Which is better to build a house for permanent residence. Materials for building a house

When starting the construction of a house, the future owner must resolve many issues, the main one of which is what material to use for construction. The choice is influenced by many factors, both subjective and objective.

If for some developers the cost is not significant, then for others this parameter is decisive.

In the same way, future comfort and safety of living should be taken into account. This article discusses the features various options construction country house.

Basic options for building a house

Along with the cost factor of construction, one should take into account the features of the building design, climatic conditions, appearance and the speed of construction work.

Brick house

Brick house always has an impressive appearance, but it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the choice of material. Brick products vary significantly in quality. For example, there are bricks that cannot be used in conditions high humidity and temperature changes.

Houses made from such material will not last more than 15-20 years. But there is material from which houses will last more than 30 years.

The advantages of brick material are:

durability;
strength;
increased noise and heat insulation;
environmental friendliness and the possibility of diverse interior decoration.

At the same time, such material is quite expensive, construction is possible only in the warm season, and the houses themselves take a long time to warm up and are afraid of dampness.

Houses made of aerated concrete and foam concrete

Cellular concrete is an artificial stone in which the pore cells are evenly distributed and filled with gas or foam bubbles. Unlike foam blocks, aerated concrete is more likely to accumulate moisture.

Blocks artificial stone easy to move, not subject to rotting and rust.

In comparison with brick material, foam blocks can withstand less load, so these materials are often used in combination - for load-bearing walls Brick is used, and foam blocks with high thermal insulation properties are used for internal walls.

Advantages of foam concrete:

efficiency and fast pace of construction;
higher noise and heat insulation compared to brick;
the ability to conduct communications through the voids of blocks.

Such blocks are less durable, and in the cold season it is necessary to warm the house and provide protection from dampness.

Artificial stone must be covered protective materials, and during the operation of the house, settlement and cracks may appear. In the latter case, a more powerful foundation and adherence to masonry technology are required.

A good solution for permanent residence are houses made of rubble stone. In summer, they are kept cool due to thick walls.

But with irregular residence there will be additional expenses for heating - heating a building with such walls is quite problematic.

Monolithic houses

Homes from monolithic concrete characterized by high strength. This material is used in the construction of higher-rise buildings. The advantages of such houses are:

high speed of construction;
slight shrinkage of the structure;
strength and long service life;
seismic resistance and the possibility of construction on difficult ground, in areas with increased flood risks;
the ability to create original designs.

At the same time construction monolithic houses higher, in winter period it increases even more, including due to the use of special equipment. Such houses are characterized by low sound insulation, poor ventilation, and require additional insulation.

Modern frame houses

Frame-panel technologies are common in the construction of houses due to their low cost, high speed and ease of construction (assembly), as well as due to relatively good operating parameters and seismic stability.

In such houses, reinforced concrete or timber is used. Its purpose is to provide the structure with strong supporting and load-bearing structures. To ensure insulation, various insulation materials are used, which are subsequently covered with finishing materials.

Because the frame houses They are quite light and elastic, they do not require a strong foundation. The shrinkage will be insignificant, and therefore finishing can be done immediately after the construction of the structure.

Panel houses are built from ready-made panels, which are stuffed with special insulating materials. The outside of the house is finished with special façade-type tiles.

To significant disadvantages frame houses include:

low sound insulation and vibration insulation;
possible voids in which pests may appear;
destruction of insulation, which harms the health of residents.
requirements for the height of the house - no more than 2 floors.

Construction of log houses

Wood is an environmentally friendly, radio- and magnetically transparent material, which is often used in the construction of houses. In summer, wood absorbs moisture in the air and dries it out.

And in winter, when it dries, it evaporates moisture, softening the indoor air. However, this effect persists for several years until the wood dries out and loses these properties. And increased moisture absorption can lead to damage to the material.

When a decision is made to build a house from rounded logs or profiled timber, it is necessary to plan additional processing of seams and joints after the wood has dried and shrinked.

A wooden house needs constant maintenance. It is necessary to permanently live in the building in order to heat it and dry it in a timely manner. Otherwise, the risk of rotting and mold and mildew increases. Therefore, the wood is treated with special antibacterial compounds, as well as fire-fighting solutions.

Wooden houses can be built on difficult soil and do not require a strong foundation. In addition, frost resistance and maintaining a stable temperature regime are ensured.

A the most important condition to ensure long-term operation of the house is high-quality roofing with a high base, which will eliminate leakage and wetting.

The considered advantages and disadvantages of various structural solutions for a house are decisive when choosing a construction method.

If you are planning a long-term stay, then you need to choose a stone structure with external insulation. The best solution for a bathhouse and a summer house is a wooden beam. The choice is yours, taking into account your budget and desired layout.

Photos of the best private house buildings

Home is what we leave behind, what connects generations. What this memory of us will be depends on us. True, the construction of a house greatly depends on both the amount of our money and the climate of the area where it will be located. And the variety of building materials today dazzles the eyes. Therefore, in order for the house to be strong, cozy and last a long time, it is necessary to take into account not only the advantages of this or that material, but also its disadvantages, so that our beauty does not decay and crumble in a few years.

Basic materials for building a house

Despite all the diversity and dissimilarity of houses, we build them from practically only two materials: wood and stone. To be fair, it is worth noting that they are specially processed and given the properties required in each specific case.

Let's look at the wood: rounded logs, plain and laminated timber, carriage. Everything seems to be made of the same material, but the characteristics of, for example, laminated veneer lumber and rounded logs differ like heaven and earth. But there are also frame houses, also consisting of wood and insulation.

By stone we generally mean not wild stone (it is mainly used for backfilling under the foundation or for decorative finishing), but artificially created. Well, since it was created by the mind and hands of a person, then the properties of the stone were given such as the person needed. And no matter how frightening the abundance of brands and standards of such stone may be, it easily fits into the following classification:

Brick;

Blocks where the binding component is cement;

Building blocks made without the use of cement, based on lime or clay.

The greatest variety of manufacturing technologies (and therefore types) exists in the second group, that is, the group of cement-based building blocks.In house construction, lightweight concrete is most often used, which differ in the brand of cement, the composition of the filler, and the composition of the heat-insulating component. And depending on these characteristics, we can distinguish cellular concrete, where air or gas bubbles serve as thermal insulation, and blocks, where expanded clay plays this role, wood chips or foam balls. However, first things first...

Brick: pros and cons

Yes, brick is durable, frost-resistant, not afraid of fungus and does not rot. It is not afraid of precipitation and does not burn; solar ultraviolet radiation does not have any effect on the brick. The brick is durable and also complies with all environmental and aesthetic standards. The strength of the house is explained both by the quality of the material and the method of laying - each subsequent row of bricks knits the previous one, that is, there are no vertical seams passing through at least two rows.

This masonry requires certain skills, especially when linking corners and laying a wall more than one brick thick. Thus, the complexity of building a brick house requires highly skilled labor. Another significant drawback is the weight of the brick: a reinforced, strong foundation is needed.

Due to the high thermal conductivity of brick, the house cools down quickly, and it takes several days to warm it up so that it doesn’t seem damp in the house. This can be explained quite simply: when laying, the thickness of the mortar is somewhere around 1 cm , and with small brick sizes, such a thickness of mortar is no longer a “bridge”, but a real “bridge” of cold. The delivery time for brick houses is usually delayed, since they cannot be immediately plastered for two reasons: shrinkage of the house (and the house will certainly settle due to its significant weight) and the moisture in the solution, which takes several months to completely evaporate. In addition to all these disadvantages, brick can deteriorate if it absorbs moisture before winter. And this can be possible even if all brick production technologies are followed, if you come across clay with salts dissolved in it: the water will wash the salt out of the brick and will itself occupy the voids. This is the beginning of a destructive process.

And one moment. The cost of producing bricks is no less than one and a half times more expensive than the production of other materials from which walls are built. Considering that brick is several times smaller than any other building block, the labor intensity of construction increases significantly. Together, price and labor intensity make a brick house quite expensive.

Properties of cellular concrete

Cellular concrete includes foam concrete and aerated concrete blocks. Inside the concrete in the first case there are cells with air, in the second - with hydrogen. In the first case, bubbles are formed as a result of foaming; the concrete hardens under normal conditions. In the second, aluminum powder or paste is added to the solution, which, when interacting with water, releases gas (hydrogen). The solution “grows” and is sent to an autoclave, where it hardens at a certain temperature and pressure. Let's look at the pros and cons of these materials separately.

Foam concrete we knew in the middle of the last century, but we started building with it recently, when people started talking about heat conservation everywhere. Of course, air is an excellent heat insulator. At the same time, almost no sounds pass through foam concrete. Since foam blocks are light and larger in size than bricks, masonry does not become a labor-intensive process. Yes, and it’s easy to ditch walls for communication systems. How easy it is to give the block different shapes, which means you can create bay windows, make an oval wall, etc. In addition, foam concrete does not burn and is easy to transport.

The disadvantages include fairly high moisture absorption (albeit to a shallow depth). The walls require annual settlement, and they must stand on stable slab foundations, otherwise significant cracks will appear on the blocks as a result of deformations.

Aerated concrete even lighter than foam concrete, perfectly processed (it can be cutwith an ordinary hacksaw, drill with ordinary drills, etc.). Thermal insulation and noise protection functions are also excellent. Lightness requires less labor, and good heat-shielding properties reduce the number of required material. With all this, do not forget about high strength at a relatively low price.

Disadvantages can appear in two cases. The wall breathes and therefore gradually accumulates moisture. To eliminate this phenomenon, you need to finish the wall with good waterproofing. The second disadvantage is the fragility of aerated concrete, that is, the wall should not experience any movement in order to avoid cracks. And for this you need a solid strip foundation.

Other lightweight concretes

These concretes are heavier than cellular ones: instead of gas or air, changing the properties wall material, they contain heavier components. Therefore, these concretes are approximately 1.2 - 1.5 times heavier than water, while dry foam concrete and aerated concrete can float on the surface of the water. However, these components are not crushed stone, gravel, but wood, expanded clay, that is, compared to heavy concrete, this material has a significantly lower specific gravity.

Expanded clay concrete contains a relatively light component(foamed and baked clay). With the light weight of the blocks, this material is durable and versatile (not only load-bearing walls are laid from it, but also partitions, and also fill frames in monolithic housing construction). The material is an excellent sound insulator, it is more moisture resistant than concrete, it resists aggressive environments better, and in other respects it is not inferior to cellular concrete.

The porosity of expanded clay concrete, while improving its thermal and noise-proof qualities, reduces frost resistance due to moisture entering the pores. Porosity also affects strength: you always have to accurately calculate whether the lower blocks can withstand the load of the rest of the structure (does our private developer know the strength of materials?).

IN polystyrene concrete The role of heat and sound insulator is played by polystyrene beads evenly distributed in the concrete. It seems that everyone likes the material: it is warm and durable, it blocks noise well, it is light and not expensive, but it all cancels out one drawback. But what...When there is a fire, polystyrene begins to melt, releasing toxins.

Cinder concrete the name is more collective than specific. The point is that inThe filler in this building material can be either slag, coal, ash, an admixture of expanded clay with something, screenings, etc. Specifically, slag is used from waste from metallurgical production. To comply with environmental standards, it is kept under conditions for a year. open air. Blocks with a coarse filler fraction are ideal for external walls, and fine ones for internal walls. Voids to improve thermal qualities are created using special molds for the production of this type of concrete. The material is strong, cheap, very durable. The high speed of construction of cinder block walls is important.

The disadvantages include low sound insulation. It is clear, denser material means higher sound conductivity. Also, the material is afraid of water, so it is advisable to cover it. But if you line a house made of cinder blocks with bricks, this will significantly increase the cost of construction. In addition, it is difficult to lay communications in cinder concrete, and if some kind of groove or hole is needed, it is better to provide them in advance and place a block in the cinder block blank in the right place.

Arbolite blocks ― this is a building material, the main components of which are concrete and organic filler: wood chips, flax fiber or seed cake from which the oil has already been squeezed out. Of course, most often it is wood chips. A characteristic feature of wood concrete is that, unlike other lightweight concretes, it contains only 10 - 20% concrete, the rest is wood chips.

A house made from such blocks is more reminiscent in properties wooden house, but unlike it, it is practically not susceptible to microorganisms and fungi. One of his interesting properties material - the wood concrete block is able to restore its shape when the maximum loads are removed. It retains heat and keeps out noise. It does not burn, but when exposed to open fire it begins to smolder. Once the source of the flame is removed, the smoldering stops. Eco-friendly, breathable material.

The disadvantage of wood concrete is its increased moisture permeability, and therefore the relative humidity inside the room cannot exceed 75%, while the outside must be lined. The foundation must rise above the blind area by at least half a meter so that splashes do not fly onto the wood concrete blocks. The roof overhangs should extend beyond the walls by the same half a meter so that water is less likely to hit the wall.

Blocks without cement

When choosing a material for building walls, you may come acrossgas silicate . Attention! It should not be confused with aerated concrete. We already know that cement is needed to produce aerated concrete. In the production of gas silicate, lime acts as a binding element. The porous structure is acquired due to the gases released during the interaction of quicklime with aluminum particles. What is the difference between the qualities of gas silicate and aerated concrete? Aerated concrete, thanks to cement, is more durable, gas silicate, thanks to lime, reduces heat loss and better protects against noise. In front of everyone high quality gas silicate blocks (lightness, insulating properties, low cost, etc.) in them, as in foam concrete, the formation of fungus is possible due to the porous structure.

Ceramic blocks also do not contain cement. In addition to clay, their composition may include sand and sawdust. The voids inside the blocks resemble honeycombs. The blocks have grooves and protrusions on the outside of their side faces. This allows masonry to be done without vertical seams. As a building material, ceramic blocks are durable and can be used to construct multi-story buildings. They are very lightgood noise protection and thermal insulation. A significant disadvantage of walls made of this material is the impossibility of perforating (and often simply drilling) and attaching anything to the walls, since the abundance of voids and the fragility of thin partitions do not allow even the installation of cork.

Read the article to the end and you will find out: what materials are best used today for building the walls of a house, what are their advantages and disadvantages. And also: at the end of the article - interesting reader survey regarding this issue.

Let's figure out what houses are built from nowadays. Or more precisely, what materials are used to build walls. We will present the information “without water” and in a structured manner. First, we will 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 of a house

There are a lot of them. 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 improves its strength properties.

Previously, houses were built mainly from brick. And they performed well. We can say briefly about this material: it is a classic... Time-tested.

Pros of red brick:

high strength;
reliability;
ability long time withstand heavy loads.

Disadvantages of brick:

high cost of material;
complex and expensive masonry (requires highly qualified workers);
relatively large time costs for construction.

Red brick houses are always in price. They are reliable, durable, and warm enough (for wall thicknesses of 60 cm or more). Such a house, after construction, can be sold at a good price after 25 years. Because brick houses last for 100 years.

Ceramic blocks (porous ceramics)

Modern material for the walls of the house. Essentially 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 improves it thermal insulation properties. In addition, sawdust is added to the starting material during production. When fired, they burn out, resulting in the formation of microscopic pores.

Advantages of porous ceramics:

excellent thermal insulation properties;
environmental cleanliness;
large-format blocks (laying is done quite quickly);
less weight (and therefore less load on the foundation).

Flaws:

high price;
reduced load 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 concrete grade M100. For example, you can often hear that “the strength is the same as that of ordinary solid red brick.” However... in practice this does not always work out. U different manufacturers The strength of porous ceramics may vary. Therefore, you need to be vigilant when purchasing.

Despite its shortcomings, this material is now very popular. Used for the construction of luxury houses.

Aerated concrete

The material is a variety cellular concrete. Made from quartz sand, cement, special gas generators. In addition, lime, gypsum, as well as slag and other industrial waste. The output is a material with an open porous structure (pore diameter is approximately 1...3 mm).

Advantages of aerated concrete:

small weight;
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 (required reliable foundation to eliminate even small drawdowns).

Now the popularity of aerated concrete is at its height. After all, for a relatively low price you can get a warm and quite durable house. Due to the low thermal conductivity, it is possible to build walls that are much thinner than, for example, in the case of red brick. This further reduces the cost of masonry materials. In addition, the cost of labor for workers is noticeably lower. Houses made of aerated concrete 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 technology for making foam concrete is quite simple. Production does not require expensive equipment. And it must be said that this fact not only gives a plus, but also adds an important minus: there is a lot of foam concrete on the market manufactured by dubious private companies (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 its 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 no bending;
Over time, it shrinks significantly (which means cracks may form).

Despite significant disadvantages, foam concrete is used for the construction of residential buildings. This material is also used for sound and heat insulation - walls, roofs, floors, etc.

Wood

Natural material, time-tested. Houses have been built from wood since ancient times. This material has not lost its popularity even today.

And there is different technologies construction wooden houses. So, they can be built from logs ( old method) - when the trunks are cut to the required length, locks and grooves are made in them, and then laid to create walls.

There is also a method of construction from rounded beams. In this case, the logs are processed in production to a smooth surface and marked. In this case, the beams can be planed, sawn, or glued.

Advantages of wood:

relatively affordable price (compared to other expensive materials);
environmental cleanliness;
excellent thermal insulation characteristics;
aesthetic and attractive appearance;
no need to build a strong foundation;
enough long term services (if proper construction and care) - naturally, different breeds wood wear resistance varies;
ease of machining.

Disadvantages of wood:

Despite the shortcomings, houses built from wood have been and will always be in value. It’s nice to be in a wooden house, you can breathe easily. It is cozy and comfortable. In a word - tree.

Shell rock

It's completely environmentally friendly pure 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”).

Stone can vary in density, shape, type and number of shells that form its base. Accordingly, the strength, aesthetic and other characteristics of different shell rocks can vary greatly.

However, in general, the following can be said about the pros and cons of this stone.

Benefits of shell rock:

complete environmental friendliness (exceeds even wood, since it requires impregnation with special protective substances);
does not accumulate radiation (usually it is below the sensitivity level of measuring instruments);
relatively low price(excluding delivery);
high speed of construction (for example, it can be cut into blocks measuring 490x240x188 mm);
dense stone has quite high strength (suitable for the construction of load-bearing walls).

Disadvantages of shell rock:

increased ability to absorb moisture (especially in 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);
the thermal conductivity is inferior to brick, aerated concrete, wood and some other materials;
heterogeneity in density and strength is often observed (the material is completely of natural origin).

People's attitude towards this stone is ambiguous. In some regions they build from this stone most houses. In others, they practically do not build due to existing significant shortcomings and give preference to other building materials for the construction of walls. Of course, this is also due to the fact that delivering stone to some regions can be expensive and unprofitable.

Other building materials for wall construction

Now let's list what is used less often. Moreover, there are also advantages here.

Expanded clay concrete

It is made by pressing from a mixture of water, sand, cement and expanded clay (which is made from clay). Additionally, the blocks can have voids of different volumes and shapes (for example, rectangular, cylindrical).

Masonry is usually done using reinforcing mesh (every 3-4 rows).

Advantages of expanded clay concrete:

low thermal conductivity;
good strength (higher than, for example, aerated concrete);
relatively low price;
environmentally friendly (in fact, the basis is clay);
small mass (due to the presence of porous and lightweight material- expanded clay);
The manufacturing technology is quite simple (you can make it yourself);
durability (time-tested);
good vapor permeability (walls “breathe”).

Disadvantages of expanded clay concrete:

Increased water absorption (needs waterproofing, protection from external atmospheric influences);
A solid foundation is required;
The presence of cold bridges (thin seams are problematic to make due to significant deviations in the size of the blocks);
There is “handicraft” material of low quality (due to the simplicity of the manufacturing technology).

It should also be noted that expanded clay concrete is quite versatile. Suitable for the construction of load-bearing walls in low-rise construction, as well as for the construction of partitions, floors, and ceilings. This material is often used simply as insulation.

Arbolit

Refers to lightweight concrete. Another name is also used - arbolite blocks. Cement, water, organic fillers, and chemical additives are used for production. Moreover, they can be used as fillers (80-90% of the total volume). different materials- wood chips (often), flax or hemp fire, cotton stalks, etc.

Chemical additives are used to eliminate negative influence organics on the cement hardening process. It can be: liquid glass, calcium chloride, aluminum sulfate, etc.

Advantages of wood concrete:

environmental friendliness;
low thermal conductivity (you can do without insulation);
good fire resistance (does not support combustion, and when exposed to fire it only chars);
speed of construction of 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 strong foundation is not required (as, for example, for aerated concrete);
You can easily screw screws into walls and hammer 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 may be clearly inflated by the manufacturer (this is why 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 desired, you can make it yourself.

Used for low-rise buildings (usually up to 3 floors). These can be both residential buildings and commercial buildings.

cinder block

This stone is produced by vibration pressing or used natural shrinkage slag concrete mortar. The binder is cement, the filler is metallurgical slag.

However, it must be immediately emphasized that currently all stones that are made by vibration pressing from concrete mortar are considered to be cinder blocks. In addition to slag, the following can also be used as a filler: granite screening, broken bricks, hardened cement, broken glass, etc.

In this case, the resulting blocks can be either solid or with voids (which in turn can be different shapes and size).

Pros 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 in this regard it is inferior to some other materials (for example, aerated concrete);
high strength;
building walls is simpler than, for example, laying bricks (the size of the blocks is much larger).

Disadvantages of cinder block:

Hygroscopic (capable of absorbing moisture by 75%) - waterproofing is needed;
The walls still need insulation;
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 foundations and constructing 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 is for outbuildings, garages, fences.

Building materials for house walls: draw conclusions

As you can see, today the market offers many options to solve this issue. The house can be built the way you want - not only in appearance, but also in thermal insulation, strength and other characteristics.

So choose optimal material for building the walls of the house and... for work.

And now, as promised, a survey among our readers.

Survey

What is the best material to build the walls of a house from? How do you think?

Hello! Tell me what material is best to build from now Vacation home? I want to build myself a small house on my summer cottage.
- Sergey, Moscow.

Hello! The choice of material for building a house is a key issue. This will determine the duration of the work, the cost and durability of the building. It is impossible to give a definite answer; much depends on climatic conditions and financial capabilities. To help you with your choice, we will compare the characteristics of houses made of brick, foam blocks, wood, and SIP panels and determine the advantages and disadvantages of each building material.

Brick as a building material has great architectural potential. A brick house can be of any shape, from a simple rectangular structure to a complex Gothic structure. Therefore, if you want to bring to life the most daring design projects, then brick will fit perfectly. Brick house

Like any other building material, brick has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of a brick house.

Prestige - house from good brick is still considered an indicator of the financial security of the owners.
Thermal insulation - brick houses retain heat well in harsh climatic zones.
Service life - if the construction technology is followed correctly, a brick house can stand for a long time without major repairs.
Fire safety - brick is not a flammable material, so the risk of a serious fire in the house is reduced.

Disadvantages of a brick house.

The weight of the material - brick is a fairly heavy building material, so for the construction of walls it is necessary to make very solid foundation, which in turn requires significant financial expenses.
Hygroscopicity - brick walls are very prone to absorbing moisture. Therefore, during construction brick house Substantial part money and time are spent on waterproofing.
The need for wall finishing - when used inexpensive bricks(or if the laying is incorrect) there is a need for internal and exterior decoration walls
Brick price - depending on the type and quality, cost of this building material can be very high.

english style

The table provides information for buildings made of brick and foam concrete blocks.

A brick house is a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing structure, which is achieved with a competent approach to construction. High technical characteristics make it possible to live in such a house at any time of the year and under different climatic conditions.

Wooden houses

Wealthy owners more often opt for wooden beam or logs. This is explained by the fact that such houses have a beautiful appearance and have operational advantages compared to other types of buildings. To find out the specifications wooden house, let's look at its advantages and disadvantages.

Wooden house

Advantages of a wooden house

Construction cost - if you calculate the total cost of wooden and brick houses, then building a wooden one will cost less. This is due to the lack of need for external and internal finishing. Also, walls made of timber or logs are lighter than brick, so there is no need for a reinforced foundation.
Mobility - the walls of a wooden house can be disassembled and, if necessary, assembled in a new place.
Construction speed - building a wooden house is almost twice as fast as a brick one.
Appearance - of course, everyone has their own preferences, but for most people, wooden houses look more beautiful than others.
Thermal insulation - depending on the thickness of the walls, wooden houses are sometimes superior to brick and frame houses in thermal insulation properties.
Environmental safety - walls in a wooden house do not emit harmful substances, hazardous to human health.

Disadvantages of a wooden house

Wall shrinkage - the final shrinkage of a wooden house structure occurs only after three years.
Fire safety - although now there are many fire-resistant liquids that are used to treat the wooden parts of the house, a wooden house is still inferior to a brick or stone one in terms of fire safety.
Treatment against pests and rot - wooden houses require regular treatment against insects and fungi living on the tree.

* Finishing houses from logs can only be made 2-3 years after construction.
As you can see, wood has its pros and cons, which should be taken into account when choosing building materials for a country house.

Houses made from SIP panels

SIP panels are a high-quality and convenient building material for a country house, allowing you to erect large structures in a short time.

Sandwich panel construction technology came to Russia from North America, where she is extremely popular.
A SIP panel is a slab made of two sheets of rigid material (fibreboard, OSB, PVC) and a layer of insulation, which is located between them. The panels are mounted on a wooden or metal carcass, and the result is a solid house structure.
The construction of houses from SIP panels has its fans and opponents. To determine which category you place yourself in, check out the advantages and disadvantages of sandwich panels.

House made of SIP panels

Pros of SIP panels

Excellent heat and sound insulation - thanks to their design, sandwich panels perfectly retain heat and insulate noise.
Light weight - being lighter in weight compared to brick, concrete and even wood, walls made of SIP panels do not require the construction of a powerful foundation.
Short construction period - thanks to frame technology A house made of sandwich panels can be built very quickly.
Low construction cost - SIP panels have affordable price and, in combination with quick installation, building a house as a whole will not cost much.

Disadvantages of SIP panels

Short service life - compared to other building materials, sandwich panels have a relatively short term service life of 30-50 years.
Environmental safety - for the manufacture of SIP panels, materials that can emit harmful substances are used. This factor is especially important if you plan to live in the house permanently.
Low Fire safety- sandwich panels burn well and, when burned, emit a lot of harmful substances, so houses built from this building material require additional measures to ensure fire safety.
Rodents - representatives of the rodent family love to make homes for themselves in the space where the insulation is located. So be sure to regularly check and treat your home for mice, rats and other pests.
Not prestigious real estate - houses made from SIP panels are not considered prestigious and durable housing, for this reason you can sell your property only at a price lower than the cost of construction.

Despite all the shortcomings, availability, speed of building a house and its high thermal insulation properties make sandwich panels very popular today.

Monolithic concrete houses

A concrete house is monolithic design, creating the shape of the house and bearing all the loads. Monolithic houses are popular due to their strength and durability. Also, the pouring technology allows you to give the house the most daring and unique design. A house made of reinforced concrete is especially recommended for construction in seismically active zones, as it can withstand a serious earthquake.
According to construction technology monolithic house, liquid concrete is poured into the formwork, which contains a frame made of reinforcement. After the solution has dried, the formwork is removed and placed on the next pouring area.
Monolithic houses are very popular in multi-story construction, but in addition to large buildings, reinforced concrete houses can be found in suburban areas. If you want to use concrete pouring technology for construction own home, then first familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of this building material.
Monolithic private house

Advantages of a monolithic house

Structural integrity - a monolithic house does not require adjustment of house elements to each other, as in conventional construction.
Long-term operation - if high-quality concrete is used when pouring, then a monolithic house can last longer than similar houses made of brick or stone.
Fire safety - houses made of reinforced concrete are not subject to destruction during a fire.
Many forms - monolithic house You can give it any look, depending on your imagination.
Seismic safety - a properly built house made of reinforced concrete can withstand an earthquake of up to 8-10 points without damaging the structure.

Disadvantages of a monolithic house

Construction cost - building a monolithic house is the most expensive option. Significant financial costs will be required for high-quality formwork, reinforced foundations, reinforcement and delivery or production of concrete.
The need to decorate the walls - if you don’t want to have a gloomy bunker instead of a house, then you will have to make efforts to decorate the external and internal walls.
Heating - concrete is concrete, and to maintain comfortable temperature In winter, powerful heating systems will be required.

Unusual design

If there are opportunities to build a monolithic house, then this option preferable, especially in areas of increased seismic activity.

Alternative building materials for the home

In addition to the popular construction options listed above, there are less well-known materials that are also used for the construction of walls; let’s look at some of them.

We hope that our article helped you decide on the choice of building materials for building a house!

Every good owner sooner or later faces some type of construction. Someone is building a garage, someone is building a bathhouse, and some are taking aim at self-construction big mansion. This is where the question arises about what is the best material to choose for building a house.

The main stages of construction include pouring the foundation and erecting walls. It is important for any owner that the aesthetic appearance of the structure be high level, the walls were warm, strong, and in general the costs Construction Materials were not very high.

The most popular materials for building a house

The modern construction market is rich and diverse. Let's take a closer look at the top five most popular building materials for building a house.

Solid profiled timber.
Rounded log.
Brick.
Foam blocks.
Thermal panels.

What to give preference to? Each owner makes this decision independently, but for this it is worth studying all the pros and cons of each of the materials.

Tree

Wooden building materials for building a house have become very popular these days. Wood walls have low thermal conductivity, but stable heat capacity. Even if the house has not been heated for some time, with the furnace running, the resulting condensation will be absorbed into the wood. After this, the already heated air draws out moisture, and a special, favorable microclimate is created in the room. Coniferous species (pine, spruce, fir, larch, cedar) are often used in construction. In addition to the popular solid profiled timber, rounded logs, laminated veneer lumber, ordinary timber, carriage.

Solid profiled timber

Material that has undergone special processing. The content of wood resin in profiled timber is very high, thanks to which buildings made from it are durable and are not exposed to aggressive environmental influences.

Even in the last century, when choosing finishing and building materials, rarely did anyone choose profiled timber. When erecting the walls, manual adjustment was required. Now, thanks modern technologies, the beams are processed on machines in such a way that they simply fit together perfectly, the gaps between them are minimal.

This environmentally friendly material It's not too expensive. The walls retain heat inside for a long time; they can be erected in a matter of days. Smooth, machine-processed beams allow you to assemble a house like a puzzle.

Rounded log

When studying building materials for building a house, pay attention to rounded logs. Like timber, this building material is made from coniferous species. Unlike the first, rounded logs allow the construction of more durable structures, all thanks to the shape of the material. Construction from rounded logs is also carried out in a short time.

Brick

The most popular building material for building walls is brick. Brick buildings are quite acceptable in appearance, very strong in strength, durable, and also environmentally friendly.

Sand-lime brick. This building material is very common. Buildings made from such bricks can last for decades.

Clay brick. It has always been considered a symbol of something stable, indestructible. This brick has increased strength, frost resistance, and immunity to aggressive atmospheric influences. However, the thermal characteristics of such building materials do not always meet expectations.

To build reliable buildings, high-quality building materials are required. Brick factories offer a wide range of their products, which can be divided into three categories:

Solid bricks, these include the following types: conditionally effective, ordinary, effective.
Hollow bricks, the proportion of voids in them reaches 40%. Cladding products also fall into this category.
as well as large-format stone-bricks. The high thermal conductivity of this category is ensured thanks to the honeycomb-shaped structural material.

Disadvantages and advantages of brick

During transportation, especially over long distances, a small percentage of products lose their presentation, brick materials To build walls, houses are crumbled. Their cost is quite high.

The ability of brick to retain heat is much less than that of wood. Walls built from conditionally efficient or solid brick always require additional insulation. This problem can be solved by three options: ventilated facade - installation hanging system insulation, heat-insulating plaster system, as well as three-layer walls with a thermal layer.

The brick house is comfortable to live in. This design “breathes”, provides air exchange, and at the same time has active thermal inertia. Having warmed up, brick walls They retain heat for a long time and gradually release it into the room.

Foam blocks

If you need high-quality and at the same time inexpensive building materials to build a house, then pay attention to foam blocks.

Foam blocks have such qualities as heat resistance, high strength, and low weight. Sudden temperature changes do not affect walls built from foam blocks in any way. They do not crack or expand. There are many air bubbles inside the block, which increase the thermal insulation effect. For comparison: foam concrete walls have a thermal conductivity eight times higher than conventional concrete walls. The material is good not only for the construction of main walls, but also for internal floors. Thanks to this, the entire structure retains heat perfectly. Foam concrete structures do not require additional insulation. Heating costs are significantly reduced, by approximately 30%.

Advantages of foam concrete structures

Due to the low weight, the pressure on the foundation is reduced.
Savings in finishing. Enough ordinary putty walls, plaster is not required.
Reduced labor intensity. One 15 kg foam block replaces 20 bricks, total weight which is equal to 80 kg.
Cellular foam concrete blocks have excellent sound insulation properties.
Brick factories produce such building materials in sufficient quantities. The popularity of foam blocks is growing every day.
Environmentally friendly this material resembles a tree. Indoors supported optimal humidity, the walls are breathing. Unlike wood, blocks do not rot, do not burn, and do not rust like metal.
Foam concrete is often used as a heat insulator; it can withstand high temperature(up to +400 degrees).
The blocks are very easy to process using ordinary hand tools.

Disadvantages of foam concrete

When we choose materials for the walls of a house, we try to study not only the advantages, but also their inherent disadvantages; foam concrete also has some. These include:

Fragility of the material.
Every three rows of walls must be reinforced.
Foam concrete quickly absorbs moisture, which somewhat reduces thermal conductivity.
To avoid dampness, you need to create waterproofing, moisture-resistant protection between the foundation and the walls.
Vapor permeability of foam concrete. Vapor barrier is required.

Frame thermal panels

If you need inexpensive building materials to build a house, then you should pay attention to frame thermal panels. The advantages of this material include low thermal conductivity, relative strength and quick assembly. The downside is the lack of naturalness.

Thermal panels today are very often used for finishing frame-panel houses. Their design consists of extruded polystyrene foam(as a thermal insulation substrate) and high performance properties allow the use of thermal panels in the construction of houses using Canadian technologies. TO the most important characteristics this facade material, which have ensured wide demand, of course, include the lack of moisture absorption, low thermal conductivity, high compressive and impact strength, resistance to fire and any biological effects. The material is easy to install and further use.

Finishing and for the construction of walls of the house must comply with all modern requirements, then the design will please the owners long years. Frame thermal panels provide an attractive, aesthetic, solid appearance to the building. It is for this reason that this material is very often used for the construction of cottages. lined up according to Canadian technology, finished with clinker panels, has the appearance of smooth, flawless brickwork.

If a building is lined with thermal panels, heat loss is immediately reduced by 30%, all thanks to the substrate, which consists of extruded polystyrene foam. Clinker tiles are connected to insulation under high pressure super strong glue. The finest cutting expanded polystyrene sheet allows for high-quality tight joining. In order for the facade to acquire a finished look, in addition to the main panels, you can purchase various additional elements to neatly decorate the corners.

We presented the most common building materials on modern market. How and what material to choose for building a house, give preference to price, naturalness, aesthetic qualities or technical specifications, you decide for yourself.