Advantages of building a house from material
Building a house from sawdust concrete is not at all difficult. Therefore, you can cope with such work with your own efforts, but you still must have some minimal knowledge in construction. It is allowed to erect a building from such a product, the height of which will not exceed 3 floors, and the wall thickness will not exceed 30 centimeters. The strength of the walls is very high.
As evidence of the advantages of the characteristics of such a material, we can make the following list of advantages:
House made of monolithic sawdust concrete: details of construction
As mentioned above, building a house from sawdust concrete is associated with a large number of nuances, which are very important to observe - they are the ones that affect the performance characteristics of the finished structure and the durability of the building. Let's look at them in more detail.
In principle, this is all, and to complete the topic of how to build a house from sawdust concrete, there is not much left to add. In particular, about additional precautions that, in principle, are used during the construction of any house - this is the roof drainage system. You can also add a few words about the thickness of the external walls - sawdust concrete perfectly retains heat in the house even with its thickness of 400 mm. Ideally, you can do more, increasing the thickness of the walls to at least 500mm.
Which is better: blocks or a monolithic table?
You can build houses from sawdust concrete using two technologies - from blocks or from monolithic material. Each of these methods has pros and cons.
Buildings constructed from blocks:
- A block house can be built gradually, without much haste.
- The walls being erected can be of any kind; moreover, this method does not require formwork.
- This material easily tolerates long-term storage.
- It will not be possible to build houses from sawdust concrete quickly. After all, a large number of products cannot be used immediately - after laying each row, you need to wait some time until the seams dry out and gain strength.
Buildings erected from a monolith:
In fact, both methods have their advantages. But most often, experts recommend using the second option of building a house. After all, in this technology there are no seams in the walls, and this improves the thermal insulation of the building.
Material calculation example
To find out the required amount of this building material, you just need to do some calculations. A similar calculation can be analyzed using the example of a 9x14 dwelling with a height of 3 meters.
- To find out the length of the walls, you need to add: 9 9 14 14 = 46 meters.
- Next, you need to find out the area of the walls; to do this, you need to multiply the length by the height: 46*3=138 m2.
- The number of blocks that fit in 1 m2 depends on how wide the wall is. If the wall thickness is 39 centimeters, then approximately 25 blocks will fit.
- If the width of the masonry is 0.39 meters, then only 138 * 25 = 3450 blocks are needed.
These calculations are approximate, because the area of doors and windows was not excluded from the length of the walls. This must be taken into account when making calculations.
Testing for strength
The strength test is quite a fun process.
I would even say it's fun. To do this, you will need to take one sample and rise to a height of about seven, or better yet, ten meters. Then throw the sawdust concrete block down and see what happens to it. If it breaks into pieces, then the entire batch will have to be discarded and used for softer buildings, be it a wall or a partition, but not for the foundation of a house. If the block remains intact or is only slightly chipped, you can begin direct work.
Block construction technology
To build a house from sawdust concrete with your own hands, you need to take into account a lot of nuances. The first of them is that the thickness of the walls depends on the average winter temperature outside. If it is necessary to make the walls more durable, the thickness of the seams can be reinforced using a special mesh. The durability of house walls can be increased by finishing with clinker or plaster.
Before you start building a house, you should take care of installing communications and openings for them. You need to make holes for chimneys and ventilation in advance. It is impossible to install walls made of damp material; the products must be dry. The technology for installing walls with sawdust concrete is absolute, identical to installation technologies from similar materials.
Foundation
1).
The foundation is at least 50 cm above the soil surface. 2). 50 cm brick step. Due to the low weight of this product, it is possible to install a shallow foundation. Installation is possible on any type of soil, with the only exception being heaving soil.
As a foundation for a building made of sawdust concrete, a strip plinth or bored piles would be an excellent option. The thickness of the tape is approximately 50 centimeters, and the installation depth is 100 centimeters. The brickwork is 50 centimeters high. This will be a kind of foundation for the house, and will also create protection for the walls from melted snow.
Waterproofing in such houses is a mandatory process. To perform such work, bituminous material, such as roofing felt, is required. The foundation is insulated and covered with sand over a length of 50 centimeters to 100 centimeters. Thanks to this process, the base will not have contact with the soil.
Selection of masonry mortar
Most often, a special type of glue or cement mortar is used as a masonry mortar. The advantages of cement mortar include the ability to correct imperfect volumes of blocks. However, the disadvantage is the occurrence of so-called cold bridges. Also, when choosing such a mixture, the blocks must be wetted.
You can also mount walls using special glue. It contains special additive components that prevent heat loss through the seams. The maximum permissible seam width is reported by the manufacturer on the back of the package, but most often the width is approximately 0.6 centimeters. Such a solution will be an ideal choice when the product has an ideal shape.
One way or another, the width of the layer must be no more than 0.8 centimeters. If you ignore this advice, the thermal insulation of the house will be compromised.
Masonry
The technology for constructing walls is practically no different from building with aerated concrete or foam concrete.
The installation of walls from such products is similar to the construction technology from other popular materials. Construction occurs from the corners of the building. It is recommended to install the first row using a cement mixture. Then the material is laid on other corners. During the laying process, be sure to check the evenness using a level. A rope is stretched between the blocks, with its help it is easier to control the evenness of the masonry of the next rows. The mixture is coated on the bottom of the block and on the sides of the product.
If during the laying process it becomes clear that a smaller block is needed to complete the row, then the sawdust concrete can be cut to the required size. During the calculation, it is necessary to take into account the width of the seam. The levelness check is carried out after installation of each product. If necessary, the width of the mixture increases. The mixture is applied using a special spatula.
Each row is installed simultaneously with the dressing. Vertical seams during laying should not coincide. If you need to give strength to the walls, then reinforcement is performed. Reinforcement is done using a special mesh, every 3 rows. It is necessary to install lintels over openings of various types. Channels or wooden beams are used as jumpers. The jumpers must extend beyond the openings by approximately 50 centimeters on both sides. It is recommended to make special grooves at the top of the openings, onto which jumpers are subsequently installed.
The Mauerlat is installed in the last row. It is secured using special metal brackets. After this, floor beams and roof sheathing are mounted on top. All components that are made of wood must be impregnated with a special antiseptic.
Sawdust concrete is an environmentally friendly and safe material that is very popular in one-story construction. It is often used in the construction of summer cottages and outbuildings. You can build a house made of sawdust concrete with your own hands, even without special skills. This does not require expensive equipment and materials.
Advantages of sawdust concrete
Wood processing waste, cement, water, sand and binding components are used to make building blocks from sawdust concrete. Due to the large amount of sawdust, the material is lightweight. The cement in the blocks gives them strength.
Blocks measuring 390x190x190 mm and weighing no more than 20 kg are considered optimal. Often during production, part of the cement is replaced with clay, lime or liquid glass, which reduces the cost of the finished product. By changing the percentage of components, it is possible to produce material of varying density, strength and porosity.
Pros of construction
Although simple and inexpensive components are used in the production of sawdust concrete, this material has many positive properties. Its advantages:
Cons of building materials
Despite all the advantages of sawdust concrete, builders note some of its disadvantages. These include:
- High degree of hygroscopicity, which requires additional wall cladding and the use of various additives.
- When building a multi-story sawdust concrete house with your own hands, you need to add more cement to the blocks. This increases construction costs.
- The material shrinks quite a lot, which complicates finishing work.
Procurement of material
The technology for producing sawdust concrete is particularly simple, so it is easy to master at home. The main advantage of homemade development is the fact that all components do not require preparation and are sold ready-made in any hypermarket or market. Everything you need for future work:
- Sawdust.
- Sand.
- Cement.
- Clay or lime.
Despite the simplicity of the upcoming procedure, some stages require a special approach and require a lot of effort.
One of the most difficult steps is mixing the ingredients. To simplify the task, it is better to use a high-quality concrete mixer or mortar mixer. As a result, work will not only be convenient, but also faster. At the same time, the final product will receive high quality and performance properties.
Before pouring sawdust into the container of the concrete mixer, it is necessary to thoroughly clean it of large particles using a sieve with 1-centimeter cells. Only after this can the material be mixed with cement, clay or lime. After stirring, the components are diluted with water, which is added in small portions.
Ultimately, the slurry is stirred again until a thick consistency is formed. As for the proportions, they depend on the individual characteristics of the project and the purpose of the future structure. It is enough to follow a simple algorithm: the greater the load on the blocks, the denser and stronger the material should be.
High-quality sawdust concrete should turn into a plastic lump when squeezed in your hand. It is this condition that is the main confirmation of high quality and correct proportions.
DIY blocks
Strict adherence to technological requirements is a necessary condition for the manufacture of quality products. Sawdust and shavings are used as wood filler, which are taken in a one to one ratio. They should be free of soil, dust, roots and bark.
Fresh wood waste is not suitable for production. They are pre-conditioned for 3 months or treated with lime. Before making blocks, wood waste is sifted through a sieve. A concrete mixer is used to mix the components, since it is impossible to thoroughly mix them manually. To produce blocks you will need the following materials:
- wood waste: sawdust and shavings;
- lime or alumina;
- cement grade M300;
- water;
- additives: liquid glass, ammonia acid, sodium sulfate and others.
There are different types of sawdust concrete, which differ in composition, manufacturing method, amount of binder components and mineral additives. The building material is made as follows:
- mix cement, filler, sand and lime in the required proportions;
- mineral supplements are dissolved in a container of water;
- the resulting solution is added to the mixture of components;
- mix the resulting composition thoroughly.
The resulting mixture should be plastic and homogeneous. To check its quality, you need to squeeze the resulting raw material in your hand. In a high-quality composition, moisture should not appear between the fingers, and the mixture in the hand should not crumble. Otherwise, binders are added to it.
From the resulting mixture, blocks of different shapes and sizes can be made. For filling, special molds with a removable bottom are prepared in advance. The building composition is poured into them in layers and compacted. The blocks are left until completely hardened, after which they are removed from the molds and sent to dry in a place protected from sunlight and rain.
The blocks dry out slowly. It will take several months for them to be fully prepared for installation. To obtain high-quality building materials during production, the following rules are adhered to:
Manufacturing technology
In order to properly prepare sawdust concrete, the proportions must be observed according to the recipe. All ingredients can be purchased at any construction store. The basis is chips, shavings, sawdust or any waste from woodworking enterprises. In order to prepare M20 stones, you need to take 200 kg of cement, 50 kg of clay or lime, 500 kg of sand and 200 kg of sawdust.
To make blocks, the wood components must be sifted and, if necessary, further crushed. For sifting you will need a sieve with 10x10 mm cells. Then the prepared ingredients need to be soaked in salts to remove the adverse effects of the sugary substances that make up the wood filler on the cement stone. Also, such impregnation will give the material non-flammable properties and protect it from damage by rot and fungi. For these purposes, you can use sodium sulfate, lime, calcium chloride, aluminum, sodium, potassium or liquid glass.
It is best to mix sawdust concrete, the proportions of which have been observed correctly, in a concrete mixer or any other similar mixer, since it is quite difficult to do this by hand. The wood filler is mixed together with cement and sand, then lime (clay) dough is added and everything is thoroughly mixed again. Then you need to pour in water in small portions. Then mix the resulting mass thoroughly.
In order to determine whether the mixture is ready or not, you need to squeeze it in your hand. The mixture can be considered ready in the form of an elastic lump without excess moisture. The prepared mass must be laid out in molds and thoroughly compacted so that excess air is completely released. This all needs to be done quickly enough, since after 1.5 hours the mixture will already set.
There are no strict requirements for the sizes and shapes of the prepared blocks. The width is most often determined by the size of the wall, and the height remains a multiple of several rows of bricks (taking into account the mortar between them). This will become especially convenient if at the end the brick lining is applied to the sawdust concrete. Reviews from builders indicate that there is no need to make very large blocks, as they will take too long to dry, and the deformation during shrinkage will be significant. In order to avoid such troubles, several holes are made in them. Molds for making large stones are prepared single or double.
For small blocks, it is best to use molds that can hold 4 to 9 stones. For their manufacture, boards 30 mm thick are most often used, then they are covered with tin, plastic film, plastic, linoleum or other material, the adhesion of which to cement will be insignificant. From the outside, the form is tightened with U-shaped ties with nuts at the ends. For large structures it is necessary to provide additional ties or stiffeners.
Advantages of buildings
Buildings made of sawdust concrete comply with all sanitary and hygienic standards. They retain heat and have good sound insulation. Sawdust concrete blocks have a large number of pores, which ensures natural ventilation of rooms and maintains optimal humidity in them.
Building a house from sawdust concrete with your own hands is quite inexpensive. You can make the blocks yourself; all the necessary components can be easily purchased in stores. Their production must begin in advance, since the blocks must dry completely.
Depending on the needs of construction, products of different sizes can be made. Sawdust concrete buildings are erected in two ways:
- form sawdust concrete blocks and work with them in the same way as with any block material;
- monolithic sawdust concrete is produced using formwork pouring.
The second method gives an advantage in speed, but the construction of smooth formwork is labor-intensive. Since sawdust concrete is highly hygroscopic, the walls need to be plastered. This is done after the building has completely settled, approximately 8 months after construction.
Development options using sawdust concrete
There are two options: construction using sawdust concrete blocks and monolithic construction. Each option has its advantages, disadvantages and fans among builders.
A monolithic house made of sawdust concrete has better strength, thermal insulation and is less susceptible to deformation and destruction than one built from blocks. But at the same time you will have to spend more time and effort to build it. This is due to the fact that no more than 40 cm of the mixture can be laid at a time and wait at least 7 days for it to harden before laying the next layer. Plus, there is one more nuance - you will have to keep the finished building under the film for a month in order for it to gain maximum strength (under such conditions, the lime reacts and strengthens your walls) and dry it for a month without the film to remove excess moisture.
This type of construction is better suited for warm and dry climates. In humid or cold climates, the curing and drying period may be three times longer.
Photo: building a house from monolithic sawdust concrete
Photo: house made of sawdust concrete blocks
If sawdust concrete blocks are used, other problems may arise. Due to the presence of seams, the house will not be as warm as a monolithic one, even if you use masonry mortar with the addition of sawdust or shavings. But at the same time it will have a longer hardening time, and the masonry may creep. Another disadvantage is the low compressive strength of the blocks. The load will not be distributed as evenly as in the case of a monolithic house made of sawdust concrete, which can lead to the formation of cracks.
Construction of foundations and buildings
Houses made of sawdust concrete are lightweight, so they can be built on any soil. The only exceptions are those that are too heaving. The foundation for houses can be shallow. Driven piles or a strip foundation are suitable as a foundation. You can also use a columnar foundation, the supports for which are made of concrete or brick. The choice of foundation type depends on the financial capabilities and wishes of the owner.
The foundation is waterproofed using roofing felt, bitumen mastic or other materials. Additionally, it is sprinkled with sand at a distance of 0.5-1 m to prevent contact with the soil. Brickwork is made to a height of up to half a meter from the base, which will protect the sawdust concrete from melt water.
Block buildings
The walls of houses made of sawdust concrete blocks are erected in the same way as from other types of block materials. The following compositions are used as masonry mortar:
- Adhesive for porous materials. It allows you to create thin seams that prevent heat loss. But it does not make it possible to correct geometric defects of blocks.
- If the wood filler is treated with moisture-repellent agents, then cement mortar can be used for masonry. It corrects uneven blocks well and strengthens walls.
The blocks begin to be laid from the highest corner of the foundation. When laying, the horizontal and vertical walls are regularly checked. Every three to four rows the masonry is reinforced with metal or plastic mesh. The size of masonry joints should be no more than 8 mm, otherwise there will be significant heat loss.
Window and door openings are decorated with timber or channel bars. After the last row of blocks has been laid, a support beam is attached around the perimeter of the walls for mounting the roof.
Bay houses
To speed up construction, monolithic sawdust concrete is often used. To make a monolithic house from sawdust concrete with your own hands, install formwork from steel sheets, moisture-resistant plywood or lumber. The shields are attached to the frame with self-tapping screws. Its optimal height is 60 cm. The formwork is filled with building mixture. After the material has set, the formwork is moved, then the next level is poured. The result is a monolithic wall, which dries and gains strength as a single mass.
Before constructing the foundation, geological tests are carried out to determine the composition of the soil, the level of freezing and the depth of groundwater. The analysis results allow you to choose the optimal type of foundation.
Houses built with your own hands will last quite a long time if the manufacturing technology is followed. The living conditions in them are comfortable. The cost of building houses made of sawdust concrete is much lower than that of buildings made of other materials.
By insulating your home externally using polystyrene foam, you can protect it from the influence of the external environment and increase its sound insulation properties. Insulating a house using polystyrene foam occurs in several stages:
Preparing walls for insulation
The first step is to prepare the facade of the house. The facade is cleaned of excess mortar; if the building has been painted, then it is worth removing the old paint, this will increase adhesion. Next, you should plaster all the depressions and recesses, after which you can begin priming the wall.
Setting up a starting profile
The starting profile is installed horizontally using a building level. Fixed with dowels at a distance of 50 cm between them.
Applying glue to a sheet of foam plastic
If the walls of the house are made of foam concrete blocks and their base is flat, then in this case the glue is applied to the polystyrene sheets with a notched trowel. When the wall deviates from the vertical, several “blips” are made on the polystyrene plate, which allows you to correct the inclination of the sheets using a level.
Installation of foam boards
The slabs must be glued from the bottom up, starting from the edge of the building. To obtain a gear interlock between the panels at the corners, they should be glued in a checkerboard pattern. When pressing the sheets tightly against each other, you should pay attention to ensure that the glue does not get into the joints of the panels. Fixation with dowels
Having glued the sheet, it must be secured with special plastic umbrellas. To do this, holes are drilled in the glued slab into which umbrellas are driven with a hammer. Umbrellas are hammered into the corners of the panel and in the center so that their caps are flush or slightly recessed into the panel.
Reinforcing elements
Reinforcing elements are specially designed products made of plastic or stainless steel in the form of a corner. They are installed at all corners, including window and door openings.
Reinforcement
The insulation is reinforced with a special mesh, onto which a layer of adhesive mixture is applied and leveled with a spatula. After the first layer has dried, a second one is applied, which allows you to perfectly level the surface.
Final finishing
After reinforcement, the facade is finished with protective and decorative plaster. There are many varieties of this material, but the most common is the “bark beetle”. This material is applied to the wall with a spatula so that the layer is equal to the thickness of the grain and the required pattern is drawn out with a plastic float.
What is sawdust concrete and is it worth making a house out of it?
In fact, sawdust concrete (aka wood concrete) is not a new material - it was invented during the Soviet Union, but has not yet been used very widely.
Essentially, this concrete consists of cement, sand, lime and sawdust. It comes in the form of ready-made blocks and in the form of a mixture.
The more sawdust there is in the composition of such concrete, the better its thermal insulation qualities. However, if there is a lot of sawdust and little sand, then the overall strength of the material decreases - this should always be remembered.
This material is used for the following purposes:
- for the construction of load-bearing walls and partitions
in low-rise construction;
Please note that due to its not very high compressive strength, it is not recommended to use sawdust concrete for the construction of buildings whose height exceeds one floor. But if you are building a cottage, and you really want to use the material, then it’s better to “cheat” a little - build the first floor from strong stone, and the second from sawdust concrete.
- for the construction of fences and gazebos
; - For
; - for insulation of foundations and floors
.
As for the specific properties of sawdust concrete, there is definitely something to think about.
Advantages: | Flaws: |
1. Relatively low price of the material. | 1. Not very high. And if it is increased by reducing the amount of sawdust and increasing the proportion of sand, then the thermal insulation benefits are lost. |
2. High thermal insulation qualities. A wall made of sawdust concrete is equal in its heat-shielding characteristics to a one-meter thick wall made of brick. | 2. Fragility of blocks. The material is unlikely to withstand strong mechanical shocks - it will simply crack. |
3. The material is easy to work with due to its light weight. And the finished blocks can be sawed with a regular hacksaw. | 3. High level of moisture absorption. But this is easy to fix - just don’t leave sawdust concrete without an additional protective layer of plaster or putty. |
4. Raw materials for making concrete yourself are not difficult to obtain - sawdust is not a scarce or expensive commodity, you must agree. | 4. It is difficult to make a mixture with the correct proportion of all components on your own. That is, in order to achieve optimal strength of sawdust concrete and normal thermal insulation qualities, you need to know exactly how much to add to the solution. |
5. High sanitary and hygienic qualities, due to the presence of lime and sawdust in the solution. | |
6. Fire resistance. Wood inside the cement-sand mortar is not flammable. | |
7. Sawdust concrete has a relatively low weight, which makes it possible to make an economical option for the foundation. | |
8. The material has excellent vapor permeability. That is, simply put, the walls of such a house will “breathe”, and thanks to this, the room will always have a comfortable microclimate. |
As you can see, there are many more advantages than disadvantages. So the conclusion here is very simple - it is quite possible to build small houses from the material. By the way, it is quite possible to build a bathhouse made of sawdust concrete with your own hands from such a mixture, it will be cheap, and the heat inside will be retained perfectly.
Now let's look at another popular question.
Brief information about the material
The basis of the material, in addition to Portland cement and sawdust, also includes sand and lime. The presence of the latter gives the composition strength, so when making it yourself (which is quite possible), you must definitely add this component.
Sawdust concrete can be used both for monolithic construction and for producing blocks. In the first case, greater strength of the structure is achieved (but still this material is not suitable for multi-story construction), and in the second, the speed of construction of the structure increases significantly.
Reviews of sawdust concrete
What should be highlighted about sawdust concrete is, first of all, its environmental friendliness and ease of installation. Recently, a two-story house with an attic was built from this material. It is problematic to build taller buildings based on wood concrete, but for most projects in the private sector, two floors are enough. Repeatedly worked on the construction of house buildings made of sawdust concrete. Baths are especially popular now, as they are durable, warm, but at the same time inexpensive. The disadvantages include the already mentioned insufficient load-bearing capacity and the fact that this material is relatively new and has not yet been tested by time.
I built a house and sawdust concrete for myself and independently. This was 20 years ago, and 21 years later, it seems the house will no longer stand. When I was young, I didn’t think about the importance of the foundation for this house. No, I'm not talking about strength, but about height. Remember - if you build from sawdust concrete, be sure to place a high foundation, since this building material absorbs moisture very strongly and the walls are always wet, which can be felt even through the plaster.
I read that wood concrete does not harbor pests, but in reality everything turned out differently. Insects live in my walls, and sometimes it seems to me that I have a whole anthill there. So I don’t recommend the material, although overall there are few complaints about it.
The material is strong and light, so building with it is a pleasure. It should also be noted that the thermal conductivity is low. In winter, I spend less money on heating than my neighbors in brick houses. At the same time, of all the concretes, I like this one because there is a smell of wood in the house, which is very pleasant.
We built a bathhouse more than five years ago and were completely satisfied. Yes, the material is afraid of moisture, but no one forbids carrying out appropriate moisture insulation. It is also important that sawdust concrete is durable and retains heat well even in the harsh winter. As for the talk about the low strength of the walls, unsuitable for fixing heavy structures on them, all this can be solved simply - by using special dowels. We did not notice any problems with hanging furniture in the bathhouse.
I got caught up in the talk about the strength of sawdust concrete, and decided to at least build a shed out of it and check it out. Two years passed and I began to notice that the walls were falling apart. It’s good that I didn’t choose this material for the construction of more important buildings.
I decided to create sawdust concrete blocks myself, but in the end I ended up with something incomprehensible. Even a self-tapping screw can be easily screwed in and out with bare hands. Since all this went against what I had heard about sawdust concrete before, I decided to entrust the process to professional builders. As a result, the house turned out to be warm and durable. Several years have passed and there have been no problems yet. I hope this continues.
Modern building materials have a wide range of choices. It's quite easy to build a house out of them. But not everyone takes into account that an alternative to standard stone or . You can use sawdust in the construction of a structure and build a house from sawdust concrete.
Project of a three-story sawdust concrete house
“House of sawdust” is a figurative concept. A modern building material called sawdust concrete is made from this raw material. In addition, sawdust is used:
- For ;
- for insulation of the entire building;
- for insulation and other things.
If previously they were simply considered waste from carpentry, now they have become effectively used in various areas of construction.
Technical characteristics of the finished material
Ready-made sawdust concrete blocks have a huge number of positive characteristics.
First and most importantly, they are durable and strong. This allows you to construct any structures from them, including foundations for low buildings. Another positive feature is excellent thermal insulation. When building a wall, you do not have to resort to the process of additional artificial insulation in the form of foam plastic, polystyrene foam materials or mineral wool plates. This is complemented by high resistance to negative temperatures and moisture.
If the composition also includes lime milk, you can protect yourself from the formation of fungus or any living creatures. Otherwise, it begins to absorb moisture and collapse. If you missed this point in the process of procuring raw materials, painting or external treatment with waterproofing material will help solve the problem.
For me personally, a huge advantage is that sawdust concrete blocks are environmentally friendly. To be honest, I would build kindergartens, hospitals and other similar buildings exclusively from such materials. However, only if there is a technology that allows you to increase the shelf life of the tree.
Having the opportunity to independently choose the shape for the blocks, you can create a kind of insulation and replace the classic options with it.
Raw materials for the production of sawdust concrete
In addition to sawdust, the material includes:
- lime;
- cement;
- sand;
- water.
Sometimes craftsmen improve this composition by adding clay to it. Because of this, the strength and thermal conductivity of houses built from sawdust concrete increases.
The density of the material depends on the amount of sand, cement and sawdust used. Sand plays a significant role. The more of it, the denser the structure of sawdust concrete. If it is less, the house increases its thermal conductivity.
Important. Sand can affect strength. In combination with lime and concrete, it has excellent quality indicators.
It is worth considering that a certain amount of raw materials can ensure frost resistance and water resistance of sawdust concrete. At the same time, the reinforcing masonry is also protected, which, under the influence of moisture, undergoes corrosion and destroys its structure.
This is what a sawdust concrete block looks like
When producing sawdust concrete for construction, the following technical characteristics of houses are taken into account:
- thickness of the walls of the future house;
- number of load-bearing walls;
- number of interior partitions;
- number of floors of the cottage.
What do we need
The problem of selecting materials for the manufacture of this type of product lies not so much in its components, but in the production of forms for its creation.
Let's start in order. The sawdust concrete blocks themselves include:
- sand;
- cement;
- wood sawdust.
Each of these three elements is not difficult to obtain.
The first two can be easily purchased in construction hypermarkets, and the third can be “snatched” cheaply at sawmills. But to make molds for production, you will have to work hard. You will need two-centimeter boards, covered on one side with sheet steel so that the resulting solution does not release moisture. You can do without a coating, but in this case you need to thoroughly wet the entire frame.
You choose the size of the blocks yourself; there are no specific standards. However, do not forget that during the drying process they will become smaller, which means that the forms should be slightly larger.
Sections should have about twenty or even thirty cells in order to speed up the whole process. The same factors of the final result directly depend on their quantity and quality. If you don't care about this point, you will end up with unequal pieces of an incomprehensible substance.
How to make sawdust concrete with your own hands
Initially, the so-called dough is mixed from:
It is best to carry out the mixing process in a concrete mixer. Gradually add all ingredients. The consistency of the mass should be homogeneous. This will have a beneficial effect on the structure of houses, since the surface of the material will be smooth.
After this, the solution is poured into pre-made wooden molds of any size, lined with linoleum or special polyethylene tape. It will dry quite quickly. But for the material to get stronger, it will take more than 3 months. The finished sawdust concrete blocks are laid out under a canopy on the street. Moisture will come out of it gradually, which avoids the appearance of internal deformations.
Note. A house made of sawdust concrete, which has acquired natural strength, will be of higher quality.
Project of a two-story house built from sawdust concrete