Insulation of buildings and structures is a fresh and relevant topic that gives rise to a variety of materials and technologies for performing this process. Insulating aerated concrete walls from the outside is an operation that will give the building additional warmth, coziness and comfort.

At what stage of construction is it advisable to do this?

Before answering the question of how to insulate walls made of aerated concrete from the outside, or whether it is worth insulating a building built from aerated concrete blocks, it is necessary to understand the question: what is a material such as aerated concrete. So, aerated concrete (or aerated concrete blocks) is a material similar in shape to brick, cinder block, shell rock, that is, it belongs to the category of cellular blocks. The production of gas blocks is carried out from quartz sand, cement, with the addition of gas-forming agents. Thanks to special technology, as a result of production inside the building material, a porous structure is obtained, which is a poor thermal conductor. This is also the main positive feature (along with the adjusted shapes and sizes), which makes this building material increasingly preferable compared to, for example, cinder block.

The technology, as well as the proportions of components from different manufacturers, may differ from each other. But the physics of the process of forming and manufacturing aerated concrete blocks is the same - mixing, laying out components in forms, drying of products, during which, under the influence of chemical processes, a large number of pores are formed, which are responsible for the thermal conductivity of the building material.

So, it is worth noting that aerated concrete blocks are a material characterized by fairly low thermal conductivity and in mild climates the buildings will not require additional wall insulation. But, if the region is characterized by harsh winters, and the task is to reduce heating costs, insulating the walls and facades of aerated concrete houses will be a prerequisite for putting housing into operation.

When is it necessary to insulate walls made of aerated concrete blocks?

At first glance, it may seem completely logical to the average reader to carry out insulation immediately after the construction of a building wall or even during its construction. However, this is a big misconception! It is important not to isolate aerated concrete blocks from the external environment immediately after unpacking them from their original packaging. The thing is that after shaping and drying, the blocks are formed into packs, packed with plastic film. Thus, the blocks retain quite high humidity, which, under the influence of negative temperatures, will certainly destroy the material, rendering the building unusable as a whole.

Thus, insulation of a house made of aerated concrete blocks can be carried out immediately only if measures were taken during the construction process to protect the structure and materials from moisture. Otherwise, exposure for 2-5 months is required (depending on the climatic characteristics of the area), and only after the walls have completely dried can the insulating layer be applied.

How to insulate the outside walls of aerated concrete houses

Currently, siding is becoming an increasingly common material for finishing the walls of buildings and structures outside, as a relatively inexpensive, practical and durable material. Covering building facades with siding is also good because there is a gap between its plates and the base of the walls, which can be filled with insulation. So, how to insulate the walls of an aerated concrete house under siding?

• Penoplex is a slab building material with a thickness of 3 to 5 cm, which is characterized by high thermal insulation. Penoplex slabs have a dense structure. This heat insulator is one of the most popular methods of increasing the thermal insulation properties of structures due to its ease of installation and subsequent maintenance;
• polyurethane foam is a foam-like mixture that is applied using special equipment and, bonded to the surface of the wall, forms an insulating layer that reliably protects the structure from cold and frost. Polyurethane foam compositions must be applied using special machines, with some experience in this area;
• mineral wool is another popular insulating material. However, experts do not recommend this component for thermal insulation of external walls. It is important to remember that mineral wool easily absorbs moisture. Therefore, it is often used indoors, insulated on both sides with film barriers.

Insulation of aerated concrete from the outside with polystyrene foam

Polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam is one of the most common and inexpensive materials for thermal insulation of buildings, including those built from aerated concrete blocks. Why does foam plastic need to be fixed on the outside of the building? The answer lies in the formation of the dew point, like a plane with a temperature difference. It is the desire to move the dew point to the outer surface of the insulating material that determines the use of foam plastic for thermal insulation work outdoors.

The process of arranging thermal insulation from polystyrene foam is carried out in three stages. The first is surface preparation. Walls made of aerated concrete blocks are distinguished by their regular shape, they are smooth and even. All that is needed to prepare such surfaces is to seal cracks, chips, etc. with adhesives and mixtures. After the surfaces are plastered and dried, the walls are treated with a primer. And only when the primer has dried can you begin installing the foam panels. Foam plastic slabs are laid over the wall area using cement-based glue, and for control, they are secured in several places with disc-shaped dowels (umbrellas). The final stage of the work will be the installation of the siding strips themselves.

Insulation of aerated concrete house with extruded polystyrene foam

Extruded polystyrene foam is a material similar to conventional foam sheets. However, thanks to English production technologies, its thermal conductivity tends to zero. Thus, extruded polystyrene foam is an almost ideal material for thermal insulation of buildings and structures outside.

The negative aspect of working with this material is its low adhesion and roughness, which has an extremely negative effect on the performance of adhesive mixtures. Therefore, when installing slabs of extruded polystyrene foam, craftsmen additionally apply notches on its surface or rub the sheets in order to roughen the surface and ensure better contact of the material with the wall.

How to insulate aerated concrete walls with your own hands

So, it is worth recalling that the walls of a house built from can be insulated in various ways. However, often specialists resort to methods and methods that can be done independently, with their own hands, without the involvement of specialized organizations. For these purposes, you can use any slab material, which has excellent heat-resistant characteristics and can be installed without much difficulty and without the use of additional highly specialized tools. So, insulating aerated concrete walls with your own hands will mean the following sequence of actions for the home owner:

1. Extrusion of walls from the described material in full, that is, completion of the construction of the box of the future house.
2. Aging for 2-5 months to dry and remove excess moisture from aerated concrete blocks.
3. Carrying out thermal insulation work on the outside of the building. To do this, you will need the material itself, adhesives, control dowels-umbrellas and traditional hand-held construction tools for drilling, installing slabs, mixing the adhesive solution, and other production processes.

Thus, it is clear that all work on arranging the thermal insulation layer of a building can be done independently, without resorting to the services of specialized organizations. By adhering to the basic requirements when carrying out these works, observing the installation technology, the building will certainly receive an additional thermal layer, which, in combination with the heating system, will give the rooms inside comfort and coziness.

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Independent insulation of a house made of aerated concrete - simple and inexpensive

The popularity of aerated concrete is growing steadily from year to year. If you believe independent statistics, at least a third of all private houses are currently being built from this relatively new material. But not all owners know that such houses require mandatory insulation. In this material I will tell you why it is necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete, I will dwell in detail on how it is better to insulate a house made of aerated concrete from the outside, and most importantly, how to do it yourself.

Why is it necessary to insulate such houses?

Novice builders love aerated concrete, or as it is also called gas silicate, for several reasons. First of all, building a house does not require exorbitant qualifications from a mason. Lightweight, large blocks with clear, geometrically regular shapes are mounted on a special glue, and not on a mortar as usual. Such structures do not require a strong foundation and, most importantly, by insulating the wall from the outside, the cost of the project is significantly reduced.

A few words about the nature of the material

Gas silicate itself belongs to the category of light cellular concrete. Unlike, for example, slag concrete blocks, the production technology of this material is much more complicated.

To explain briefly, a foaming agent is added to the cement-lime mixture; in this case, aluminum powder is used, as a result of which a huge amount of hydrogen is released and many hollow cells are formed in the body of the block.

But initially the porous material has too low mechanical strength and to increase it, at the final stage of production, the blocks are steamed in autoclaves under high pressure and at high temperature. As a result, at the finish we get a fairly strong block with very low thermal conductivity.

Why insulate such structures?

From a school physics course we know that perhaps the best heat insulator is air, and the more pores a material has, the lower its thermal conductivity, and therefore, the warmer the house will be.

But the problem with gas silicate is that the pores in these blocks are open, that is, the material is vapor-permeable and capable of being saturated with moisture. This means that the answer to the traditional question - is it necessary to protect such walls - is unequivocal: it is necessary, and it is mandatory.

Another question is what this protection should be and, for example, whether a 375 mm wall for a small bathhouse needs to be protected with insulation or can only be done with plaster.

As you know, the thickness of the walls, no matter what they are made of, directly depends on the average annual temperature in a particular region. Advertising promises us that for the average private house made of aerated concrete, the minimum is about 300 - 500 mm. But few people clarify that in this case they mean the load-bearing characteristics of the material. That is, the house will stand.

About, for example, whether a 500 mm wall needs to be insulated, as well as what thickness of insulation is needed, is often kept silent. As for thermal conductivity, for example, for the Moscow region and the center of Russia, the thickness of an exclusively gas silicate wall without insulation starts from 70 cm.

Consequently, those who have decided to build a house somewhere in the middle zone and are wondering whether 300 mm of the outer wall needs to be insulated or just plastered should be taken into account that if the outside of the house is finished with mineral wool or polystyrene foam, then a 100 mm thick slab replaces the aerated concrete mass in 300 mm.

From this we conclude that for a half-meter wall in this region, ten-centimeter thermal insulation is required, if the wall is thinner than 300 - 400 mm, then the thermal insulation is made more massive.

In numbers it will look something like this. The level of heat transfer by a 300 mm aerated concrete wall, according to documents, is about 1.25 mºC/W. For the temperate climate of the center of our country, this value should be at least 3.2 mºC/W.

The missing 1.95 mºC/W is fully compensated by cotton or foam insulation with a thickness of 100 mm or more. This is the minimum acceptable value; naturally, the higher it is, the less money you will spend on heating.

The average price for constructing 1 m² of gas silicate wall 300 mm thick now fluctuates around 1,000 rubles. But to install a 100 mm insulating cotton coating, you will need half as much money, that is, up to 500 rubles. So draw your conclusions.

In addition to the level of thermal conductivity of the material, there is another important nuance. In building heating engineering there is such a thing as “dew point”. This term characterizes a place inside an external wall with zero temperature. It is at this point that minus and plus meet, which means that the most accumulates there.

As I already said, gas silicate material is hygroscopic and if the dew point is inside the block, then when temperatures fluctuate, the moisture in this sector will alternately freeze and thaw, thereby gradually destroying the block.

There is only one way out here, try to move this dew point into the insulation. Firstly, the insulation is less susceptible to destruction when moisture freezes, and secondly, even if it deteriorates over time, it is much easier and cheaper to replace it than to completely repair a crumbling wall. By the way, this explains the need to install insulation specifically outside the house.

Material selection

First, a few words about the choice of aerated concrete itself. This material has several levels of density, gradation goes from 350 units and higher in increments of 50 - 100 units. That is, 400, 500, 600 and so on.

The higher the value, the denser and stronger the material. But there is also a downside here: the lower the density of the material, the higher its thermal insulation characteristics, which means the wall can be made thinner.

Many people are interested in whether it is necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete 400 units if the walls are planned to be thick and theoretically the level of heat transfer completely covers the maximum possible value in the region.

I believe that it is necessary to do this, just instead of a layer of 100 mm, it is enough to mount slabs of 50 mm. This is explained by the need to move the dew point outside the blocks. In addition, gas silicate brand D400 is, figuratively speaking, the “softest”, and if it is simply plastered, such a coating will begin to crumble within a couple of years.

Now let's move on to the question of how to insulate the outside of a house made of aerated concrete, so that it is decent and relatively inexpensive. In this case, there are only two main contenders. These are high-density mineral wool slabs and good old polystyrene foam.

But before I talk about them, I want to dwell separately on one of the most frequently asked questions: is it possible to insulate houses made of gas silicate with penoplex? In order to answer this, you must first understand what penoplex is.

Extruded polystyrene foam, or by association with the manufacturer penoplex, is the closest relative of polystyrene foam. Both of them are made from the same material, but using different technologies. I will not go into the intricacies of the technology, I will only say that extruded polystyrene foam, unlike polystyrene foam, has a dense cellular structure with closed pores. As a result, it absolutely does not allow moisture to pass through and has high strength.

This is good for insulating a concrete foundation, basement or roof, but the walls of an aerated concrete house cannot be insulated from the outside with polystyrene foam. The fact is that aerated concrete is a vapor-permeable material. And, as you know, the movement of steam through the walls goes from the inside to the street.

If you pack the house in a strong, completely impenetrable shell on top, moisture will accumulate in the walls under this shell, thereby increasing their thermal conductivity and promoting destruction.

But that's not the worst part. Figuratively speaking, living in an expensive plastic bag is a very dubious pleasure, and to ensure a normal microclimate in such a house you will have to seriously invest in high-quality forced ventilation. So, no matter how much you praise penoplex, I do not recommend it for insulating aerated concrete walls.

Now let's return to the age-old question of all developers, mineral wool slabs or foam sheets. I do not take the liberty of saying that any of these materials are definitely better or worse. Both of them have approximately equal numbers of supporters and opponents, so let's compare together:

• If we take purely technical indicators, then the thermal conductivity of both materials is approximately the same; for foam plastic it is even slightly lower. So it's all equal here;
• The level of mechanical strength is also approximately the same. Although in this case it should be noted that dense wool, although not by much, is still superior to foam in elasticity;
• Mice, birds and other small gnawing and pecking animals absolutely cannot tolerate mineral wool. While in the foam sheathing they happily make their nests. But this is if there is free access to polystyrene foam; according to the technology, the insulation is at least covered with a layer of reinforced plaster, which is a reliable barrier for rodents and birds;

• Often one of the decisive arguments in favor of polystyrene foam is the accessible instructions. Whatever you say, I can say with full responsibility that installing foam plastic insulation at home is much easier. Such slabs can be easily cut with a regular knife, and gaps that arise during installation can be quickly blown out with foam. Cutting cotton wool is also not difficult, but when working with it you will have to get thick overalls, safety glasses and gloves;
• Mineral wool does not burn, that is, it is absolutely fireproof. Polystyrene foam is a self-extinguishing material. In other words, if a fire occurs, it will burn or at least melt, and during the combustion process it releases quite toxic gases. Although, in order to set fire to the facade of a building where there is concrete on one side and plaster on the other, you only need to pour gasoline on it or light fires around the house;
• I have already mentioned such an important characteristic for gas silicate as the vapor permeability of exterior finishing. So for mineral wool it is of course higher, for foam plastic with a density of up to 25 kg/m³ this figure is on the limit of what is acceptable. Although, as much as I had to work with polystyrene foam, I never saw moisture accumulating under the sheets, which means that according to this parameter everything is in order;
• Mineral wool is afraid of moisture; if the external plaster or wind barrier is damaged, it will quickly become saturated with water and become unusable. Rot and mold will not grow in such mats, but there will be no benefit from wet insulation. While foam is not afraid of moisture, being vapor-permeable, it does not accumulate moisture;
• And finally, the deciding factor for many is the price.. The cost of high-quality mineral wool significantly exceeds the price of polystyrene foam.

The table below shows the average parameters of the materials that are most often used for insulating houses made of cellular types of concrete.

In theory, such houses can also be insulated with polyurethane foam and so-called ecowool; these materials are types of foam. But I see no point in dwelling on them in detail in this article, because the cost of such arrangement is several times higher than the price of installing mineral wool and polystyrene foam combined. Plus, it’s not possible to do it yourself; you need professionals with special equipment.

Simple home insulation technologies

We have figured out the question of whether it is necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete and how to insulate it; now it’s time to find out how to do it correctly. To be fair, it should be said that there are several different effective insulation technologies. For you, I have chosen only those that you can bring to life with your own hands.

For example, laying insulation between an aerated concrete wall and a layer of facing brick is a very effective method. But, firstly, laying facing bricks requires highly qualified professional masons, and secondly, such a system will cost a tidy sum.

Simple and cheap

This method is called “Wet facade” among professionals. In general, its essence is extremely simple. The slab insulation is simply glued to the walls, after which it is finished with one of the many varieties of decorative plaster. Moreover, in this case it is not so important whether you use polystyrene foam or dense slabs of mineral wool; their installation principle is the same.

• Naturally, any surface must be prepared in a certain way before finishing. The preparation of aerated concrete is not much different from similar work on other types of concrete. You will need to remove dust from the walls with an ordinary broom or brush and cover them with several layers of soil under cellular concrete with deep penetration;

• There is one subtlety here. As you remember, gas silicate is divided according to the density of the blocks. So the higher this density, the less soil you will need. So, about 4 layers of reinforcing compound are supposed to be applied to D400 blocks. For gas blocks D500 and D600, three layers are already enough. On walls with a higher level of density, you can get by with one, maximum two layers.
• You can begin the main stage of work only after the walls covered with soil are completely dry. It is very convenient when the house was built on a wide strip or block foundation and the base protrudes at least 50 mm. This platform will be enough to support a light cotton or foam “coat”.

• But, unfortunately, this does not always work out; many owners fill a narrow foundation strip and the walls go flush, and sometimes even overhang the foundation. To build a house, such a support is enough, but under our finishing we will have to install a separate border.

• I usually use an L-shaped support profile for these purposes. Such profiles come in different widths and, as a rule, are produced according to the size range of cotton slabs. Since the dimensions of the foam plastic are almost the same, and the weight of the material is less, these same profiles can be successfully used for any slab insulation. This structure is secured along the horizontal mark with anchors in increments of 250 - 300 mm.

• For applying glue to the slab, a notched trowel with a tooth depth of about 5 mm is best suited. Please note that when working on lightweight cellular concrete, the adhesive must be applied to the slabs in a continuous layer. In photos online you can sometimes see how the master applies glue at several points. This approach is justified for durable brick or concrete walls; aerated concrete and other cellular materials require continuous application of the composition.

The installation technique itself does not cause difficulties even for beginners. The boards are glued tightly, if possible without gaps. Each subsequent row is shifted by half or at least part of the slab.

To achieve a better result, I prefer to do two-layer insulation. That is, instead of one layer of thick slabs, I glue two layers of thin ones. The thickness is the same, and there are no gaps at all due to overlap and shift between the layers.

• The external arrangement of cotton wool or polystyrene foam consists of 4 layers. I’m used to doing things my own way, so I’ll tell you first about my proven technique. After the glue has set, I apply another layer of the same glue on top of the insulation and while it is still wet, I embed a reinforcing fiberglass mesh, the so-called serpyanka, in it. This is not difficult to do with a spatula or a needle roller.

• Next, again while the glue is still wet, the slab insulation together with the serpyanka is additionally attached to the wall with “umbrellas” (plastic dowels with wide perforated caps). Simply use a hammer drill to drill a hole to the required depth, insert the body of the dowel into it and hammer the inner rod. But before final fixation, the dowel head must be slightly pressed into the sheet so that it does not protrude too much above the surface.

• After all the “umbrellas” are filled, we leave the wall alone and let the layer of glue dry. You will need to apply another similar layer to the dry mesh-reinforced layer of glue. And only after the second adhesive layer has dried, you can begin to apply decorative plaster. To do this, I usually use a ready-made plaster composition for the “Bark Beetle” finish, although some people prefer to put on “Fur Fur”, it comes out cheaper.

Traditional instructions for finishing a wet facade sound a little different. In it, the slab insulation, after gluing, is immediately fixed with umbrellas, and after that the first layer of glue is applied, the serpyanka is applied to it, the second layer of glue is applied to the serpyanka, and after drying, the wall is finished with decorative plaster.

Capital ventilated insulation

In the so-called ventilated façade, we will also use foam plastic or mineral wool slabs as the main insulation, but the structure itself is made more thoroughly. This approach allows you to cover the walls of houses not only with simple decorative plaster, but also to use any types, although in the case of aerated concrete, it is desirable that the finishing is not very heavy.

At the beginning of this article, we talked about whether it is necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete 400 units. So, soft gas silicate grade D400, with a fairly low thermal conductivity, also has a low density. In other words, it is not advisable to hang massive structures on such a wall; if you overdo it, the anchors will simply be torn out of the wall. Therefore, a ventilated facade is better suited for denser types of aerated concrete.

Now another rather important question is the choice of installation anchors. The porous mass requires reinforced fastenings of a special configuration. A regular self-tapping screw with a plastic dowel will not hold well.

The configuration and dimensions of such fastenings may be different, but the principle is always the same. The rod plunges freely into the hole, and when screwed in, it expands or releases hooks.

This article is intended for people who are fluent in traditional household tools, such as a drill, grinder, screwdriver, etc., but are not professional builders. Therefore, I will talk about the simplest technique for installing a ventilated facade, which is accessible even to amateurs.

We will start from the fact that we need to mount a structure with an insulation thickness of 100 mm. For example, under standard, lightweight and relatively inexpensive plastic siding. The preparation here is the same as in the previous type of finishing. Only in this case there is no point in sparing the strengthening soil, because here we are directly interested in increasing the strength of the outer layer.

• The horizontal strip at the bottom, if of course it is needed there, is mounted in the same way as in the case of a wet facade. Next we will need two types of wooden blocks. One set with a section of 100x50 or 100x40 mm, and the other with a section of 30x30 or 30x40 mm, and there should be equal numbers of them;
• Naturally, all wood is pre-impregnated with an antiseptic. For fastening, installation anchors for aerated concrete and galvanized wood screws will be used;

• First, load-bearing bars 100x50 mm are attached vertically to the primed, dry wall, with their narrow side to the surface. The step of fixing them with anchors to aerated concrete should not exceed half a meter;
• The distance between the load-bearing bars should be discussed separately. If you are insulating with foam plastic and the sheet width is about half a meter, then the pitch of the guides is measured clearly according to the foam plastic; sheets that are too wide will have to be cut in half. With mineral mats it’s a little different. The slab should fit tightly between the beams, as tightly as possible, which means that the beams should be mounted 2 - 3 cm narrower than the width of the mineral mat;
• When the beams are standing, apply a layer of glue to the insulation boards with a notched trowel and glue them to the walls between the beams. In theory, you don’t have to use glue, because the slabs have nowhere to go, they are clamped on both sides by guides, and a wind protection fabric is stretched on top.

• With polystyrene foam this can still somehow pass, but cotton wool without gluing will give up to 5% shrinkage. So it’s better not to save money, put the slabs on glue and additionally fix them with umbrellas, especially since the instructions require this;
• As we remember, the width of the supporting beam and the thickness of the slabs are the same, which means the surface should be smooth. A windproof fabric is stretched on top, this is especially important for cotton mats. Moreover, you need to buy wind protection; if you save money and buy polyethylene, the film will sweat, and naturally the insulation will get wet;

• At the initial stage, to somehow hold the canvas, drive in several nails or use a stapler. Now, on top of the windproof fabric, directly on the 100x50 mm load-bearing bars, 30x40 mm strips are fastened with self-tapping screws or simply nailed;
• They will serve as the basis for the front finish and at the same time provide a gap for ventilation. Now all that remains is to select the cladding and screw it to the wooden planks on top of the insulation. That's basically all the technology is.

Interior finishing of aerated concrete

We remember that aerated concrete is a vapor-permeable material, therefore, it is undesirable to clog it both from the outside and from the inside. Plaster is recognized as the best type of interior finishing here, but unlike dense surfaces, cellular concrete requires a plaster layer 2 times thicker, which is approximately 15 mm or more.

To some extent, the exception is tiled rooms with high humidity, such as the kitchen and bathrooms. There, first a layer of cement plaster about 5 - 7 mm thick is installed, and tiles are already laid on it.

Conclusion

Aerated concrete is a unique, reliable and very practical material. It makes quite warm and high-quality houses. But in order for them to please their owners for a long time, they must be insulated.

Cladding the walls of residential buildings with insulating materials is an event that receives special attention at the design stage. It doesn’t matter what materials you use to build the facility, but experienced builders advise insulating not only the roof and floors, but also load-bearing walls. This will help conserve thermal energy and avoid the appearance of fungus. To solve this problem, there is a sufficient amount of materials suitable for these purposes. Let's try to figure out what is the best way to insulate a house made of aerated concrete.

Why do you need to insulate?

Many builders prefer gas silicate blocks for certain reasons. First of all, construction work from such material does not require special skills. The blocks are large and light and can be joined together without any problems using a special adhesive. Objects do not need a strong foundation, and insulating the walls of a house with aerated concrete from the outside will reduce the cost of the project.

The blocks belong to the group of cellular concrete. If we compare aerated concrete with the production of slag concrete blocks, the technological process is different. In two words, a foam former – aluminum powder – is added to the mixture of cement and lime. Hydrogen is released, leaving a huge amount of voids in the block.

From the very beginning, porous blocks are characterized by weak strength to mechanical influences. To increase it, the final production stage takes place in an autoclave unit, where the blocks are subjected to significant pressure and high temperature. As a result, the material turns out to be quite durable.

From physics lessons we know that air is considered one of the best materials that can insulate heat. And the thermal conductivity index will depend on the number of pores in the block.

But there is one problem - the porous cells in the gas silicate material are open, which makes the block vapor-permeable and allows it to absorb moisture. For this reason, the answer to the question - is it necessary to insulate an aerated concrete house - will be unequivocal - it is necessary.

Another thing is what kind of protective layer to create, and is it necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete 300, or is it enough to line it with finishing materials?

It is no secret that the thickness of load-bearing walls, no matter what materials they are made from, will be fully determined by the average annual temperature regime of your region. As it follows from this, the average thickness of aerated concrete walls can be 30–50 cm. But almost no one is interested in the fact that in this case experts are referring to the load-bearing characteristics of the blocks. Simply put, the walls will be strong.

And, for example, questions about whether it is necessary to insulate a house from aerated concrete 400 and other grades are often kept silent.

In terms of thermal conductivity, in some regions of Russia only aerated concrete walls start from 700 mm in thickness.

Anyone who is planning construction in these regions and is thinking whether there is a need to carry out external insulation of a house made of aerated concrete if its walls are 30 cm thick, or whether it is possible to simply install a plaster layer, you need to take into account that if you insulate the facade of a house made of aerated concrete with polystyrene foam or mineralized wool, then insulation slabs ten centimeters thick will equivalently replace 300 mm thick walls made of aerated concrete material.

It turns out that half-meter walls should have a thermal insulation layer of at least 10 mm. And for walls made of aerated concrete grade d 500 with a thickness of 400 mm or less, more massive thermal insulation will be required.

In addition to the thermal conductivity indicator, there is another important feature - the concept of “dew point”. This term describes a place inside the external walls that has zero temperature. This is where the maximum amount of condensation will accumulate.

It should be recalled that aerated concrete blocks have a porous structure, and if the dew point falls on the block itself, then the moisture will freeze and thaw due to temperature fluctuations, destroying the material.

There is only one way out in this situation - try to move the point to the insulating layer. It will be less susceptible to destruction, and if it deteriorates, you can replace it faster than rebuilding walls. By the way, this explains the need to insulate external walls.

Insulation materials

The most common methods used to insulate walls made of heat-insulating aerated concrete are:

Features of insulation with various materials

There are many options for installing a layer of insulating material. Manufacturers offer a large selection of products needed for this at affordable prices. Let's look at the most popular options:

Expanded polystyrene

One of the economical options, used only outside the facility. There are two types - foam plastic and penoplex.

Foam plastic

The cost of the material is low, so it is preferred by developers seeking to save budget.

It should be taken into account that it does not allow steam to pass through. For this reason, when installing an insulating layer, it is recommended to provide a ventilation system.

The material is fixed on pre-cleaned walls with an adhesive composition applied with a notched spatula. Additionally, plastic dowels are used. When gluing foam sheets, their slight displacement is allowed. The surface can be plastered and painted after the adhesive solution has completely dried.

Penoplex

With its characteristics, the material resembles foam plastic and is used for outdoor work. Before installation, the wall surface is cleaned of gaps, chips, protrusions and cracks using plaster mortar. This gives the wall surface evenness and additional protection from the penetration of cold air currents.

When the plaster solution has dried, the wall is treated with a primer compound to improve the adhesion of the penoplex insulation to the aerated concrete blocks. When installing the insulating layer, a cement-based adhesive composition and disc-shaped dowels are used. The final stage is finishing the facade walls with plaster solutions or siding panels.

Minvata

The material has good strength and vapor permeability, and goes well with aerated concrete walls.

The use of such material provides comfort and a moderate level of humidity in the room.

The insulating layer will last for at least seventy years. The material is secured with plastic dowels and glue, which secures a mesh of fiberglass material. It will ensure the integrity of the plaster layer and paint applied on top. Some people prefer to insulate the walls outside with mineral wool under the siding.

Many people prefer stone wool

And yet, what is the best way to insulate aerated concrete? Today's market is able to offer any materials for finishing and insulation. You just need to remember that not all insulation materials can work effectively on aerated concrete blocks.

The basic principle of creating a multilayer structure is to enhance the vapor permeability of the next layer, starting from the inner surface of the walls. Be that as it may, steam is one of the waste products, and part of it is removed outside through the walls. Among all the materials used as insulation for aerated concrete houses, many experts choose stone wool.

Two types of facade are very popular - “wet”, which has a thin layer of plaster, and a suspended ventilated system. In the first option, steam is released through the walls into the insulating layer, then passes into the plaster. In another case, the steam is drawn out through the ventilation gaps, which are arranged between the insulating layer and the facing material.

More durable slabs are used under the plaster layer, and for ventilated facades, preference is given to lightweight mineral wool with a low level of compressibility.

A thin layer of plaster can be applied to all substrates, and in a ventilated façade system, the use of materials that meet fire safety requirements is permitted. Is it worth reminding that cotton wool belongs to just such a group.

Technological features of installation of mineral wool

A ventilated facade finished with siding is a popular option for finishing private houses, because with its help all foundation errors are leveled out. And the work is not very complicated; it can be done on its own.

Over time, heaving forces or other reasons can cause cracks in the masonry, but the suspended cladding system does not suffer. And if we take into account the fragility of aerated concrete blocks and the need for strict adherence to production technology, most consumers give their preference to cladding, considering it a more durable finishing layer. To know how to properly insulate a house made of aerated concrete from the outside, you need to understand the stages of the work.

Preparatory stage

If you decide to insulate a building that is already in use, you should remove all functional and decorative elements from the walls, clean the surface from dirt, and prime it. If there are doubts about the load-bearing capabilities of the foundation and walls, they are examined by tapping them with a hammer.

When insulation is carried out during construction, the remaining solution is removed from the surface. Wet walls should be given time to dry completely.

Surface marking

Markings are applied to the walls using a construction level or level to create a frame base. The distances between the bars depend on the size of the insulation material.

Installation of vertical racks

To completely eliminate heat leakage, insulation is performed in two layers, with overlaps at the joints. To do this, first assemble the vertical sheathing.

The size of the bars must correspond to the thickness of the insulation. Fix it to the aerated concrete surface with special fasteners.

Laying wool

The thickness of the insulation is determined according to special thermal calculations. Most often it is 10 - 15 cm. The complete absence of shrinkage and excellent elasticity of the material make it possible to simplify the technological process by installing wool without additional fasteners, inserting it by surprise. If necessary, they can always be trimmed with a sharp knife or a hand saw with a fine tooth. Cuttings are always useful for filling gaps.

Attaching horizontal posts

Having laid the first layer, markings are made for the horizontal slats. The second row of bars is necessary so that the frame base for the siding is fixed vertically to it.

Cotton padding

Plates laid sideways with the seam sections shifted completely eliminate cold bridges, even if the racks are fixed with metal fasteners.

Protection

We figured out how to insulate walls with stone wool. All that remains is to protect it from the effects of precipitation and ensure unimpeded drainage of condensate. For this purpose, vapor-permeable material is laid.

On top of such a membrane, fasteners are installed for the cladding, while maintaining a gap of three to five centimeters, ensuring normal operating conditions for the insulation.

Many people doubt whether it is necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete in this way, considering it costly. But the heat saved in the future will allow you to save on heating.

Internal insulation of a building made of aerated concrete blocks

We understand how to insulate the outside of walls. It remains to provide internal insulation. It is important to know here that aerated concrete should not be insulated inside, since in winter warm air currents will not be able to pass through the block pores. Condensation will begin to accumulate, the walls will become saturated with moisture and freeze. All this will have a negative impact on the operation of the facility. From the inside, you can simply level the walls with your own hands and hang wallpaper.

It turns out that aerated concrete is insulated only from the outside. This will help preserve heat and protect the house from destruction. By the way, don’t forget about the insulation for the ceiling. Mineral wool, already known for its properties, will perfectly cope with its role.

As follows from the reviews, it is better not to even design a house made of 300 mm aerated concrete without insulation.

Preference should be given to materials that have good vapor permeability.

Anyone who has decided to build a house from 400 mm aerated concrete without insulation, and is wondering whether this can be done, is recommended to simply plaster the outside walls to protect the blocks from destruction under the influence of precipitation. In addition, the plaster layer will give the building a presentable appearance.

When insulating walls, take care of reliable ventilation. In addition, the performance indicators of the insulating material must coincide with similar parameters of the materials used in the construction of walls.

Conclusion

There is now only one conclusion - wall insulation is necessary. Aerated concrete walls, insulated from the outside, have their own advantages:

• the work performed does not cause any difficulties;
• the cost of the facility is reduced due to reliable thermal insulation of the walls.

To eliminate possible problems associated with the climate and the vital activity of rodents, it is recommended to insulate aerated concrete walls with mineralized wool, penoplex or polystyrene foam.

If the walls are insulated according to the rules, heating costs are minimized. Only carry out work in accordance with technological requirements, use high-quality materials.

betonov.com

Aerated concrete, although porous, cannot by itself provide external thermal insulation to a house. For strong load-bearing walls, you need sufficiently dense building blocks of at least grade D500. And in order for the box to be not only reliable, but also warm, they would have to be laid in two rows. It will be more expensive than insulating a load-bearing wall, and this approach does not solve the problem of losses 100%. Therefore, our review is devoted to materials that will best cope with this task.

1. Using mineral wool
2. Basalt panels
3. Insulation with PPS slabs
4. Spraying polyurethane foam

Only residents of the southern regions, where there are no bitter frosts and the temperature difference in winter outside and inside the house is not too great, can afford to leave a house made of aerated concrete without external insulation. In the central regions, practice shows that it is cheaper to do masonry in one to one and a half blocks, and then simply carry out external insulation.

The formation of a condensation plane, that is, a “dew point” that occurs when there is a large temperature difference outside and in the interior, should not be discounted. Because of this, unprotected masonry gets wet to a depth of 1-2 cm in winter, and the entire surface of the load-bearing walls from the thermal insulator turns into a continuous source of losses. To move this zone beyond the boundaries of the building envelope, a house made of aerated concrete needs insulation from the outside.

To choose the right material for external thermal insulation, you need to have a good understanding of the “behavior” of cellular blocks, taking into account all their pros and cons. Due to their high porosity, they not only reliably retain heat in the house, but also breathe quite actively themselves. Therefore, it is necessary to think about how air exchange will occur so as not to provoke the appearance of condensation under the external insulation.

Thermal insulation of a house made of aerated concrete is planned in accordance with the basic rule of vapor permeability of walls: with each subsequent layer of the facade “pie” it should increase. And if for some reason the selected material cannot ensure unhindered air movement from the inside, it is better to leave a ventilated gap in front of it. Aerated concrete has a vapor permeability in the range of 0.15-0.25 mg/m∙h∙Pa. Let's see how to insulate a house from the outside with these initial data.

Mineral wool

It perfectly passes air through its fibers, and it is easy to breathe in the interior. Another plus is the relatively low cost. So a completely logical solution would be to insulate the walls of the house with mineral wool. But it has a couple of not very useful properties:

• Hygroscopicity.

Insulation of an aerated concrete façade with a mineral “sponge” requires special protection of the thermal insulation from moisture, coming both in the form of suspended steam from inside the house and from the outside.

• Fragility.

Mineral wool lasts about 10-15 years, gradually crumbling into dust and losing its properties. Then the outer cladding will have to be dismantled and the insulation of the aerated concrete house will have to begin again.

Basalt slabs

A house made of aerated concrete can be lined with basalt products on the outside. This is a special and improved case of mineral wool - in no way inferior to it in terms of insulating properties, but more durable and with good performance characteristics.

Insulation of a house made of aerated concrete blocks is carried out using a technology that is at the same time similar to working with Penoplex and mineral wool materials. They are glued to primed walls and additionally fixed with facade dowels. But in comparison with expanded polystyrene, the thermal insulation of aerated concrete with basalt slabs is a little more complicated, since it involves the use of a diffusion membrane. After this, plaster is applied to the outside of the insulation using reinforcing mesh and the facade is painted.

Basalt slab can be made from ultra-fine (1-3 microns) and thin fibers (4-15 microns). The first retains heat better due to the larger volume of air pores, the second is more affordable.

Expanded polystyrene

The insulation of aerated concrete from the outside with PPS slabs causes a lot of controversy. The reason is the low permeability of polystyrene foam and the appearance of a thermos effect, that is, a sealed shell that prevents air exchange. Another unpleasant moment is the possible shift of the “dew point” to the contact zone between the wall and the insulation, which causes waterlogging of the outer surface of the masonry.

But these problems can be solved with the help of ventilation gaps, especially if siding will be installed on the façade. The plastic cladding for aerated concrete must be placed at such a distance from the load-bearing walls that there is enough space left for the Penoplex slabs, plus a gap of a couple of centimeters. The insulation itself is inserted between the frame guides, and the aerated concrete “releases steam” without hindrance.

Another scheme is possible if the house has effective supply and exhaust ventilation. In this case, insulating aerated concrete with Penoplex is greatly simplified. Everything you need to do to reliably insulate your home:

• place Penoplex slabs on the glue and secure them along the façade with dowels;
• seal the seams well with foam;
• stretch the mesh over the polystyrene foam and plaster the walls.

This method of insulating a house made of aerated concrete will create absolutely waterproof protection for porous blocks.

Polyurethane foam

Liquid polyurethane foam, which is applied to surfaces by spraying, is not very popular in private construction. To work with it you need special equipment, so you will have to spend money on calling a team - you can’t do this kind of insulation of aerated concrete on your own.

Spraying polyurethane foam allows you to create a continuous porous layer of insulation over the entire aerated concrete façade, which is not sensitive to moisture and does not collapse over time. In addition, thermal insulation simply adheres to the surface of the walls without violating the integrity of the blocks in the masonry, which, given their modest strength, is also important. But such external insulation is not cheap - for work and material 100 mm thick you will have to pay about 550 rubles / m2.

Characteristics of polyurethane foam:

• Coeff. thermal conductivity – 0.026 W/m∙K.
• Air permeability – about 0.1 mg/(m∙h∙Pa).
• Adhesion – 1.5-2.5 kg/cm2.
• Average water absorption by volume is 1.6%.
• Density – 40-120 kg/m3.
• Service life – from 25 years.
• Flammability class - G2.

Comparing the pros and cons of polyurethane foam with the properties of other external insulation materials, one should highlight its lowest thermal conductivity. But not in every city you can find companies that provide foam insulation services. So in most cases you will have to be content with more common and affordable materials.

Insulating aerated concrete walls from the outside is a simple and necessary procedure. Of course, there are many examples of buildings that stand perfectly without insulation or even external decoration. But in houses for year-round use, it is better to spend once, even a considerable amount, on a reliable insulator, than to then pay extra money for energy resources every winter.

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abisgroup.ru

Insulating a house made of aerated concrete from the outside and inside: selection of material, instructions

General characteristics of aerated concrete

Aerated concrete (or gas silicate) is very popular these days as a material for the construction of residential buildings. Its composition is silicates, cement, various industrial slag as a filler and an aluminum foaming component. Aluminum reacts with water, resulting in the release of hydrogen - hence the pores formed under the influence of gas bubbles.

This material is environmentally friendly, which is important in the modern world. It is easy to use and has a low price.

But it also has a number of significant disadvantages - they should not be forgotten when building houses using gas silicate blocks.

1. Low resistance to mechanical stress. Low strength. This material is used in the construction of houses up to three floors high, or if the building is reinforced with metal lintels, as a result of which the aerated concrete wall loses its thermal insulation qualities.
2. Gas silicate brick has high porosity, which causes increased water absorption. Therefore, the facade definitely needs to be covered with plaster or other finishing materials. If we neglect this factor, a wall made of aerated concrete under the influence of precipitation can absorb up to 35 percent of moisture.
3. Gas silicate brick eliminates any possibility of using self-tapping screws. Any mechanical violations of the structure are fraught with the destruction of the building. Therefore, chemical anchors should be used if necessary.

Is it necessary to insulate aerated concrete walls?

There is an opinion that gas silicate houses do not require special insulation, that the porous structure of gas silicate blocks ensures their high heat-insulating properties and the cladding provides sufficient protection for the walls. However, in practice everything is somewhat different. In order to decide whether it is necessary to insulate aerated concrete walls, the following factors should be considered:

• - the climate of your region;
• - thickness of gas silicate blocks;
• - thickness of the seam in the masonry;
• - filling the seam in the masonry.

If, during the construction of aerated concrete walls, cement is used to fill the joints, the joints will be thick and the thermal insulation properties of the walls will be very questionable. It makes sense to use specialized glue in the masonry - this will allow you to make thin seams between the blocks. With a brick thickness of 375 mm, you can do without a heat-protective layer - facing the facade will be sufficient protection, but provided that the density of the blocks is low and the seams are made correctly.

It’s safe to say that a house made of gas silicate blocks needs to be finished with insulation if:

• - a material with a density of more than D500 was used;
• - gas silicate was used, the thickness of which is less than 30 cm;
• - if the supporting frame of the building was filled with aerated concrete bricks;
• - if the seams in the masonry are too thick;
• - if cement was used in the masonry instead of specialized glue.

Selection of material and method of heat-protective finishing

Before you start insulating a house made of aerated concrete, you should decide on the material and method of laying the insulation - outside or inside the house.

For thermal insulation, materials such as penoplex (foam plastic), PPU (polyurethane foam) and mineral wool are used. However, penoplex or, as it is also called, extruded polystyrene foam, deservedly enjoys the greatest popularity. It has high thermal insulation properties, does not absorb moisture, is lightweight, easy to install and can be processed in many types of mechanical processing. Polystyrene foam is much cheaper than polyurethane foam and does not require special equipment for use. If installation is carried out correctly, insulating gas silicate walls with polystyrene foam will give a high heat-saving effect for your home.

When choosing to decorate your home with foam plastic from the inside, you need to remember the following:

• - the insulating layer will need to be changed frequently due to the fact that the chances of gas condensation occurring on the surface of gas silicate blocks and foam boards are quite high;
• - there is a need for a waterproofing layer in order to protect the foam boards from moisture, and a ventilated layer to remove condensation. This significantly reduces the usable area of ​​your home.

An undoubted advantage of laying out a thermal layer from the inside is the ease of installation - this is especially important if there are a large number of floors in the building. If all of the above suits you, the method of thermal insulation of the house from the inside will be a simpler solution.

When finishing gas silicate walls on the outside with foam plastic, the durability of the building increases, the facade looks more aesthetically pleasing, and the usable area of ​​your home is not “eaten up.” However, a number of difficulties arise when installing the insulating layer.

In any case, a house made of gas silicate blocks will need cladding to increase durability. It’s up to you to decide which method to choose.

Finishing the house with polystyrene foam outside

At the initial stage, you need to clean the aerated concrete walls from construction debris, deposits, and dust. We smooth out all the cracks, cracks and irregularities using special construction cement mortars and putties.

We prepare specialized glue by strictly following the instructions, avoiding the formation of lumps and solid particles. Use the prepared glue to spread the penoplex and aerated concrete wall over the entire surface. We lay the slabs end-to-end in a checkerboard pattern. Then we fix the penoplex with special plastic dowels. To do this, we drill holes in each slab in the center and in the corners. We hammer a dowel into each hole with a hammer and hide the cap in polystyrene foam. We hammer the plastic core into the middle of the dowel until it stops. We cut off the rest. We must fill the gaps between the plates with sealant or foam. After drying, the facade requires cladding to protect it from external weather influences. The method of thermal protection of aerated concrete walls from the outside is quite labor-intensive, but it is quite possible to do it on your own. Finishing cladding after insulation work also does not require special construction skills.

Finishing the house with foam plastic from the inside

At its core, the process of insulating a gas-block house with penoplex from the inside does not differ significantly from the external method. At the initial stage, we clean the wall from dust and debris, level it and rub it. We glue foam slabs onto the aerated concrete wall, as described in the previous section. After the glue and sealant have dried, we can begin plastering and finishing work. It should be noted that cladding the external surfaces of a gas-block house is necessary in any case - we should not forget about this.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, gas-block houses should be insulated. This will make your home more comfortable, more durable, increase the soundproofing of your home, and protect the facade from snow and rain. And you can do it yourself. Everything is in your hands - go for it!

mynovostroika.ru

Insulating a house from foam blocks from the outside: the harm and benefits of polystyrene foam

How to insulate a house made of aerated concrete, what thermal insulation material to choose? These questions concern many who decide to build a house from cellular materials. Since the distinctive property of aerated concrete is vapor permeability, this property must be preserved.

For thermal insulation materials, this coefficient should be slightly lower than that of the material from which the walls are built. If this parameter is higher, there is a possibility of moisture accumulation.

Is it possible to use foam plastic, a material that is very popular, for insulation? How to properly insulate gas silicate walls of a house?

Properties of foam plastic

Like aerated concrete, polystyrene foam has positive and negative qualities

Advantages of the material

• Polyfoam is environmentally friendly and does not emit toxic substances.
• Durable, does not decompose.
• Low thermal conductivity.
• High vapor barrier properties.
• Fireproof, fire-resistant, self-extinguishing.
• Low specific gravity, does not weigh down the structure.
• Relatively inexpensive material.

Properties of foam plastic - thermal conductivity, long service life and relatively good vapor permeability

Disadvantages of the material

• Fragility, foam crumbles easily.
• Destroys upon contact with nitro paints, enamels, varnishes.
• Does not allow air to pass through.
• The material can be damaged by rodents and therefore needs protection.

When choosing foam plastic as aerated concrete insulation on the outside, you need to take into account all its qualities. The vapor permeability coefficient of the material is lower than that of aerated concrete blocks. This problem can be solved by providing additional ventilation.

Insulating walls made of aerated concrete with polystyrene foam will increase the degree of sound insulation, eliminate temperature changes in the house, and reduce heating costs

Sequence of work on installing foam plastic from the outside

To insulate the facade of a building, you must adhere to the following sequence

1. Surface preparation. The aerated concrete surface must be cleaned of dirt, glue, and dents and other irregularities must be leveled;
2. External application of primer for porous materials;
3. It is recommended to reinforce the perimeter of the windows with fiberglass mesh. Its size should be such that 10 cm extends under the insulation;
4. Gluing foam boards. For this purpose, special adhesive for aerated concrete is used. Using a notched trowel, the adhesive is evenly distributed over a small area of ​​the wall outside the house or onto a sheet of insulation. The foam is pressed against the wall with light movements. All joints are treated with glue;
5. For additional external fastening, long plastic dowels with a cap are used - an umbrella in the middle of the sheet and at its corners;
6. The sheets will be glued correctly with an offset, just like when laying blocks;
7. Applying the first layer of plaster on the foam plastic, followed by gluing the reinforcing mesh. The joints of the mesh must be overlapped, so cracks will not form subsequently;
8. Applying a second layer of plaster;
9. Painting the facade.

Key points when working

In construction there is such a concept as “dew point”. The formation of condensate will depend on its location. When constructing walls, the point is located in the blocks themselves, but when they begin to insulate, a gradual shift occurs, moreover, towards the heat-insulating material.

High-quality insulation is the key to comfortable indoor conditions

We take into account the following points

• The house must have proper ventilation.
• It is necessary to select the correct thickness of the foam, taking into account the heat engineering indicators. It is possible to insulate the walls from the outside with thin sheets of 2 - 4 cm, but this would be a big mistake. The temperature in aerated concrete should always be positive. The central regions of Russia are characterized by low winter temperatures, sheets 10 cm thick are the best solution, this is when the house will be warmer.

Let us emphasize once again that polystyrene foam is less permeable to vapor, so the humidity of aerated concrete walls increases by an average of 6 - 7%. Humidity can be reduced with a good ventilation system. You can insulate external walls with polystyrene foam, a lightweight waterproof material. It has poor vapor permeability. Other materials for façade insulation, such as expanded polystyrene foam and foam glass, are not so popular in use.

How important it is for the house to “breathe” depends only on you. You can make a house “breathable” if you provide both good exhaust and air supply.

Today, facade insulation with foam plastic is one of the most inexpensive methods, and is very popular, since the main purpose of insulation is to preserve heat. A material such as polystyrene copes well with this problem.

obloke.ru

Insulating a house made of foam blocks from the outside with penoplex

Houses built from foam blocks have a high heat-saving ability. But despite this, the walls of the building still need insulation. This will save thermal energy for a long time and save on heating costs. In addition, even a beginner can perform thermal insulation work, since the whole process is quick and easy. It is also worth seeing how the outside of a wooden house is insulated with mineral wool.

How to insulate

Today, choosing the right material should not pose any problems. To insulate a house made of foam blocks, you can use numerous options for heat insulators that are commercially available.

Mineral wool

This material goes well with foam blocks. Mineral wool has excellent vapor permeable and thermal insulation properties. But you can only achieve strong thermal insulation if you use special glue when attaching the material. But you cannot use cement mortar, as it creates cold bridges.

Insulation of a house made of foam blocks with mineral wool

It is best to fasten the foam block with glue rather than mortar. The advantages of mineral wool remain its resistance to damage, combustion, and environmental safety. This material is also perfect for do-it-yourself insulation of the front door.

Expanded polystyrene

In terms of its soundproofing qualities, the material is inferior to mineral wool. But despite this, it is able to resist fire and moisture. It’s also very convenient to work with polystyrene foam, and anyone can buy it, since it’s inexpensive. When using polystyrene foam, it is necessary to take into account that it allows steam to pass through, as a result of which the room can be stuffy.

Expanded polystyrene for insulation

So it is necessary to carry out insulation using the material in question in houses where there is excellent ventilation. Sometimes, when using polystyrene foam, you have to take care of artificial ventilation by installing air conditioners. It will also be useful to learn about how the house is insulated and covered with siding.

Polyurethane foam

This material is suitable for those who want to carry out all the work on insulating a house made of foam blocks as quickly as possible. After insulation, maximum protection of foam blocks is created from the negative effects of precipitation.

Polyurethane foam for insulation of foam blocks

But the material has a number of disadvantages that must be taken into account when purchasing polyurethane foam:

1. Since the material is applied by spraying, the base is completely isolated. Consequently, he stops breathing. In addition, the heat insulator partially penetrates deep into the structure, filling the pores of the foam blocks. There may also be difficulties with ventilation that cannot be eliminated with your own efforts.
2. Polyurethane foam is not a cheap pleasure. It can only be used with special equipment. Even before application, it is important to prepare the composition correctly. Here you will have to pay for the services of specialists. You can read here how to insulate a façade with polystyrene foam yourself.
3. The material is difficult to repair. It will not be possible to dismantle the insulation in a separate area on your own. You will have to again seek the services of specialists. You will also have to disassemble the exterior trim.

Plaster

In this case, it will be necessary to use special compounds that have different thermal insulation properties.

Using plaster

The advantages of dry thermal insulation include:

• speed of thermal insulation work;
• you can change the appearance of your building for little money;
• possibility of repairs;
• excellent protection of the foam block from the influence of external factors.

It will also be useful to learn how to insulate the front door with your own hands.

Of course, plaster also has its disadvantages, but they can be simply minimized if you use the following simple tips:

1. When choosing a mixture, make sure that it is intended specifically for foam blocks.
2. The process of insulating walls made of foam blocks with plaster requires a certain skill and experience. In addition, everything needs to be done not just efficiently, but also quickly. This is due to the fact that the plaster sets quickly, so there is a risk of forming joints in individual areas that will be visible.
3. When using plaster, you need to strictly follow the technology. Plaster should be laid in 2 layers. In this case, the thickness of the outer layer should be 2 times less than the inner one.
4. Plaster mixtures for foam blocks are available in different compositions. So each type has a different degree of adhesion.

It may also be useful for you to learn about how to insulate plastic windows yourself.

Polyurethane foam

This insulation option is considered one of the fastest. In addition, polyurethane foam is characterized by excellent heat conductivity. It creates excellent protection for walls from frost.

Polyurethane foam for insulating foam blocks

The advantages of using polyurethane foam include:

1. Easy to apply to the base.
2. Excellent insulating qualities, sometimes acts as a waterproofing agent.

As for the downsides, polyurethane foam is exposed to sunlight. The protective layer on the surface contributes to significant material consumption. Thus, it is simply impossible to obtain an absolutely smooth surface.

It will also be useful to learn more about how the insulation of a wooden floor in a private house occurs.

Insulation process

Depending on what kind of insulation you decide to use, it is necessary that its surface is rough. This will allow you to achieve high-quality adhesion to the glue. If it is polystyrene foam, then no preparatory measures need to be taken. Extruded polystyrene foam requires additional energy consumption. Before attaching it, it is necessary to treat it with a needle roller. If you use foam plastic, then you need to make fireproof cuts between floors from non-flammable material.

Video of insulation of a house made of foam blocks from the outside:

To begin insulating a house made of foam blocks from the outside, it is necessary to prepare the slopes and ebb the tide. The fact is that during the work you may find that it is necessary to dismantle them and then reinstall them. But after insulation it will be impossible to do this.

It may also be useful for you to learn about how to insulate a wooden floor from below in a private house.

The structure of the insulating cake will include the following layers:

• primer composition,
• insulation adhesive,
• thermal insulation material,
• dowel,
• reinforcing glue,
• alkali-resistant fiberglass mesh,
• perforated corner,
• reinforcing glue second layer,
• primer,
• plaster,
• primer composition,
• dye.

The process of laying the material begins from the lower area of ​​the wall. To do this, attach a rail. Its task is to ensure that the insulation sheets do not move during installation. Apply glue along the entire perimeter of the sheet and wall using a spatula. In this case, the glue is not applied to the entire wall, but only along the dimensions of one sheet. The sheets are laid closely so that the space between the plates does not exceed 2 mm. Some builders, in addition to glue, use dowels, performing fasteners in 5 places.

When insulating walls near openings, then instead of foam plastic it is better to use pieces of mineral wool, the width of which is 20 cm. Remove the resulting seams with foam and tape. After 3 days, you can remove the support rail. Now you can move on to reinforcement with glue and fiberglass mesh. There is no need to remove the mesh. Its fastening at the joints is carried out with an overlap. Then comes priming, plastering and painting.

It may also be useful for you to learn about how the ceiling of a private house is insulated with sawdust.

If you are cladding with siding, then before laying the heat insulator you need to build a frame, and then lay the siding on top of the insulating material. Do this so that a small gap is formed between the insulation and the siding panels.

The process of insulating a house from foam blocks from the outside is such an important, responsible and uncomplicated job. Any owner who has already been able to decide on the choice of heat-insulating material can cope with them. Choose it based on the climate in your region and your personal wishes.

fasdoma.ru

Is it necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete?

First of all, you need to say a few words about aerated concrete itself.

Material with a porous structure.

When creating blocks use:

Aerated concrete blocks are very convenient: they can be cut (and quite easily), they weigh little, do not affect human health, cost relatively little and have a high level of sound insulation.

But aerated concrete also has a number of disadvantages:

• They are not sufficiently resistant to mechanical stress. That is, from such material it is possible to build buildings with a maximum height of 3 floors.
• The material is relatively fragile and therefore requires precise installation of the foundation and laying of the blocks themselves. Errors during laying (or installing the foundation) often lead to cracking of the material.
• Anchors should also be used as fasteners (other fasteners can lead to cracking of concrete).
• Since the material is porous, it will absorb moisture well, which means it needs to be lined or coated with a special solution.

Is it necessary to insulate a house made of aerated concrete 400

Now this topic is relevant among owners of aerated concrete houses: “to insulate or not to insulate their houses.”

It’s difficult to answer, it depends on many parameters, including the location of your home (region).

Although often the construction team insists on insulation (mandatory) in order to increase the cost of the work.

If you want to avoid unnecessary expenses, you need to calculate how much this insulation will pay for itself; if it pays off in more than 100 years, then the meaning of such insulation...

If the walls are built with high quality and your climate is quite mild, then simple insulation of the roof (also inspect the windows and doors, insulate if possible) but without external insulation of the walls will probably be enough for you.

So is it necessary to insulate aerated concrete?

It is necessary to insulate if your house is located in a cold climate and this will bring you benefits - that is, savings on heating.

But keep one thing in mind: aerated concrete blocks have a high level of vapor permeability and they need to be insulated in such a way that the vapor permeability decreases from the outer part of the wall to the inner one.

Insulate a house made of aerated concrete with your own hands

Typically, blocks are insulated from the outside using one of 2 types of insulation:

• Penoplex;
• Mineral wool.

External insulation of blocks with penoplex

Penoplex insulation is the most profitable (in terms of cost) and insulation quality option. Penoplex insulation is best done from the outside.

1. First of all, you need to prepare the surface. Since the blocks themselves are even and have a smooth surface, there is no need to additionally level the surface to perfection.
2. If there are cracks or chips, they need to be covered with plaster (or special glue)
3. You also need to seal the window slopes.
4. After plastering, the surface is coated with a primer (this creates greater adhesion).
5. After the primer has dried, you can begin laying the foam boards.
6. The insulation is glued to the surface using cement glue and additionally pressed with dowels.
7. And finally, you need to take care of finishing the facade.

External insulation of blocks with stone wool

House insulation can also be done with stone wool; it can be used both for siding and plaster.

If it is under siding, then install the sheathing using vertical guides on the outside of the house, lay the insulation in the niches and cover it with a layer of vapor barrier, and fix the siding on top.

Is it possible to insulate from the inside?

Experts and craftsmen recommend insulating it from the outside, but not from the inside. Since from external to internal, vapor permeability should decrease. Otherwise, moisture will accumulate in the blocks themselves, and the strength of the entire structure will decrease.

Only external insulation will help you both insulate the house and protect the structure from moisture

Average cost for insulating a house made of aerated concrete

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

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How to insulate a house made of aerated concrete from the outside: penoplex or mineral wool, sequence of operations (photo, video)

How and with what to insulate the outside of a house made of aerated concrete?

• Mineral wool for insulating aerated concrete
• How to insulate a house made of aerated concrete: sequence of work

Thermal insulation of a house has become a standard for quality construction. Thanks to the popularity of walls made of porous concrete, the question arose: is it necessary to insulate buildings made of aerated concrete? The answer to this question depends on several factors: the thickness of the cellular walls, the presence of cold bridges, the region of construction and its winter temperatures. How to determine the need for insulation? What materials should be used to properly insulate a house made of aerated concrete?

Diagram of the advantages of aerated concrete.

Insulation of aerated concrete: how and when to insulate it?

Insulation of aerated concrete walls is necessary in the following cases:

1. The thickness of the walls is less than 600 mm indicated by building codes (for regions of central and northern Russia).
2. If the masonry used not a special glue, but a cement-sand mortar. It is a cold bridge, so insulation is required.
3. If, in order to strengthen the load-bearing capacity of the walls, a reinforcing belt and a frame made of ordinary concrete were erected. Having lower heat-saving properties, concrete in the frame becomes a cold bridge. The walls require insulation.

Scheme of vapor permeability of aerated concrete walls.

It is important to know that the actual thermal conductivity of aerated concrete walls is lower than that of individual porous blocks. This is explained by the presence of masonry joints, which are cold bridges. Therefore, thermal insulation of aerated block houses is necessary in almost all regions of Russia.

The best insulation of the walls of a house is done from the outside. The outdoor placement of insulating material is a structurally correct solution. It is due to the fact that the dew point moves into the insulating material. The load-bearing wall remains dry, condensation forms in the insulator.

At the 0°C point, condensation forms. To remove it from the insulation, it is necessary that the insulating outer layer be porous. Which material is best suited for external thermal insulation of an aerated concrete wall?

Among the common insulators (polyurethane foam and construction wool), preference in insulating aerated concrete walls should be given to mineral or stone wool. It is a porous material, and its porosity is higher than that of foamed aerated concrete. This is another rule for high-quality insulation: if the wall consists of several layers, then their vapor permeability should increase in the direction from the inside to the outside. The outer layer should have the highest ability to transmit steam and air.

It is necessary to consider the advantages of mineral wool and the features of its installation on vertical walls.

Aerated concrete block is the warmest wall material on the building materials market, and many people wonder whether it is worth insulating aerated concrete.

Let's start with the fact that insulating a building is necessary to reduce the cost of heating it in the future, and it is important that this insulation is appropriate. Insulation of aerated concrete is not always required, and sometimes it is even harmful, but more on that later in the article.

The fact is that it is not economically feasible to endlessly increase the thickness of walls or insulation, since the payback of the costs of insulation and wall blocks may take too long, given the current price of gas and energy. And heat losses through windows, doors, floors, and roofs will account for more than half. It is also worth noting that the insulation has its own service life, which can range from 10 to 50 years.

According to modern building codes for central Russia, the thermal resistance of enclosing structures (walls) should be 3.2 m2 C°/W. It is worth noting that for private construction, these standards are not mandatory, but it is worth focusing on them.

The required thermal resistance is provided by the following options for single-layer aerated concrete walls: D300(300mm), D400(375mm), D500(500mm).

If you are a self-builder, then we would advise you to take high-quality aerated concrete brand D400 (375 mm), which just meets the requirements for thermal protection and does not require additional insulation.

The D400 is quite durable for two-story buildings, and its thermal efficiency is very high, making it optimal in all respects. D300 is too brittle and often cracks, and D500 is too heavy and expensive for 500mm thick masonry.

If the cost of gas or electricity has risen significantly and you want to reduce heating costs, then to achieve a thermal resistance of 3.2 m2 C°/W, you will need to insulate aerated concrete walls with mineral wool or polystyrene foam.

Optimal thickness options for aerated concrete with mineral wool:

• D300 (200mm) + mineral wool (50mm)
• D400(200mm) + mineral wool (100mm)
• D400(300mm) + mineral wool (50mm)
• D500(200mm) + mineral wool (150mm)
• D500(300mm) + mineral wool (100mm)
• D500(400mm) + mineral wool (50mm)

Let us remind you that the above insulation options are relevant for central Russia. If construction takes place in colder regions, then the thermal resistance of the walls should be higher.

Options for insulating aerated concrete with mineral wool

The main insulation materials on the building materials market are wool and polystyrene foam. As you understand, insulation ages over time, losing its thermal insulation properties, that is, it needs to be replaced, which costs money and time.

The actual service life of mineral wool is about 15 years, provided that it is installed correctly. Polystyrene foam protected with plaster has a service life of about 50 years. If we take into account that the service life of an aerated concrete building is 100 years, then during operation, the wool will have to be changed many times, which is not economically feasible.

Foam plastic, on the one hand, is a more interesting option, since it will last longer and its cost is much lower. But the problem is its poor vapor permeability, which requires good ventilation in the house, for example with recuperators. Also, to select the thickness of the foam, you need to make calculations for your climate zone so that the aerated concrete under the foam does not freeze, otherwise moisture will accumulate in the thickness of the aerated concrete, freeze near the insulation, and destroy the aerated concrete.

Polystyrene foam does not allow steam to pass through well, which is why aerated concrete cannot dry properly on the outside of the wall. As a result, water vapor gradually accumulates, and if there is too much water vapor at the dew point, and at the same time the aerated concrete freezes to it, then a slow destruction of the aerated concrete will occur.

To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to use foam plastic with a thickness of 100 mm or more, since such a thickness will prevent freezing of the aerated concrete. In most cases, 50 mm will not be enough, it is better to make calculations and find out for sure. When insulating with polystyrene foam, good ventilation of the house is necessary.

Another important tip for insulating aerated concrete. Fresh aerated concrete leaves the plant very wet, and it will take about 2-3 years to dry to equilibrium moisture content, which is about 5%. Before insulation and finishing, it is better to let the aerated concrete dry. Read more about drying aerated concrete in our article.

As a result of our article, we note that if you think long-term, it will be cheaper to immediately make single-layer walls from aerated concrete without using insulation. The optimal aerated concrete, which does not require insulation, is D400 with a thickness of 375 mm.

Insulation of aerated concrete from the outside

The emphasis in modern building materials is on thermal insulation, which reduces the amount of insulation that will subsequently be used. One of the most common materials in construction is aerated concrete. It also needs insulation, but there is some debate as to whether polystyrene foam can be used for it.

Many of the nuances of using polystyrene foam as an insulating material for aerated concrete can be understood from its positive and negative properties. The list of the former is several times larger than the latter, so it is important to know about the pluses:

• ease of transportation;
• ease of giving the required shape to the material;
• elasticity of the material;
• environmental friendliness;
• ease of self-installation;
• minimal thermal conductivity of the material;
• reducing heating costs;
• absence of sudden temperature changes inside the house.

The ease of transporting polystyrene foam is due to its low weight. The latter can be achieved by a special method of material production, in which polystyrene granules are filled with gas, which subsequently makes up 98% of the total volume of insulation. The weight of one sheet of material is practically not felt, which means that during the installation process you can do without assistants, and lifting the foam to floors above the first will not require significant effort. In the process of laying insulation, it is necessary to trim the material; in some situations, the shape of the insulation can hardly be called standard, but this is not a problem with foam plastic, since it can be formed with almost any sharp object. In addition, the insulation has sufficient plasticity to give it curved shapes of acceptable radii.

During the sanitary research process, no harmful releases of material were identified that could cause various diseases during operation. This makes it possible to classify polystyrene foam as an environmentally friendly material. The thermal conductivity of polystyrene foam remains one of the lowest among insulation materials. It is only 0.038 watts divided by a meter multiplied by Kelvin. Thanks to this indicator, it is possible to reduce costs during the heating season, as well as on air conditioning in the summer. In most situations, it is possible to avoid the use of cooling equipment, since the coolness accumulated at night or in the early morning is well retained inside the room.

Among the disadvantages of using polystyrene foam, you should know about:

• fragility;
• fire hazards;
• instability to UV rays;
• high material density;
• used by rodents as a place of residence.

The strength of the foam leaves much to be desired. It is not difficult to damage the material with a small blow, which requires additional processing. Facade insulation options contain special substances that reduce the flammability of the material, but this does not exclude the possibility that foam plastic can melt in a fire, releasing harmful substances. The material also does not tolerate proximity to all types of paints that are based on organic solvents. The insulation requires additional finishing to protect it from the sun's rays. If this is not done in time, the surface of the material will lose its strength and it will begin to crumble. Pests can settle inside sheets of foam plastic, which over time will negate its insulating properties.

Is it worth insulating?

Aerated concrete itself is an excellent material with low thermal conductivity, which is used as an alternative to classic brick or other blocks. The material is lightweight and, when installed correctly, can prevent heat dissipation. But it really needs additional finishing, because it can collapse under the influence of moisture. For the most part, this happens during the cold season, when moisture accumulates in the pores of aerated concrete and increases its thermal conductivity, which increases heat transfer and negates the insulating properties. In addition, frozen moisture expands and damages the internal structure of aerated concrete. Insulation allows you to increase the insulating properties and prevent moisture from entering the pores of aerated blocks.

Due to its porosity, aerated concrete has vapor permeability, which helps dissipate excess moisture that accumulates indoors during human activity. This means that the ideal insulation method for aerated concrete is a ventilated facade, which is necessary to remove the moisture released. The easiest way to implement it is with mineral wool, which also has vapor permeability. If you install foam plastic on top of aerated concrete, which is not vapor permeable, this can lead to moisture accumulation between the insulation and the block. The result of this may be the appearance of mold and destruction of aerated concrete. It is this factor that causes concern among many users as to whether it is worth insulating aerated concrete with foam plastic. If everything is done correctly, polystyrene foam can still be used to insulate gas and foam blocks.

Surface preparation

The surface of aerated blocks requires some preparation before proceeding with the installation of foam. Due to the fact that the blocks are made in molds and then cut, one of the surfaces can be quite smooth, so for better adhesion it must be made rough. To do this, you can use coarse sandpaper, which you just need to walk over the surface. Due to its porosity, aerated concrete can quickly absorb moisture from the glue, which will create difficulties during insulation. Therefore, in some cases it will be appropriate to treat the walls with a primer. Since the primer is absorbed quite quickly, several layers of the material can be applied. Each one is laid after the previous one has dried. It is more convenient to use a roller with a long handle for these purposes.

Installation of foam plastic

Two types of glue can be used to glue foam. One of them is made on the basis of cement and is prepared by mixing. In this case, a significant part of the time is spent preparing the composition. Another material option is special compounds that are similar to polyurethane foam, but have a lower expansion coefficient. Such adhesives are applied using a gun, which is used for polyurethane foam. If the base is made with a small border that protrudes outward beyond the walls, then you can immediately begin installing the foam; if there is none, then you will need to first secure the starting strip.

The latter is a metal profile, the width of which is selected to match the thickness of the foam used. At a height of 15–20 cm from the blind area, a line is marked with a dye cord. A metal profile is placed along this line and fixed to the wall using dowels and self-tapping screws. It must be secured around the entire perimeter of the house. Next, glue is applied to the foam sheet with a snake, and it is tightly applied to the wall, supported by the mounted profile. Installation must begin from one of the corners of the building. Each subsequent row is laid offset by half a sheet to ensure interlacing of the insulation seams. In this case, it will be easier to eliminate cold bridges and also provide greater surface strength. Each seam is additionally filled with glue.

The material is laid right under the roof. In this case, glue alone for fixing the foam will not be enough, because as the plane grows, its weight increases. Plastic umbrellas are used as additional clamps for foam. To install them on a sheet of foam plastic, you need to drill five holes. One of them is in the middle of the foam sheet and the other four are drilled into the seam in order to secure two adjacent sheets of foam with one umbrella. The umbrellas are hammered so that their caps are flush with the foam, after which their position is fixed with a plastic nail.

After completing the installation of plastic fasteners for the foam, you can proceed to strengthening the insulated surface with fiberglass mesh. No screws are used to secure it. First of all, the entire surface of the foam is covered with a special cement-based material. The layer of material should be such that the mesh can be easily recessed into it. As soon as a layer of material is applied to the width of the mesh roll, the latter is applied to the surface and embedded in the glue using a wide spatula. Individual sheets of mesh are laid overlapping on the foam to create a monolithic plane. As soon as the glue layer dries, it is grouted with fine sandpaper. Next, another layer of glue is applied to the foam, which is also sanded with sandpaper. The process is repeated one more time to achieve the desired result. After the plaster has gained strength, you can begin finishing.

Video on how to insulate aerated concrete with polystyrene foam

Important points of work

If foam plastic is chosen to insulate aerated concrete, then care must be taken to ensure that a minimum amount of moisture penetrates the insulation. This can be achieved by installing high-quality passive or active ventilation inside a house made of aerated concrete. Thanks to the continuous change of air masses, moisture will be removed, and it will not be able to get into the foam and contribute to the appearance of mold and mildew. The thickness of the foam must also be selected correctly. This will depend on specific territorial conditions. If you install foam plastic of insufficient thickness, the dew point will shift towards the gas blocks, so you should not save on the material. For places with cold climates, foam plastic with a thickness of 15 centimeters or more may be required.

The final finishing of the house can be done not only with textured plaster, but also with siding. In this case, there is no need to tighten the foam with glue and mesh. Before installing the insulation, a wooden or metal sheathing is installed, which is necessary for siding. Foam plastic is placed between the lattice elements, which is fixed with glue and umbrellas. The seams are sealed with glue. After drying, the excess glue is cut off, and siding is attached to the sheathing, which will protect the foam from external influences.

As you can see, there is no clear prohibition on using polystyrene foam in combination with a gas block. There are certain restrictions and precautions regarding materials, following which you can achieve the correct result. It is necessary to install insulation in warm, dry weather. If it rained the day before, then you need to give the aerated concrete time to dry thoroughly before starting to work with the material. During installation of insulation, it is important to constantly check the vertical and horizontal plane of the material using a level in order to achieve a smooth finishing surface.