How rational is it to choose the foam block option?
Let's look today at how rational the choice of building a house from foam blocks would be. What pitfalls can we expect, what should we pay attention to, and what is the approximate cost of building a house from foam blocks.
What determines the choice?
Before we get to the calculations and construction, let’s try to explain why we chose foam concrete to build the house. And in order to answer this question as accurately as possible, we will consider both the positive and negative aspects of this material.
Advantages
- Let's first note environmental friendliness . This is always important, and against the backdrop of modern building materials, a foam block simply must be so.
- Low price . It is equally important that the cost of this material is really adequate, so we can talk about the rational use of finances.
- Thermal insulation characteristics . This is a porous material, it takes a very long time to heat up and gives off heat for just as long. This will play a role in heating the room.
- Easy to use . Considering that most of us want to save money, the option of self-construction will allow us to do just that. It is important that foam blocks are quite easy to work with, and the basic principles do not require special knowledge of masonry.
An example of a foam block product of different dimensions
Flaws
Negative qualities, we will definitely encounter some of them during our work, so we will also announce this list, although it is not large:
- Necessity of finishing . On the one hand, this is a completely logical continuation of construction, on the other hand, it always slightly increases the overall estimate.
- High hygroscopicity . This property is not necessarily negative in the true sense, however, in our case, if we do not waterproof the base, there is a risk of significantly reducing the service life of the house.
The scales have definitely tipped towards the choice of this particular material, mind you!
Projects
The situation with projects of foam block houses and cottages is ambiguous. Of course, the project is necessary; without it, you won’t be able to obtain any permits for the construction of the house itself, but this is also an additional cost.
In general, let’s say we can’t do without this, but how much house designs made from foam blocks and the cost of construction can cost us is a question directly for the designers.
Small house project
There are, for example, ready-made drawings, fully developed and adapted to specific terrain conditions and soil. Such projects may be assessed separately.
Some designers prefer to work based on the square footage of the future building. That is, we pay for every square meter.
It is difficult to give specific figures for the project; it will be easier to contact several design bureaus and get price lists from them.
Option of a house with construction calculations
Note! In any case, if you order a house project, it will have to contain everything related to construction and communications.
What do we consider in construction?
Now we won’t go through the materials so much, we’ll just leave them as a “snack”, but consider what the financial component of the building itself depends on:
- From the total area, which is quite natural: more area means more costs.
- From the heating system and other communications. And indeed, the price of construction may change specifically as soon as we begin to count all the heating, air conditioning, and electrification systems.
- From the purpose of the premises in the house. Each type of room may require a specific finishing material.
- From the number of windows. It seems that the more windows, the cheaper the wall. From the point of view of the cost of the wall, yes, but in the general estimate, a similar square window opening is always more expensive than the cost of masonry made of foam blocks.
COMPANY'S NEWS
ATTENTION!!! FALL SALE OF FOAM BLOCKS! PRICES START FROM 1,750 RUB/KBM! We will ship any quantity of high-quality, durable foam blocks or leave them for storage until the start of the construction season. Take out the paid blocks, glue and mesh at any time convenient for you. Or leave it to us. Storage of paid goods in our warehouse is FREE!
FROM MAY 24, 2020, THERE HAS BEEN A POSSIBILITY TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS ON CREDIT WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE BANK. COMPLETING THE AGREEMENT IN OUR OFFICE WILL TAKE 10-15 MINUTES IF YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT
DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO! On our website on the right side there is a form for correct and quick ordering. Please fill it out and we will contact you immediately!
The online calculator located directly below the form will help you calculate the required amount of foam block Enter the dimensions of your structure in the appropriate columns and get the quantity and cost of the block, glue and mesh required for its construction.
Since March 2020, our company has been producing two types of wall foam blocks: 1. D600 foam blocks (density about 600 kg/m3, strength 1.5 - 2 MPa) . Designed mainly for one-story and monolithic frame housing construction. In terms of strength, blocks of this brand are inferior to blocks of the D700 brand, so we produce this brand in limited quantities. 2. foam blocks D700 (density about 700 kg/m3, strength 2 - 2.5 MPa) . This is our proven, basic brand, which provides the necessary strength and thermal insulation characteristics of all types of structures. These blocks are intended for both low-rise (up to 3 floors) and monolithic frame housing construction.
Blocks of both types have high thermal insulation characteristics (0.13-0.14 W/m deg).
Details are in the “PRICES” .
To order, we can produce blocks with a density of D800 and higher, reaching strength class B3.5. However, it should be taken into account that, starting from exceeding the density D700, there is a noticeable decrease in the thermal resistance of the material.
New manufacturing technology! Since February 2014, a new technology for the production of foam blocks with
as a placeholder. The use of fly ash makes it possible to achieve significantly higher strength and thermal resistance characteristics than in foam blocks using sand or screenings.
There is a new product on sale!
. This is an economical material for the construction of interior partitions. Its price per cubic meter is 5% higher than that of a wall block. However, you will spend 2 times less than a wall to cover the same opening area! It has high sound insulation of about 35 dB. Pallet contains 80 pcs., 1.44 kbm.
Together with the foam block we ship related products:
- dry masonry mixture "MONOLITH" for installation of foam blocks and
- galvanized rolled masonry reinforcing mesh with excellent characteristics: mesh 20x15 mm, and a thickness of only 0.69 mm, so that it can be used together with glue without increasing the thickness of the seam. Specially for the dimensions of our block, the mesh is produced in two types: 150 mm wide and 250 mm wide for installation of 200 and 300 mm blocks, respectively. Roll length is 25 m for 150 mm and 18 m for 250 mm.
Shipping the adhesive and mesh together with the blocks will save you on shipping.
The price for dry masonry mixture (MONOLITH glue) is 170 rubles. per package 25 kg (summer option up to 0 C). Frost-resistant option (up to -10 C) - 185 rubles. per package. Price for reinforcing mesh: Width 150 mm - 380 rubles, Width 250 mm - 350 rubles.
Details are in the “PRICES” .
FOAM BLOCK, GLUE AND REINFORCING MESH IS ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR QUICK AND RELIABLE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS AND INTERIOR PARTITIONS!
What do we consider in construction?
Here we can have two types of calculations, and they will differ very much in the final result. Let's start, of course, with materials and area.
- Estimate for building a house made of foam blocks
- Construction of houses from foam blocks
Base
The foundation in any type of construction work is approximately 30% of the total estimate.
This will include:
- Geological exploration of the site.
- Excavation.
- Materials such as: sand, cement, crushed stone, reinforcement.
Concrete, reinforcement, board
Without a doubt, if we decide to do everything strictly with our own hands, we can save a lot. Approximately 50% of the cost of materials for the foundation for a foam block house, this is the payment for the work if you hire a construction company or a team of workers.
Unfortunately, some of the work will be quite difficult to do on your own, first of all, excavation and filling.
But here we can optimize our costs:
- Rent a small excavator to excavate the soil.
- The foundation should be poured using your own efforts in several passes, in layers.
Important! The question of pouring the foundation in layers can only arise in the case of a strip base. If we are talking about a monolithic slab, everything should be poured at once.
Waterproofing
This moment does not take a lot of money or effort, however, it will subsequently play a huge role in the comfortable atmosphere of the entire house and, consequently, in its service life.
There are a sufficient number of waterproofing materials on the market, but even if we choose the most inexpensive ones - roofing felt or mastic, this will be quite enough to provide excellent and durable waterproofing.
Mastic coated concrete
Masonry
There are several ways to calculate the exact number of foam blocks needed for the construction of load-bearing walls. In addition, we always have a lot of price options for one block. Accordingly, everything is very easy to calculate here.
However, this is just the cost of foam blocks, and what will our overall figure for the walls be made of?
Let's try to distribute everything:
- Foam blocks, we have already talked about this.
- Solution. Here we can use either a simple cement option or an adhesive mixture.
- Fittings. In masonry it always makes sense to use metal mortgages, and reinforcement is most suitable for this role; you can choose it with a cross-section of 8-12 mm.
The basic instructions for calculating a wall end here, but we will “dig” deeper. You will also need to calculate the costs of transporting the material plus the production of the solution, which is water and electricity. Of course, all this may seem too literal, but if we already count, then let our estimate be as accurate as possible.
Masonry with reinforcement
Almost everything on the walls, because the cost of windows and fittings will be calculated separately, here we are only talking about load-bearing structures.
By the way! Using the same principle, you can then calculate how much the interior partitions will cost.
Roofing, finishing
We combined roofing and finishing because these are two types of work that may require the presence of professional builders.
This is especially true for the roof, which seriously affects the cost of construction of a house made of foam blocks. Some aspects of roof installation must be carried out by professional roofers, and here the numbers will start from tens of dollars per square meter.
Roof sheathing
It won’t be difficult to calculate everything; the numbers will directly depend on the roof area. On the roof, however, it will be possible to save some money if you rationally approach the selection of materials. Finishing depends entirely on the price of the finishing material.
Final estimate
Now let’s try to understand what the approximate cost of building a house from foam blocks, say 8x8, will be.
Along with the work, we can receive several prices. You need to count on 7000-10000 rubles per square meter of construction. Let us clarify that this is when working independently, when we carry out almost 80% of all work with our own hands and do not resort to the services of persons whose work must be paid.
Price matters
