Building materials for house walls. The best material for building a house

It's time to explain why aerated concrete is the most the right material for the walls of a country house and no other material can compete with it in terms of its totality of characteristics. I propose to consider together all building materials currently existing on the market (including rare and exotic ones) and make sure that better material than aerated concrete for low-rise construction can't imagine.

But in any case, from wooden wall materials, a frame house is the best thing to choose in our time. Thus, we actually get what, with all the diversity of existing building materials We are left with only two options:

House made of cellular concrete (aerated concrete)
Frame house

All other building materials are, in principle, untenable and there is no point in considering them if you are building a house for the future for long-term and comfortable use. And now is the time to make a direct comparison of a house made of aerated concrete and a frame house.

Let me remind you that in both cases we are guided by the fact that the house will be built on a monolithic foundation slab, that is, the low heat capacity of the walls of a frame house is not relevant in our case. If you decide to build a frame house on pile foundation, then soberly understand that the heat capacity of such a house will tend to zero and any shutdown of heating in winter will lead to almost instant freezing of the entire house. If we're talking about about the house for permanent residence and year-round operation, it must have an extremely high heat capacity of the enclosing structures, because The comfort of using such a house directly depends on this parameter.

The main advantage of a frame house is the opportunity to get an incredibly “warm” wall at a minimum cost. This is directly related to the fact that lightweight insulation has a heat transfer resistance per centimeter of thickness that is 2-3 times less than that of solid wood or even aerated concrete.

The second is predominantly frame houses- speed of construction of the load-bearing frame of walls and roof. In fact, the advantage is quite dubious if you approach the house as a complex object. Because the subsequent finishing of the frame house, firstly, will no longer be so fast, and secondly, with engineering systems You'll also have to tinker. But if you want to get a roof over your head here and now (it doesn’t matter that you still have to work and work under this roof so that the house finally looks like a home), then you can agree to a frame house. The same applies to popular Lately modular houses assembled in production. Their manufacturers position assembly in a hangar as an advantage for the customer, although in fact the customer should absolutely not care, because This does not affect production times in any way. But for the performer, assembly under the hangar roof is a big plus, because allows you to reduce costs and downtime associated with unpredictability of weather, if you consider the option of construction on the customer’s site. But on the other hand, the customer becomes severely limited by the too small sizes of individual modules, which are completely uncomfortable for subsequent use (for example, ceilings in a normal house should be at least 2.8 meters).

This is where the advantages of frame houses end and the disadvantages begin.

First and most important. Frame houses are now being built by all and sundry (since the cost of building a frame house is extremely low and you can make a lot of money), which requires special control over compliance with construction technology. Otherwise you can get it here such a "barn", which will collapse at the slightest gust of wind. According to the link in the video, everything that could be violated was violated, but in fact, during a hurricane, with a very high probability, a well-built frame house will collapse to one degree or another and you need to be prepared for this. The calculation of loads for a frame house must be done more carefully than for a stone one, paradoxically as it may seem.

The second disadvantage of frame houses is the expensive finishing and installation of utility systems open method. After all, in combustible structures it is forbidden to lay electrical wiring, and therefore it will have to be carried out in an open way, which is very doubtful from an aesthetic point of view. In a house made of cellular concrete, everything is much simpler - all communications and wires are laid in the walls, which are then plastered. Absolutely the same as they do in apartments.

By the way, about ventilation. If you “forget” to do it in an aerated concrete house, then the high vapor permeability of the walls will allow you to somehow cope with excess humidity in the house, but in a frame thermos house without ventilation with a microclimate everything will be very bad.

What else?
The sound insulation of a frame house is as bad as that of an unplastered house made of cellular concrete.
Hanging heavy objects on walls is only possible on a supporting frame.
Mice and other pests can infest the walls of a frame house.
Fire hazard. Stone houses they also burn, but extremely rarely this leads to the collapse of walls and ceilings. A frame house burns out instantly, despite various impregnations for wood (remember that electrical wiring in a frame house can only be carried out using the open method).
The durability of a frame house depends on the service life of the wooden frame (and without protection, the wood will begin to rot). While stone building materials (including cellular concrete) are eternal, and cement-based materials only become stronger over the years.

If we compare completely ready-made houses the same area, with engineering systems and finishing, then you can make an amazing discovery. The cost of work and materials for a frame house is almost completely identical to the cost of work and materials for building a house made of aerated concrete.

Of course, an aerated concrete house will be a little more expensive, because... during its construction it will be necessary to use mechanization, but this will be less than 10% of the total cost of all work.

Thus, we can conclude that aerated concrete is an ideal building material, which has no alternatives in principle. A frame house should only be considered if, for one reason or another, you do not have the opportunity to build a house from cellular concrete.

In the next part we will choose the ideal roof for a country house. Don't switch!

Anyone who wants to build a house is concerned about the question of what material to choose for building walls. After all, the strength, durability and comfort of the home depend on it.

The choice of wall material directly affects the cost of building a house.

To choose a wall material that you can handle, let’s turn to FORUMHOUSE specialists for clarification.

Where does the choice of wall material begin? Aerated concrete or warm ceramics, timber, wood concrete or frame technology... Any novice developer when choosing a material for building a house under residence is faced with an abundance of conflicting information. There seem to be so many materials that choosing the right one seems like an impossible task. We have to narrow the scope of our search and select exactly what is needed!

According to a forum user with the nickname Abysmo, It is enough to understand just ten things to decide whether to build a house. Namely:

1. What kind of housing do you plan to build - for permanent residence or for short-term visits;
2. What requirements do you place on the strength and environmental safety of the wall material?
3. How quickly do you want to check in?
4. What fuel is planned for heating;
5. How much will it cost to operate?
6. How much money are you willing to spend on construction?
7. What building materials are available in your area;
8. Is it possible to carry out independent work, or workers will be involved;
9. What construction technologies and mechanization tools are available in your region of residence;
10. Are you considering the possibility of selling the building on the secondary market?

There are no universal wall materials suitable for every project. Large or small area, characteristics of the region of residence, climate, personal preferences require the use of their own materials.

Construction consultant's opinion Romana Nikonova:

– When choosing wall materials, it is necessary to take into account a number of technological features and protective properties of the material: fire resistance, durability, thermal conductivity. In addition, you should be guided by your feelings - whether you like the material or not.

In the conditions of central Russia, walls must provide good thermal protection. They must also be strong enough to withstand the weight of floors, roofing, snow and wind loads.

Snow in the conditions surrounding Moscow can give a load of up to 180 kg per 1 sq.m. roof surfaces. Don’t forget about the fire resistance of structures.

The point of view of an expert from our forum Alexey Melnikov(nickname on the forum Lyokhin ):

– If building codes and technologies are violated, even modern and expensive wall material can be damaged.

And vice versa - a competent approach and careful planning make it possible, with a very limited budget, to build a reliable, practical and not so small comfortable house for permanent residence.

For your information: the cost of constructing a box (relative to the total construction budget) usually does not exceed 20-30%.

The following example is indicative:

If the house is planned to be used in the “dacha” mode, then build stone walls not profitable for the following reasons:

1. Economic component. If the stone housing has cooled down, then upon arrival it needs a long heating. It is not profitable to do this for the sake of one or two trips per week.
2. Operational component. Irregular heating of a stone structure in winter negatively affects its durability.

What kind of house to build? ABOUT features of wall materials

Among the most well-known materials used in the construction of walls are the following:

• brick and warm ceramics;
• foam concrete and aerated concrete;
• tree;
• frame technologies;
• wood concrete

Let's consider their main features.

1. Brick and warm ceramics

Advantages of this material:

1. Strength – denoted by the letter “M”. The number after the letter indicates how much load the brick can withstand. This value is expressed in kg per 1 sq. cm.

2. Durability. Brick buildings are among the most durable.

3. Environmental friendliness. Brick is based on clay, sand and water. Due to its structure, brick allows air to pass through well. Therefore, a favorable microclimate is established in the room, and excess moisture is removed outside. In addition, the walls accumulate heat well and then release it into the room.

4. High frost resistance. The higher the frost resistance, the more durable the building. Frost resistance is the ability of a building material to withstand freezing and thawing in a water-saturated state. The frost resistance of the material is indicated by the letter F. The numbers after the letter indicate the number of freezing and thawing cycles that the material can withstand without losing its qualities.

5. Aesthetics. A cottage built of brick can be made in any architectural style, and the masonry technology itself has been developed for decades.

6. High degree soundproofing. Brick walls dampen both street and interior noise well.

Despite a number of undoubted advantages, simple brick also has significant disadvantages.

Alexey Melnikov:

– Traditional ceramic bricks measuring 250x120x65 mm do not comply with modern thermal engineering standards.

Calculations show that the required thickness of uniform brick walls (even for the southern latitudes of our country) is at least 1 meter.

It is possible to build a house for permanent residence with such thick walls, but it is not economically feasible. Therefore, the brick received its further development - in the form of this modern solution like warm ceramics.

Roman Nikonov:

– Ceramic block, or porous ceramics, is a high-tech clay-based material.

Thanks to the smallest pores filled with air, ceramic stone is very warm and has a high mechanical strength. The dimensions of the warm ceramic block exceed the dimensions standard brick several times, which increases the speed of laying. But warm ceramics are quite brittle material. Therefore, to fasten any structures in a wall made of a ceramic block, you have to use special anchors.

Alexander Toporov(nickname on the forum 44alex) :

– Warm ceramics have a thin-walled structure, so it is not easy to attach any heavy objects, and sawing it requires an expensive special tool. After laying warm ceramics, it should either be plastered on the outside or additionally filled with vertical joints. Before purchasing ceramic stone, I recommend paying attention to the geometry of the blocks and making sure there are no cracks.

When scoring and drilling walls made of warm ceramics, you need to be very careful, otherwise you can split the block.

The main disadvantages of brick:

• 1. High construction costs. Brick is an expensive building material, which leads to an increase in construction costs;
• 2. The large mass of a building built of brick requires the laying of a carefully calculated, powerful and expensive foundation;
• 3. Seasonality of construction work.

Wet processes (preparation of building mixtures and water-based mortars) impose restrictions or make it impossible to lay bricks in winter.

2. Foam and aerated concrete

Today, gas and foam concrete blocks are the most common materials for wall construction. This is due to a good balance in the price-quality ratio.

Alexey Melnikov:

– The advantages of such blocks are their relatively low thermal conductivity (as a consequence of high thermal resistance), high fire and biological resistance, ease of processing with hand and portable power tools, as well as their lightness.

It was these qualities that allowed the user of our forum with the nickname Dimastik25 independently, in one hand from aerated concrete.

– I chose aerated concrete because it makes it possible to carry out the masonry independently, without using auxiliary force.

The size of the block allows it to be laid by one person, but due to the large format of the block, the work is done quite simply, quickly and without unnecessary labor costs.

Even an untrained person can lay blocks on their own. There is no need to mix a large amount of cement-sand mortar; the masonry is carried out using a fairly thin layer of glue. Another significant advantage is the uniformity of the wall, big choice blocks and their good geometry.

Alexander Toporov:

– Gas silicate is easy to process, it is easy to saw. It is also easy to organize various armored belts, lintels, arches, etc.

One of the main advantages of aerated and foam concrete as wall materials is their good heat and sound insulation, which leads to reduced costs for heating and insulating materials.

Aerated concrete blocks are produced large enterprises. Therefore, the quality of such materials corresponds to the declared characteristics, and geometric deviations are minimal.

But this material is not without its drawbacks.

Alexey Melnikov:

– Gas and foam concrete blocks are a very fragile material. Low bending strength requires the use of a relatively expensive and powerful foundation (usually a monolithic reinforced concrete slab), and additional elements reinforcement - armored belt.

Foam concrete, although cheaper than aerated concrete, can be produced using so-called “garage” methods. Therefore, when purchasing it, you need to carefully consider the issue of choosing a supplier and not chase the lowest price.

You can familiarize yourself with all and.

3. Wooden houses

Wood is a classic building material, but despite its widespread use, it also has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Roman Nikonov:

– The wooden house breathes and is beautiful. This is a very flexible, “homemade”, universal material, easy to transport and install. But it is less durable than stone.

Because When constructing a log house there are no wet processes, then such a house can be erected at any time of the year.

When starting a construction project, we think about which log is best to build a house for permanent residence from. Experts believe that it is better not to build a wooden house from logs!

Alexey Melnikov:

– Timber is more practical in terms of cost-energy efficiency ratio, but for connoisseurs of log facades, the aesthetics of a log house usually come first.

Rounded logs and profiled timber (including chamber drying) - all this modern types logs aimed at improving the aesthetic properties and simplifying the construction of a house.

Well made wooden houses can last 200-300 years.

Among the disadvantages wooden houses can be distinguished:

1. The installation of “wet” rooms in a wooden room is associated with certain difficulties.

2. Based on standard sizes logs (6 m), covering rooms over 5 meters wide is difficult to implement. Interfloor ceilings in wooden houses are usually wooden beams. This reduces the degree of sound insulation in the house (wood conducts sound well) under shock loads.

3. Wood is susceptible to shrinkage and cracking.

4. A wooden house must be caulked and painted regularly. Thermal protection sufficient for comfortable life in the house, provides a wall made of wood with a thickness of 200 mm.

5. Wood can rot and requires treatment with antiseptic agents to protect against mold and wood-boring beetles.

Therefore, the next stage in the development of wooden house construction was the development of laminated veneer lumber - a wall material devoid of the disadvantages of conventional timber.

Let's name the advantages of laminated veneer lumber:

• The material is durable and, thanks to its special profile (the toothed connection protects the wall from blowing), better retains heat in the house;
• Glued laminated timber has a clear geometry, which facilitates and speeds up the process of building a house;
• The material practically does not shrink, which allows you to begin laying communications and interior decoration immediately after the construction of the house;
• Thanks to factory fire-bioprotection, laminated veneer lumber is highly resistant to fire, mold and fungi;
• The walls of a house built from laminated veneer lumber do not require interior or exterior decoration.

The main disadvantage of this material is its high price, as well as the need to attract highly qualified specialists to build a house.

4. Frame technology

Frame houses are considered one of the most rapidly erected and warmest houses. Therefore, if you need housing urgently, and you are wondering what temporary resources and what material to build a house from, feel free to choose this option. The main advantages of frame housing construction are cost-effectiveness and high – in a matter of months – construction speed.

Because Since a frame house is lightweight, it does not require a strong foundation to be built under it, which also greatly reduces construction costs. The absence of wet processes allows a frame house to be built all year round.

Denis Reznichenko(nickname on the forum silent):

– If you are going to permanently live in a frame house, keep in mind that heating costs will be noticeably lower compared to wooden or stone houses, because ability to retain heat modern insulation materials higher than traditional materials.

Advantages of frame houses:

• high speed of construction;
• frame technology does not require the use of heavy construction equipment;
• the construction of such a house can be carried out independently;
• due to the lack of shrinkage, internal and exterior finishing a frame house can be built immediately after construction is completed;
• wall thickness in frame houses usually does not exceed 30 cm, which increases the usable area of ​​the house;
• during the cold season, frame houses quickly warm up to a comfortable temperature.

The disadvantages of frame houses include:

• High demands on the quality of materials used. To build a frame house, first of all, you need well-dried and planed wood, treated with fire and bioprotective compounds that protect it from damage and rotting. When constructing a frame, it is unacceptable to use raw wood, because It warps as it dries. This leads to a change in geometry wooden structures;
• Construction carried out by low-skilled workers with deviations from technology entails a significant reduction in the operational characteristics of the house;
• Compared to stone houses, frame houses lower degree of sound insulation.

Alexey Melnikov:

– Also among the disadvantages is the low heat capacity (heat storage capacity) of frame walls.

A frame house with the heating turned off quickly cools down. However, there is a way out - you can use an insulated Swedish stove as a foundation.

5. Arbolit

Wood concrete is a material made from cement binder (concrete) and organic fillers obtained from wood processing waste.

Sometimes wood concrete is called wood concrete, because this wall material absorbs the advantages of both concrete and wood.

Arbolite has high thermal insulation properties.

This is an environmentally friendly material that does not require additional insulation. It does not dry out like wood, does not rot and does not burn.

Arbolite walls “breathe” (the vapor permeability of an arbolite wall is more than 35%). This regulates the humidity level in the room. This ensures good air exchange in the room.

Alexey Melnikov:

– Arbolite is an old and, at the same time, undeservedly forgotten material. Attempts to implement it were made back in Soviet times.

However, the segment of individual low-rise housing construction was not developed in those days; mainly panels of high-rise buildings were built, and over time, wood concrete gave way to other wall materials.

However, now wood concrete is experiencing a rebirth.

After all, it is devoid of a number of disadvantages inherent in gas and foam concrete blocks, the material is relatively light, and the construction of a house does not require the construction of a powerful foundation.

Wood concrete also has high bending strength and will not crack when the foundation moves or settles.

Arbolite, like wood, can be sawed and drilled well, nails can be easily driven into an arbolite wall, and the material itself holds heavy objects well without the use of special fasteners.

Among the disadvantages of wood concrete, two can be identified: its high cost and the insufficient number of house designs developed specifically for these blocks. Therefore, when choosing arbolite block(in order to avoid purchasing low-quality material with poor geometry or strength characteristics), you must carefully consider the issue of choosing a supplier.

On our portal they will help you find out everything a novice frame builder needs to know, what kind of house, understand what is better,. We will help you choose the best wall material and how to build

Watch a video on building a house from wood concrete blocks. And after reading our next video, you will learn how to build your own in six months

There is still no clear answer to the question of what material is best to make the walls of a residential building from. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Builders and designers cannot come to the same opinion regarding the choice of the most optimal product for making walls. The thing is that in each specific case the best material must be selected based on the purpose of the building, its configuration, climatic conditions locality and financial capabilities of the owner. In our article we will look at the most common wall materials, describe their properties, pros and cons, and you yourself can choose the best one based on construction conditions.

Factors influencing choice

A quarter of all construction costs go towards the construction of walls. Since incorrectly selected material for wall construction can lead to even greater expenses in the future, when choosing it, it is worth considering the following factors:

1. If you want to save on arranging the foundation by making a shallow, lightweight option, then choose for walls lightweight material. Additional savings in the case of using lightweight elements for the walls of the house will be during transportation and installation, because it can be done with your own hands without the use of expensive lifting equipment.
2. Choose building materials that have good thermal insulation characteristics. Otherwise, cold walls in winter will cost you dearly in heating costs.

Advice: it is best to perform a thermal engineering calculation taking into account the climatic conditions of the construction region. This is the only way to be sure that you have chosen the right material and wall design. Thus, in the northern regions of our country, even walls made of materials with high thermal insulation properties require insulation.

1. If you use it to build the walls of a house piece materials, for example, brick, then a significant share of the costs will be the cost of paying masons. Even if you do all the work yourself, take into account the time and physical costs. It is much more profitable and faster to build from large-sized elements. The highest speed of wall construction is found in houses built using frame-panel and frame-panel technology.
2. When choosing building materials for walls, it is worth considering how easily they can be finished and whether they need it at all. For example, the walls of a frame house made of OSB can not be finished at all, but simply painted, while a house made of logs needs thorough finishing outside and inside.

To understand what to build your house from, you need to understand the characteristics of building materials, so next we will describe the properties of each of them, list the advantages and disadvantages.

Brick

A house built of brick can last a century, or even a century and a half. There are many varieties of bricks, differing in important operational and technical characteristics.

Thus, silicate and ceramic types of bricks are used to build walls. Let's look at their features:

• Ceramic brick made from baked red clay. This is a durable, moisture-resistant, environmentally friendly material. There are solid and hollow bricks on sale. The more voids there are in a brick, the higher its thermal insulation performance.
• Sand-lime brick made on the basis of lime, sand and some additives. It can also be solid or hollow. The latter option is lightweight and has improved thermal insulation properties. Solid silicate products have good sound insulation properties, but high thermal conductivity.

This wall material is also divided into front and ordinary:

• It is better to build the walls of a house from ordinary brick. Products may have minor defects in the form of cracks and chips, but due to this their price is more reasonable. In addition, for interior wall masonry it is not so important appearance products, as for facing masonry.
• Facing brick (front)- This is the wall material used to decorate the facade. All products must have the correct geometric shape, smooth or textured surface, and be free from flaws and defects. The price of facing brick is higher than that of its ordinary counterpart.

The strength of this wall material is directly related to its grade, which can be from M 75 to M 300. The number indicates the load that one square centimeter of the product can withstand. The higher the brand, the more specific gravity products. To build 2 or 3 storey house, a brick of grade 100-125 is enough. To make the foundation and plinth, products with grade 150-175 are used.

Also, when choosing a brick, it is important to take into account its frost resistance, that is, the number of freezing and thawing cycles that the product can withstand without damage and reducing strength by no more than 20%. This indicator is marked with the letter F and a number from 15 and above. For warm regions, you can use products with a frost resistance grade of 15; in colder latitudes, bricks of the F25 grade are used. For facing works A brick with a frost resistance of at least 50 is suitable.

Advantages and disadvantages of brick

Among the advantages of this wall material are the following:

• Impressive service life.
• Aesthetic appeal.
• Unlimited possibilities in terms of design and implementation of complex projects.
• The material is not susceptible to corrosion, damage by fungi and microorganisms.
• The product does not burn.
• High sound and heat insulation characteristics.

The disadvantages include the following:

• Due to their small size and high specific gravity, laying brick walls takes a long time and costs a lot.
• Under brick walls, it is necessary to build a solid, buried foundation, and this entails increased costs for materials and excavation work.
• In most cases brick walls needs additional insulation.

Ceramic blocks

Ceramic block is a material made from a mixture of clay and sawdust, after which the element is fired in a kiln. This is a fairly durable product that allows you to quickly build the walls of a house. The strength of ceramic block is so high that it can be used to make multi-storey building. The inside of the material has a porous structure, and the outer surface is corrugated. For a hermetic connection, the ends of the material have grooves and ridges.

The height of the ceramic block is a multiple of the rows of brickwork, and other dimensions can be different. Thus, it is possible to build from ceramic block according to projects that are designed for brick. But the speed of construction is much higher, since one ceramic block measuring 238x248x500 mm, which weighs 25 kg, is equivalent to 15 bricks, each of which weighs 3.3 kg. In addition to increasing the speed of construction, the cost of mortar is reduced, because less of it will be needed.

Important: the width of the ceramic block can be 230, 240 and 250 mm, and the length can be in the range of 250-510 mm. Along the long side of the product there is a tongue-and-groove lock.

Walls with a thickness of 380 mm or more made of this material do not need insulation, since the thermal conductivity of the product is only 0.14-0.29 W/m²x°C. Marking of wide blocks is M 100. If you need to make thin but strong walls, you can take elements marked 150. The frost resistance of ceramic blocks is at least 50 cycles.

Pros and cons of ceramic blocks

The advantages include:

• Low specific gravity and high strength significantly expand the scope of use of this material.
• Installation of large-sized products is carried out quickly and without unnecessary labor costs.
• Saving mortar due to the size of the elements and the absence of the need to make vertical seams.
• The frost resistance of ordinary ceramic blocks is higher than that of ordinary bricks.
• Good fire resistance. The product is fire resistant for 4 hours.
• An optimal microclimate is created in a room made of ceramic blocks, since the walls can “breathe” and regulate air humidity.
• A house can last a century and a half without losing its thermal insulation characteristics.

This material also has disadvantages, among which the following are worth mentioning:

• The price of ceramic blocks is quite high.
• Since these products are relatively new on our market, it is difficult to find a good mason to do the masonry.
• This fragile material must be stored and transported very carefully.

Gas blocks

This material has excellent thermal insulation characteristics. In terms of thermal conductivity, a wall made of an aerated block with a width of 300-400 mm is not inferior to a multilayer brick structure. Walls made of aerated blocks maintain optimal temperature and humidity conditions indoors. The material is not susceptible to rot and has an impressive service life. The thermal insulation qualities of an aerated block are 3 times greater than those of a brick wall.

Aerated concrete is quite lightweight, so it is easy to transport and lay. It can be easily cut with a regular hacksaw. required sizes. The laying of elements is carried out using mortar or special glue, of which a little is required. The smooth, even surface of aerated concrete blocks is easy to finish. Aerated concrete is considered environmentally friendly and non-flammable. It has fairly high frost resistance.

Attention: density characteristics are important for aerated concrete. This figure can be in the range of 350-1200 kg/m³. For an ordinary residential building, it is enough to take elements marked 500-900.

Advantages and disadvantages of gas blocks

This wall product has many advantages:

• Laying walls from aerated blocks is 9 times faster than laying bricks.
• The low thermal conductivity of the product is a big plus in its favor.
• Aerated concrete has high fire resistance; even when burning, it does not emit harmful substances.
• The porous structure of the material contributes to high frost resistance.
• In terms of vapor permeability, aerated concrete is comparable only to wood.

Disadvantages of aerated concrete:

• Low bending strength.
• The material is susceptible to cracking.
• Hygroscopicity. After moisture is absorbed, the thermal insulation performance of aerated concrete decreases, so the facade needs a protective finish.
• Floor slabs and beams cannot be laid directly on gas blocks, so before laying them you will have to make a monolithic reinforced belt. This entails additional costs and time.

Tree

Many people who decide to build a house choose wood. This natural material is environmentally friendly. It creates a favorable microclimate in the house, supports optimal humidity and saturates the air with healing phytoncides. A wooden house is warm in winter and not hot in summer, since wood has good thermal insulation characteristics.

A wooden house can be built from the following products:

1. The log can be natural or rounded. In the latter case, the material has the correct shape and smooth surface, but needs additional protective treatment, since the natural protective resin layer, which is located under the bark, is removed during the rounding process.
2. You can use glued (profiled) and sawn or planed timber. More quality houses are obtained from laminated veneer lumber, which has special grooves and ridges for a tight fit of the elements. Sawn timber is more often used to make frame houses.
3. Frame-panel houses are made of OSB, chipboard, and moisture-resistant plywood, which are attached to the frame. Insulation is installed inside the wall.

The main advantages of wooden houses are their environmental friendliness, comfort and reasonable price. A lightweight foundation can be made for such a house. Disadvantages - fire hazard, shrinkage.

When starting to build your own home, you want to choose the most cheap material to build a house - for the purpose of maximum savings. But the pursuit of low prices for building materials can result in both expensive maintenance in the future and an increase in the cost of construction as a whole. How to build a cheap house?

What determines the cost of a home?

The final price tag for construction depends on several factors. Materials play an important, but not the only, role here. So, the construction estimate will include:

If you do a monolithic fill, you will need a large amount of wood for the formwork. And working alone on weekends, construction is delayed indefinitely, which is also not always economically profitable.

The cheapest materials for building a house are those made by yourself?

There is an opinion that materials made with your own hands will be much cheaper than those purchased from the manufacturer. Of course, there are recipes for different brands of concrete; you can build the walls yourself from straw or even fill the frame with sawdust.

This is economically justified in the following cases:

• the presence of free assistants - it is difficult to stir, fill and press alone, which can lead to poorly performed work;
• no need to travel to work five days a week - otherwise construction will often have to be postponed due to weather conditions;
• opportunities to obtain equipment and raw materials for building materials at very low prices - delivery of sawdust from another region will not be cheap.

So, the cheapest construction options:

1. Straw walls with clay coating. They have good thermal insulation, but require repairs due to rodents that live in the thickness of the wall.



2. Abrolite or sawdust concrete. You can make it yourself or purchase ready-made blocks. In the first case, you will have to wait a long time for the sawdust concrete to dry; in the second, you will have to build walls as quickly as possible and make external finishing, since wood concrete is hygroscopic.



3. Clay burr or cordwood. Dry logs and logs, cleared of bark, are used. They are laid across the wall on a clay mortar. The ends of the wood must be impregnated with antiseptics or fired, otherwise they will strongly absorb moisture.



4. Backfilling with sawdust or expanded clay. For this purpose, permanent formwork is made on the frame from edged boards, into which the insulation is poured.

The appearance of a house made from these materials is rather unsightly. And if it’s quite easy to beat up straw walls or peeking out logs, you’ll also have to make a screed on top of the wood concrete. Another significant disadvantage homemade materials- they are not strong enough. But this is a problem with all frame houses. To hang shelves or install kitchen set, it is necessary to provide for embedded boards at the construction stage.

Economical building materials - what are they?

If, out of common sense, you decide to abandon independent production, you should take a closer look at the prices on the market. What is the cheapest building material? Paradoxically, almost any:

• wood - can be purchased extremely cheaply in the forest belt, but in the steppe zone it is expensive;
• brick – when building next to a brick factory, you will be able to buy red brick at manufacturer prices;
• aerated concrete and foam concrete are lightweight and relatively easy-to-construct materials that have good thermal insulation;
• frame construction is the most a budget option, suitable for any climate, but requiring forced ventilation.

Not every carpenter can assemble a log house well, so you will also have to take into account the cost of the builders’ work. The same applies to brick house– the distortion of the masonry will result in large-scale alignment of the walls.

So when choosing materials, you need to take into account the cost of working with them. For example, aerated concrete is laid with a special glue, due to which the gaps between the blocks are minimal.

This allows you to save on finishing, but requires careful attention from builders. Foam concrete does not differ in the quality of its geometry - the blocks can be skewed and differ in size. It is unpleasant to work with such material; it is difficult to level the walls.

As a result, the cost of work is higher.

How to save money globally on construction?

It is not building materials alone that can reduce the cost of building your own home. To save as much as possible, you need to:

1. Think over a plan for the future building. How simpler layout- the cheaper it is to equip it. You shouldn’t place bathrooms at different ends of the building - laying pipes will cost a pretty penny. Placing the kitchen next to the bathroom will also save on pipes. The even geometry of the walls, the absence of non-functional niches and differences in floor heights, although they look simple, do not require extra costs. Together this will give up to 20% savings on the total cost.



2. Refuse architectural excesses. Balconies, terraces and a multi-level roof can increase the value of a home by 10-15%. It is much more rational in the future to build a small gazebo or add an open terrace.



3. Use building materials produced in your region, abandoning popular and advertised ones. This will not only allow you to buy them cheaper, but also not overpay for delivery. Thus, houses made of shell rock in the Altai Territory are among the most budget-friendly, but Moscow cannot boast of a low price for this material.



4. Lighten the rafter system as much as possible using lightweight roofing materials. Then, instead of a 10x10 cm beam, it will be possible to use a 5x10 cm board laid on the end, without reducing the pitch of the rafters.



5. Refuse basement. Activities for pouring, waterproofing and rough finishing of the basement will add another 20% of the cost to the estimate.

Selection of building materials

If the building materials market offers several types to choose from, that’s great. Indeed, in this case, you can compare all the advantages and disadvantages and purchase materials that combine low price and good quality.

General characteristics to look for:

• durability - if the house lasts for a maximum of 10 years, savings on materials are quite doubtful;
• simplicity and accessibility of installation - the need to use heavy equipment at a construction site can negate all savings;
• environmental friendliness - maintenance natural humidity in the house is achieved through “breathable” materials, otherwise you will have to take care of forced ventilation;
• heat capacity and thermal insulation are two parameters responsible for future efficiency, because the house should not only be cheap during construction, but also during operation.

Having considered the most popular building materials, you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.

Wooden houses

Houses made of timber are considered the most environmentally friendly and one of the best at maintaining an optimal microclimate. Wooden building features advantages:

But this structure also has disadvantages. Thus, the quality of literally every log is very important - an undried tree will begin to twist, longitudinal cracks may appear, the ends must be “sealed” with an ax to prevent the tree from becoming waterlogged due to precipitation. If you deviate from the classical processing of logs in favor of using modern antiseptic and fire retardant solutions, the house ceases to be environmentally friendly.

Ready-made kits are expensive, but only professionals can assemble an inexpensive log house from round timber. After all, you will have to adjust each log! In addition, in regions with cold winters, the thickness of the walls of a wooden hut should be at least 50 cm to ensure minimal heat loss during the heating season. Finding logs of this diameter will also cost a pretty penny.

To allow the house to “breathe”, it cannot be insulated with polystyrene foam, only with vapor-permeable mineral wool. And to prevent the insulation from getting wet, be sure to install a ventilated façade. For interior decoration There are also certain restrictions - it is better to use modern vapor-permeable membranes if you plan to cover the house with plasterboard or clapboard.

But the log house is beautiful in its original form. To get a cozy and draft-free home, you need to regularly check and caulk cracks in the walls. Particular attention is paid to the system of corner locks - a simple cut into half a tree will not provide the necessary insulation and will lead to the formation of cold spots.

Brick houses

Brick has excellent heat capacity. This means that when heating is started, the house will warm up for a long time, but then cool down for just as long. For permanent residence - an excellent option. But for a country house visited on weekends, this will be a waste of money on heating. After all, by the time the house warms up, you need to go back to the city.

For one-story buildings, walls of 1.5 bricks will be sufficient. But this wall thickness is completely unsuitable for winters, where the temperature drops to -20 degrees.

In order not to increase the cost of brickwork, the house will have to be insulated from the outside. What’s especially nice when building brick buildings is that you can use any insulation! So, by choosing polystyrene foam with a thickness of only 5 cm, you can reduce heat loss at home from 125 kWh to square meter up to 53 kWh per heating season. In other words, you can cut your heating costs in half.

To the disadvantages brick houses can be attributed:

• large weight of the structure - you will need a buried strip foundation, which will significantly increase the cost of construction;
• duration of construction - a team of five people can lift the frame of a house in three weeks, subject to continuous work, but working alone increases the time significantly;
• finishing work - if you can live in the log house immediately after construction, brick house requires mandatory screeding of walls and floors followed by finishing.

Houses made of aerated block or foam block

These buildings have all the advantages and disadvantages of brick houses. At the same time, they have their own characteristics:

At the same time, the price for cubic meter brick and gas block are almost the same. And given the need for insulation on the facade, the advantages of aerated concrete over ceramic bricks quite ghostly. But at the expense large sizes It is quite simple to build a house using blocks, which determines the low cost of the work.

Frame houses

For those who are really strapped for money, frame construction is a real salvation. Timber frame house with mineral insulation It turns out to be several times cheaper than all previous options. And that's why:

But, despite the obvious advantages of frame construction, preference is still given brickwork. All because of no less significant shortcomings:

On the other hand, by approaching the construction of a frame house wisely and without skimping on building materials, you can get a good and reliable structure that will last for decades. And in the future, it will be just as easy to dismantle the frame and put a solid brick house in its place.

Build a small one cozy house it can be done in a few months, and this video confirms this:

The growth of individual construction has led to the appearance on the market various materials, including some that no one had ever heard of before. The assortment is so large that even experienced people often get lost, not knowing what is best to choose. Let's try to figure out what modern materials attractive not only from the point of view of cost, but also the feasibility of use in the construction of private houses.

As a rule, individual developers focus on the following indicators:

• price of materials (including facing);
• the ability to perform all operations with your own hands to the maximum;
• the total weight of the structure, since the type of foundation and the costs of its installation largely depend on this;
• cost of finishing work;
• durability;
• frequency of current (overhaul) repairs.

Considering some types of new materials, we will dwell only on their specific features.

Firstly, comprehensive information on each sample is not the topic of this article. Anyone interested in the details can familiarize themselves with all the “pros” and “cons” on their own on our website in the “Building Materials” section, where almost all the popular ones are described in detail.

Secondly, many shortcomings are very relative, since the manifestation of defects is often caused not by the quality of the product, but by violations of the work technology and ignorance of basic things (on issues of waterproofing, thermal expansion, compatibility, and so on). So let's start the review:

Wood

Glued beam

Of all the materials in the “wood” category, professionals recommend giving preference to this particular product.

• Strict geometry greatly simplifies installation and caulking.
• Almost no finishing is needed.
• Great appearance of the house.
• Good microclimate.

Experts note the main disadvantage of laminated veneer lumber - you will need additional insulation, otherwise heating costs will be significant. Details about the timber.

Rounded log

Having the above advantages, this material will require somewhat higher construction costs. Most likely, you will have to involve specialists, at least at the stage of constructing the log house. Read about construction from rounded logs in.

Artificial stone

Aerated concrete

In every way good material. But it absorbs moisture quite intensively. Therefore, when using it you will need high-quality waterproofing. And this entails the need to perform plastering, which limits the choice of type of cladding.

Foam concrete

The specificity of its use is that this artificial stone is quite fragile. And this causes difficulties during fastening attachments and furniture items (cabinets, shelves, etc.). You can’t just hammer a nail into it and you can’t install a self-tapping screw (with a sleeve) - it won’t hold. Only anchor bolts, but this is not convenient everywhere.

Foam concrete can be used to build 1, maximum 2 floors, and then only with structural reinforcement. Comparison - perhaps you didn't know this yet.

Polystyrene concrete

Of all artificial stones considered the best. According to its properties (vapor permeability, environmental Safety) it resembles wood in many ways. Its main advantage is almost zero thermal conductivity. This material itself is an excellent insulator, and additional work in this regard there will be no need to carry out.

Another difference from analogues is that polystyrene concrete will never develop fungus or mold. And given the low cost of production (approximately 1,000 rubles/m³), this particular stone can be recommended as one of the best building materials. By the way, “bricks” can be made on site, without spending money on renting vehicles to deliver the blocks to the site.

Frame technology

Construction from sandwich panels is beneficial in many ways. It’s always cozy in such a house, and heating costs will be low (about 26,500 rubles per year). But the service life of the products does not exceed 20 years (and this is the maximum). And repairing such a structure can cost a pretty penny. Having many advantages, such a house is not particularly durable. This is more of an option quick solution housing problem, but there is no need to say that many generations will live in it. Actually, this is what they talk about