinion that an extension can be made to a structure over 15 years old only after a careful calculation of its strength.
But since the extension is, in fact, a redevelopment, in any case, a project and approval of permits for the construction of additional premises are required.
How to make an extension from foam blocks: the main stages
The process of erecting an extension from foam concrete blocks has its own specifics and consists of several mandatory stages that must be performed in strict order.
Step 1. Foundation
The main condition for the durability and reliability of the extension is the correctly selected type of base and its competent pairing with the foundation of the house. Therefore, the foundation for an extension from foam blocks requires special attention.
This work has its own nuances, since the construction is not carried out from scratch and it is necessary to join the existing and new foundations.
There are two main ways of pairing:
1. Rigid reinforced connection- it is recommended to use it with a well-established foundation of housing construction, the settlement of which has already occurred at the time of the construction of the extension and the "freezing" of the new foundation will not cause the settlement of the whole house to exceed the critical value. Rigid docking of the foundation is advisable only in non-porous soils
2. Expansion joint device- a more economical and simpler connection option. It can be done in one of three ways:
- Tape
- Columnar
- On screw piles
On the top of the finished foundation, an insulating material is laid, most often roofing material.
Step 2. Erection of walls
Laying foam blocks starts from the corners.
- The underside is moistened to increase adhesion to the mortar
- On the first row, several layers of a waterproofing compound are applied to protect against capillary moisture
- Before applying the next layer, the previous one is moistened
- The first row should be made with strict adherence to horizontal and vertical alignment, since the quality of the masonry as a whole depends on this. Horizontal error is leveled with mortar
- Laying is carried out on an adhesive composition to obtain joints of small thickness (about 1 mm). This minimizes the total area of the seams, which are commonly referred to as "cold bridges"
- The mixture is prepared according to the instructions and applied to the horizontal, then to the vertical edge of the block. Each block is aligned horizontally and vertically
- The finished row of masonry is carefully leveled horizontally with a sanding trowel. The resulting dust is swept away clean
- After every 5 rows and at the corners of the extension, reinforcement is laid, which will bind the structure and prevent the formation of cracks. To do this, a square cut is made with a circular saw with an edge of 3 cm and a depth of 5 cm.A groove is knocked out with a hammer and a chisel, into which, after cleaning it, welded reinforcement is installed (in the center of the groove) and filled with adhesive
Step 3. Window and door lintels
It is possible to install window and door lintels with an opening width not exceeding 1.75 m.
With a larger clearance, significant loads will act on the lintel, for which the ultimate strength of the foam concrete is not enough. Then it is recommended to use a more durable material - cinder block or silicate brick. But when building an extension, such a problem is rarely encountered.
The height of the lintels for internal openings should be calculated taking into account the thickness of the future floor.
Jumpers can be made in two ways:
- With removable formwork
- With fixed formwork
In the first method, the following actions are performed:
- Reinforcement cages of appropriate length are welded
- On the sides of the opening, support bars are nailed, on them - formwork made of "forty". Shields are attached to the sides
- Foam blocks are sawn into narrow blocks, which are lined with the inner surface of the formwork to get a kind of trough
- The reinforcement cage is laid down with the side with a large number of rods and is secured with spacers
- The blocks are moistened, filled with concrete around the perimeter of the walls and compacted
- The surface of the poured concrete is leveled to the level of the blocks in the formwork and carefully smoothed
The second method involves the use of U-shaped blocks. At the same time, there is no need to arrange formwork, which reduces the working time. To install U-shaped blocks, you must perform the following operations:
- A block with a cut-out support is installed on the sides of the opening (about 25 cm)
- The horizontal position of the supports is checked using the hose level, the detected deviations are corrected with a grinding grater
- The U-block is placed on the glue with the hole facing up
- The reinforcement cage is laid with a large number of rods down and rigidly fixed with spacers
- The block is wetted with water, concrete layers are laid on it, which are carefully compacted with a trowel
Step 4. Making a reinforced belt
The reinforced belt is arranged to increase the stability of the extension to all kinds of deformations and wind loads, as well as to increase the bearing capacity of the walls. Since it is very heavy, it is made directly on the wall.
For this:
- Reinforcement rods of the appropriate size are placed in prepared wooden templates. The frames are welded one after the other and aligned along the axes and horizontally, and at the intersections they are additionally welded. Corner joints are welded especially carefully
- The frame laid in the template is lined with cut narrow blocks
- The inner surfaces of the template are wetted with water. The form is filled with concrete
Step 5. Overlap
A few days after the device of the reinforced belt, when the concrete gains strength, they begin to install the floor. For an extension from foam blocks, wooden floors and aerated concrete slabs are most often used. When using wooden parts, they must be coated with fire and bio-protective compounds.
Having finished the construction of the extension, it is necessary to insulate and decorate the walls. For this, foam panels are used, followed by plastering or siding.
For ennobling the outside, decorative plaster or artificial stone is used.
When there is not enough space in the house, the tenants think about what would be nice to make an extension. For people who have little understanding of construction, the construction of an additional room can raise many questions. In this article, we will try to figure out what types of extensions are, what material they are best made of, what stages must be passed for the construction of a building.
Types of extensions to a wooden house
Depending on the type of building being erected, the material, insulation, base and windows of the future room are selected. This can be a kitchen, toilet, garage. In central Russia, you can often find a greenhouse, which is attached directly to the building and has an entrance from the house - this is very convenient.
Connection diagram of the rafters of the roof of the main house and the extension Watering can be carried out from the central water supply. It is clear that the construction of any building must be coordinated with the supervisory authorities and carried out in accordance with the technical regulations.
Erection of any structure to a building involves several stages:
- Choosing a location for the location of the object;
- Calculation of the size of the future structure;
- Selection of materials;
- Checking the estimate, as you need to meet the budget;
- Calculation of communications;
- Thinking over the passage from the main house to the erected part;
- Thinking over the location of the windows.
An example of a drawing of an extension from foam blocks to a wooden house
Of course, it is better to build a room from the same material as the house itself, but this is not always possible. If the house is wooden, and the new room is planned to be made more massive, then it is best to build it from foam blocks.
It is better to make an extension from the same material that the house itself consists of.
Features of the construction of extensions from foam blocks
It is necessary to start the construction of an additional room from foam blocks by drawing up a plan:
Recently, aerated concrete has become widespread as a material for construction. No wonder. Aerated concrete is lightweight, with it you can make an extension to a wooden house without much effort.
Many builders choose this particular material, because with foam blocks you can save money on the basis: instead of a strip foundation, use a base on pillars, for example.
The use of high-quality blocks is a guarantee of the reliability of the building. Pay attention to the color: it must be uniform. Aerated concrete should not have chips, cracks, stains.
Diagram of the foundation for an extension of foam blocks The material should be ordered at a large enterprise that has its own production. It is best to order blocks from the same batch. Construction should only be started using well-dried blocks in dry weather. The block structure will be successfully erected both on a strip and on a columnar base.
Column foundation
The advantage of this type of construction is not only its low cost, but also the fact that the owners can always get access to the land under the building. The construction of a columnar base is recommended in areas where there is a lot of water in the soil.
Strip foundation
More solid construction should be started with a strip foundation. This base is more expensive to build, but it will not have to be repaired as often. In addition, builders recommend making a strip foundation for an extension if the main building has the same type of foundation: this will save the building from skewing.
Scheme for the construction of a veranda wall made of foam concrete blocks Monolithic foundation
Such a foundation for an extension is suitable for both a wooden house and a structure made of foam blocks. This foundation will be very solid, it will stand for centuries. However, its cost is so high that it is impractical to use it as the basis for an extension.
A monolithic foundation for outbuildings is almost never used.
The main stages of work on the construction of an extension from foam blocks
The work consists of the following stages:
With the help of an extension made of foam blocks, you can significantly increase the living area of the house - Foundation. It is worth saying that the construction of a columnar foundation has one advantage - the construction of walls can be started immediately. If you make the foundation for the extension according to the tape type, then you will have to wait for its shrinkage for at least six months. The foundation of a new building must be erected at the same level as that of the main house, and it must also have the same shrinkage;
- Walls. The walls of the extension to the building can be erected independently - working with the blocks does not require special training. The finished foundation is covered with roofing material and the blocks are laid out from the corner. The first row is laid out on a cement mortar. The next rows will be held together with glue for foam blocks (there is a summer and winter version). The thickness of the seam during construction from foam blocks should not exceed 3 mm, so that there are no cold bridges in winter. You can strengthen the building with additional reinforcement, which is driven into the base of the foundation and is located between the blocks. Use reinforcement no more than 10 mm wide. Another way to build a massive structure of an extension to a house is to saw through horizontal grooves in an established row of blocks, put reinforcement there and fill it with glue;
- Jumpers. Lintels are used if the width of the opening is no more than 1.75 cm. If you plan to install a wider opening, then it is better to start the construction using silicate bricks of the required size. A wooden frame is installed, then a row of U-cut pieces is placed on top of it. Reinforcement is placed in the cutout and all this is poured with concrete mortar. After complete hardening, the wooden frame is removed. In the case of aerated concrete, it is difficult to implement design solutions for the opening. If it was planned to make an arch in the opening, and a round window in the wall, then this will not work with cellular concrete;
- Overlapping. The overlap is most often installed from a bar or log. The material is placed in the pre-installed gaps and fastened, then ceilings are attached to it for further installation of the roof. The covering at the extension can be made of soft tiles, metal or in the old way - using roofing material. The type of coverage is chosen based on the purpose for which the building is being erected.
An example of a scheme for arranging an extension to a house
The thickness of the seam between the foam blocks should not exceed 3 mm!
Features of joining an extension to a wooden house
Before starting the construction of an extension to a wooden house, you should carefully examine the walls of the main building. If there are rotten logs, they should be replaced. It is good to treat the wall with substances from mold, paint over with paint or varnish. At this stage, you should think about whether there will be insulation of this wall between the house and the extension.
Diagram of the technology of the device of a columnar foundation for an extension of foam blocks Then the foundation, which belongs to the wooden house and the new one, should be properly spliced. For this, reinforcement about a meter long is inserted into the old foundation.
The second part of the reinforcement is sewn into the foundation for an extension to the house. If the foundation is columnar, then the outer pillar is attached to the wooden house in the same way.
Scheme of an extension of an additional room to a residential building The distance between buildings is best laid with mineral wool, then you can make wooden planks and sheathe the structure with siding. This approach will not only save the house from distortion, but also retain all the heat inside the room.
The roof of an aerated concrete structure must be lower than the roof of the main building. This approach will avoid problems after shrinkage, moreover, precipitation will not fall on parts of the main building.
Now you can move on to insulation. You can use almost any material available. Just do not forget that foam blocks require the mandatory installation of a vapor barrier.
Scheme of a shallow foundation for an extension of foam blocks Let's summarize:
- You can attach a structure made of foam blocks to a wooden building;
- The foundation of the building can be columnar and tape, monolithic is not recommended;
- It is necessary to wait for the shrinkage of the strip foundation;
- The walls are installed from foam blocks, you can use additional reinforcing elements (mortar, reinforcement);
- We install the passages using wooden supports and lintels with a hollow;
- We make the roof not of a rigid structure, from wooden beams;
- We attach the walls to the main building without rigid fastening;
- The roof of the extension should be below the roof of the house.
Video
You can watch a video on how to properly build an extension from foam blocks.
Light block additions to residential buildings are a popular way to expand living space without resorting to drastic measures. This solution makes it possible to build on relatively small areas all the necessary economic and auxiliary services, rationally mastering a few hundred square meters. An annex made of foam blocks is allocated for a garage, a summer kitchen, a bathhouse. Near the porch, you can arrange a veranda or a mini-boiler room for an individual heating system.
It is important to correctly determine the type of foundation, because it is he who will provide communication with the main building. The height of the adjacent structure is selected so that its roof is at least 2-3 cm below the level of the main roof. Pay special attention to the walls if one becomes common. In this case, it is better to make a passage in the place of the old window, so as not to weaken the supporting structure.
Construction technology step by step
All elements except the very first row are recommended not to be laid on a thick layer of mortar, but to be fastened with special glue. The thickness of its application is only 1-3 mm, therefore, the geometry of the foam blocks must be flawless, and the surface of the first belt is set at a horizontal level.
1. The construction of the foundation is carried out according to the selected technology: the strip is poured into the formwork and reinforced with steel rods, the pile or columnar is immersed in the wells and aligned with the headbands in one plane.
2. The finished base is waterproofed with bitumen mastic or two layers of roofing material. Combining the two methods will not be a mistake either. Insulation of the foundation of the annex is performed if necessary, but most of such objects usually do not need it.
3. Lay several foam blocks at the corners at a level of 2-3 rows, carefully leveling them in all planes. It will be convenient to navigate on them during further laying, if you pull the cords.
4. After 4-5 rows are ready, longitudinal grooves are cut into them and reinforcement with steel rods is performed. From above, the frame is poured with glue and the blocks continue to be laid.
5. For overlapping an annex made of foam blocks, light cellular or hollow plates or dry prepared timber are used. The latter fits only on the waterproofing layer.
6. The roof is laid separately and do not dock with the main roof.
Attaching additional premises to the finished house is the same as building a new facility. The only difference is that there will be more free space on the site.
Snap options
Two foundations can be attached to each other and rigidly connected only if several conditions are met:
- construction from blocks is carried out on soils that are not prone to heaving;
- the house has stood for several years and has passed a complete draft;
- both bases have approximately the same bedding depth.
If all points are met, a trench is dug along the old foundation and short reinforcement rods about 30 cm long are embedded in it up to the middle. The free ends are fixed in the second base.
An extension from foam blocks to a brick house can be attached using metal rods 6-8 mm thick. They are driven into the old masonry every 2-3 rows to a depth of about 15 cm and the same amount is left for bonding with foam concrete. In the brick mass, the reinforcement is additionally fixed with a cement-sand mortar. Such a docking is performed only up to a level of 2.5-3 m above the foundation, since it is not possible to calculate the difference in shrinkage above.
The situation is more complicated with dissimilar materials. For example, you can attach a kitchen or a porch made of foam blocks to a wooden house, but you cannot make a rigid bond between them. Due to the difference in the properties and construction time of objects, their shrinkage will occur unevenly, which will lead to rapid destruction of the walls at the connection points. Other methods apply here:
1. Sliding fixation is performed through the longitudinal grooves cut in the blocks, which provide free vertical movement of the walls relative to each other.
2. Insulated gap. As in the case of a bundle of two foundations without reinforcement, there are no anchor points. The house can be closely attached to the main one, and the joint can be filled with any insulation: cord, mineral wool or polyurethane foam.
The appearance of such dissimilar tandems leaves much to be desired, so that subsequent finishing, for example, with siding, will hide the specific seams between the walls.
Block and masonry cost
To estimate how much the annex will cost, you need a dimensioned plan and a calculator. It is more convenient to calculate when you have already chosen the size of the foam blocks. Usually stones 600x300x200 mm are used, but there are quite a few options. You will also have to take into account the brand - the factories produce products with a density from D400 to D1000, but D600 will be enough for an extension. Their average price does not go beyond 3100-3200 rubles.
| Dimensions, mm | Price per piece, rubles | Price per cube |
| 600 x 300 x 100 | 57,6 | 3200 |
| 600 x 300 x (150-250) | 83,8 – 139,5 | 3100 |
| 600 x 400 x 200 | 151,2 | 3150 |
| 600 x 400 x 300 | 234 | 3250 |
| 500 x 300 x 100 | 58,5 | 3200 |
| 500 x 300 x (200-250) | 93 – 116,2 | 3100 |
| 500 x 400 x 200 | 126 | 3150 |
A house made of foam blocks can be easily calculated according to the project by calculating the area of the walls from the foundation to the roof minus the openings. After that, the number of stones in the masonry and their total cost are determined. If you attach a kitchen or garage so that one of the walls is in common with the house, costs will be noticeably reduced.
You will have to spend money on reinforcement and adhesive composition. The consumption of metal rods will be determined by the height of the extension and the step of the armored belts. Glue for each cube of foam concrete masonry will take about 20 kg (slightly less than a bag) - this is another 240 rubles / m3.
The services of professional builders will cost at least 2000 rubles / m3.
An extension to a house made of foam blocks is quite common. The price of the material is not high and it will not take much time for construction.
Today we will tell you how to make an extension to a house from foam blocks with your own hands. This process is step-by-step, and below there will be instructions on the rules for performing the work. Also, in the video in this article, you can watch the process of work itself.
Making an extension
An extension of foam blocks can be made to a wooden house, and also some people want to make an extension of foam blocks to a brick house. In principle, these two options do not differ. There will be just a different fastening of the mortgages at the junction.
First of all, you need to make a project of an extension to the house from foam blocks and mark the expansion joint, you can see it in the photo. It is here that the connection will have to be made and, moreover, it should be quite tough.
Advantages, advantages and disadvantages of foam concrete
Before doing the construction of an extension to a house from foam blocks, you need to figure out how much this material will suit you. They are easy to stack and relatively lightweight.
Compared with other types of building materials, they have a number of advantages:
| Advantages |
|
| Flaws | At the same time, the blocks have several disadvantages:
|
Which houses can be attached to
The construction of an extension from foam blocks should be carried out consciously and deliberately. In some cases, you will not be able to apply this material.
- An additional room can only be attached to a solid structure. According to some experts, if a building is more than 15 years old, then it is necessary to make the necessary calculations to determine its strength, and only after that something can be built near this building.
- If we consider that the construction leads to the redevelopment of housing, then you need to obtain a permit for such construction.
- An extension to the house with your own hands from foam blocks will have significant weight, and after installation it should not lead the main structure.
How to make an extension from foam blocks: the main stages
The construction of the extension has its own specifics, which consists in carrying out several technological operations following one after the other.
Foundation
The durability of the future extension directly depends on the correct choice of the type of foundation. At the same time, it is very important that the pairing of the new foundation with the old one is correct. This issue needs to be worked out very carefully.
There are several ways to connect the new foundation with the old one:
- Rigid connection... It can be done using metal reinforcement, followed by pouring the foundation. This connection requires accurate calculations and is applied in relation to the powerful, well-established foundations of the main extension. The main condition for such a connection is the impossibility of a new foundation in any way to affect the strength of the main structure.
- Formation of an expansion joint. The easiest way to connect, which cannot harm the building in any way. Such a connection can be made in the following ways:
- Tape;
- Columnar;
- Pile.
The main condition for such a connection is the strength of the base of the extension. At the same time, it is not recommended to strongly disturb the soil around the house and give preference to shallowly buried types of bases. As a rule, at this stage the question arises - is it necessary to tie up the new base with the old one?
It depends on many factors and is doable under certain conditions:
- Not heaving soil;
- The dressing is carried out below the freezing point of the soil;
- The dressing must be strong and withstand all major loads.
Attention: It is very difficult to fulfill the very last point of the condition, and therefore it is worth stopping at the option that does not have a ligation with the old foundation.
At the junction of the old and new foundations, an expansion joint should be formed from roofing material or other waterproofing material. The seam must be processed in such a way that moisture cannot get into it.
Building walls
Having looked at the projects of extensions to the house made of foam blocks, basically you will see that the foundation is made independent and the masonry is made as in a separate building. Like laying bricks, it starts from the corners of the building. When laying out the corners, you need to control the horizontality and verticality of each foam block using a building level.
So:
- The lower part of the block is moistened for better adhesion to the mortar;
- To protect the masonry from capillary moisture, a waterproofing compound is applied to the first row;
- Each subsequent layer should be moistened;
- The first row is laid out very well. The quality of the entire masonry will depend on this;
- To obtain joints of minimum thickness, glue mortar should be used for masonry;
- The glue must be applied to both the horizontal and vertical edges of the block;
- Each laid out row is aligned horizontally;
- It is recommended to reinforce the foam concrete masonry every 3-5 rows. To do this, a groove is knocked out along the perimeter of the extension in the foam concrete, into which the reinforcement is laid, after which the groove is covered with glue.
Wall joints
This refers to the junction of the new and old walls. If a foam block is used, then special problems should not arise, since it practically does not shrink.
Despite this, small shifts will be due to the subsidence of the foundation. Some shrinkage will occur in the first few years, which can lead to cracks in the joints. But they will not be significant, and you can put up with this.
An extension to a wooden house from foam blocks can be made with ordinary nails. They are simply driven into the wall and inserted into the seam. It is also advisable to apply a layer of waterproofing on a wooden surface.
Attention: When carrying out communications, such as electrical wiring or pipelines, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood of wall displacements in relation to each other, or in the first year they should be abandoned altogether. As a rule, in such places, electrical wiring is routed in corrugated hoses or pipes.
When carrying out further work, the following recommendations should be taken into account:
- When designing the roof of an extension, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood of movement;
- When decorating, it is advisable to choose materials and apply technologies that allow for slight displacement. It can be lining, siding, plastic, etc.;
- The design of the joints must be free from moisture ingress. In winter, moisture can freeze and significantly move the new wall away from the old one.
Attention: And yet, if you use foam concrete blocks for the construction of an extension, you can avoid much more problems than when choosing traditional building materials.
Window and door lintels
Door and window lintels can be installed if the width of the opening does not exceed 1.75 m. With large openings, foam concrete blocks will not be able to withstand such loads.
In such cases, a more durable material should be used, such as cinder blocks or bricks. In reality, no one makes such large openings, especially when building an extension.
Knowing the thickness of the future floor, you can determine the height of the lintels.
They can be done in two ways:
- With formwork, which is then removed.
- With fixed formwork.
The first method involves the following actions:
- First you need to weld the reinforcement cage of the required length;
- On the sides of the window or doorway, formwork from wooden panels is mounted;
- Foam blocks are cut into several narrow pieces, which are then laid along the edges of the formwork from the inside;
- Then, a frame welded from reinforcement is installed inside the formed "trough" and securely fixed;
- Before pouring, the surface of the blocks must be moistened, after which they are poured with concrete;
- After pouring, the surface of the future lintel is carefully smoothed and leveled relative to the foam blocks.
Note: When using the second method, U-shaped blocks are used. In this case, there is no need to install the formwork, which significantly reduces the construction time of the extension.
Before installing the U-shaped blocks, the following work should be done:
- Take two blocks and cut off part of the support (about 25 cm), then install them along the edges of the opening;
- With the help of a building level and a flat rail, their horizontalness is checked. In case of any deviations, their position is corrected with the help of a sanded sandpaper;
- In the intervals between these blocks, U-shaped blocks are laid with the hole upwards, using an adhesive mixture;
- A frame made of reinforcement is laid in the resulting grooves and firmly fixed.
The interior of the recess is moistened with water and poured with concrete, after which it is carefully compacted with a trowel.
Armopoyas installation
To increase the strength of the entire structure and increase its resistance against wind and other deformation forces, an armored belt is mounted on top of the gypsum-block structures. Immediately we can say that the blocks are laid out to a certain height, after which an armored belt will go.
As a rule, it is made directly on the wall using the following technology:
- A wooden formwork is installed along the perimeter of the walls, which is laid out from the inside with narrow fragments of gypsum blocks;
- Prepared reinforcement frames are installed in the free space, which are then welded to each other along the entire perimeter of the extension;
- The inside of this gutter is wetted with water and filled with concrete, which is carefully tamped with a trowel.
If you take a closer look at the technology for obtaining a reinforced belt, then it exactly corresponds to the technology of arranging door and window lintels. After filling the belt with concrete, you need to give it some time so that it hardens and settles, since the rest of the structure - the roof - will rest on it.
Overlapping
An extension from foam blocks to the house, after the masonry has completely dried out, is overlapped:
- In this case, you can make a floor of wood or aerated concrete slabs.
- As for the small extension, it is mainly made of wood flooring. It should be remembered that all wooden parts must be treated with fire-resistant compounds, as well as compounds that increase the resistance of the wooden structure against rotting and the formation of fungus.
- The wooden floor is mounted directly on the armored belt, so it is very important that it hardens well.
- The basis of the roof is also a wooden structure, consisting of a rafter system. In this case, you need to make sure that the roof has as little weight as possible.
- To do this, it is better to use lightweight materials as a roofing material, such as: ondulin, metal tiles, bituminous tiles, etc. For this purpose, modern roofing materials are suitable, which are not only lightweight, but also have a good appearance.
- It is also very important to dock the new roof well with the old one, so that you get one whole, and there are no smudges. It should be remembered that the liquid is able to find the thinnest gap and seep inside, which is absolutely unacceptable.
- After the completion of the construction of the building, it must be insulated and revetted with decorative material. The simplest, cheapest and most affordable is the use of foam panels with subsequent putty and painting.
- A good option is the use of siding as the easiest to install, relatively inexpensive and durable finishing material.
- As an exterior finish, you can use decorative plaster or artificial stone.
Regardless of whether an extension is made from foam blocks to a log house or a brick one. It is imperative to apply an external coating. The foam block will then serve much longer. Otherwise, when saturated with water, it will gradually collapse.