If you are seriously considering the option of moving to the countryside, the question of which is best to build a house for permanent residence comes to the fore. The choice of materials for construction depends on the preferences of the owner of the future home, his financial opportunities, in some ways - from established local traditions. Of course, the specific climatic conditions of the region and the characteristics of the soil on the site acquired for the construction of housing are taken into account.

Today, both traditional and new technologies are used for the construction of private houses. In order to choose one of them, you need to understand what problems you will have to face during large-scale construction work and during the operation of the finished building.

Criteria for choosing materials for construction

When choosing a material for building a house, you should take into account a number of important criteria:

• To make the house comfortable to live in at any time of the year, when choosing material for construction, it is necessary to take into account the average winter temperatures of the region where it is planned to be built, comparing them with the thermal insulation qualities of future walls and ceilings.

• In addition, most potential owners strive to make their homes energy efficient. That is, with minimal energy costs, you can receive indoors comfortable temperature both in winter and summer.
• The ability of a building material to become an effective barrier against external noise is especially important if the building is being built near a busy highway or railway tracks.
• The durability and reliability of a residential building will directly depend on the strength of the selected material.
• An important role is played by appearance building. Therefore, it is immediately necessary to decide which material option is preferable - one that requires or does not require additional finishing.
• Undoubtedly, important criterion always the price availability of the material. It largely depends on the region of construction.
• If the owner plans to carry out construction on his own (in whole or even partially), then the priority criteria may also be the degree of complexity of working with the selected building material.

Main types of materials for building a private house

Today, both traditional materials that have been used, without exaggeration, for centuries, and those developed relatively recently, but which have already managed to show their positive side, are used to build houses.

So, when deciding on the materials to build a house, you need to know that they are conventionally divided into four groups:

• Natural wood (log or timber).
• Brick, stone and shell rock.
• Porous blocks.
• Wood-based composite materials.

To determine which of the listed materials is best to choose for a particular case, it is necessary to consider their physical and technical characteristics and other features.

Brick

Sand-lime and ceramic bricks are used to build houses. Both one and the second option are produced in two types, which differ in the internal structural structure - the brick can be hollow and solid.

Both types are widely used for the construction of house walls. However, different bricks may have very different characteristics.

Solid and hollow ceramic bricks

Solid brick has higher strength and can therefore withstand high loads. However, it has high thermal conductivity, and because of this, walls made from it usually require additional insulation and cladding.

Ceramic and silicate, solid or hollow bricks - each has its own advantages and disadvantages

Hollow products retain heat in the house better, so they are often used to cover a wall built of solid bricks, leaving a space between the walls that is filled thermal insulation materials- slag, expanded clay, foam concrete or expanded polystyrene.

Agree, with neat brickwork it is very difficult to compete in matters of façade aesthetics

Brick houses have a respectable appearance and a long service life, which sometimes exceeds the deadlines set during the design of the building. Buildings made from this material compare favorably with other buildings due to their strength and reliability. That is why, despite the emergence of innovative materials, brick has not lost any of its popularity, as it has successfully stood the test of time. Proof of this is that buildings, sometimes erected several centuries ago, are still in use.

However, despite the large number positive qualities brick, this material has not only advantages, but also obvious disadvantages.

To the main benefits brick, and therefore houses built from it, include:

• Environmentally friendly material.

Nowadays, future home owners always pay attention Special attention for this quality of the material. Brick buildings are impeccable in this regard, since the mortar from which the products are made does not contain artificially produced or toxic components. Ceramic bricks are made from purified clay, and silicate bricks are made from sand and lime.

• The strength of the structure built from it has a long service life.

For centuries in different countries Both one-story and multi-story buildings were erected from brick, some up to today are used without even requiring restoration of the facades. Walls built from bricks made without violating technology and laid on high-quality mortar are resistant to exposure ultraviolet rays, to moisture, wind, to biological damage.

In addition, brick buildings are able to withstand various natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, etc.

• Frost resistance.

This quality indicates that the material is able to fully retain its operational and decorative qualities during numerous cycles of deep freezing and thawing. On sale today different brands bricks, the frost resistance of which may vary. Therefore, when purchasing this material, you should pay attention to the F indicator, which precisely shows this number of cycles. The higher the indicator, the more durable the material.

• Natural regulation of humidity in the building.
• Fire safety.

Unlike wood, brick is resistant to open fire, as it is made of non-flammable material, which has also been hardened high temperatures when firing it. Brick does not ignite and does not support the combustion of adjacent building elements. True, when exposed to open fire for a long time, it loses its safety margin. This means that the service life of walls that survive a fire is significantly reduced.

To the list of essential shortcomings brick buildings include the following factors:

• Cost of material.

Having chosen brick to build a house, you need to be prepared for quite a lot of expenses, since, given the “modest” size of the products, you will need a lot of them. In addition to the brick itself, you will need to carry out interior finishing of the walls - this is plastering followed by putty, painting, or. All these processes are also quite costly and require some time.

• High thermal conductivity of brick. If the house is being built in a region with cold winters, where the temperature drops to -35÷40 degrees, then the brick walls must be thick and be at least 640-770 mm. Another option could be a “sandwich” wall, that is, made according to the “well masonry” principle. In this case, two relatively thin brick walls are simultaneously erected at a certain distance from each other, the space between which is filled with thermal insulation materials. Sometimes another method is used for insulation - a sheathing is fixed on the front side of the wall, between the elements of which a mineral wool or expanded polystyrene, and then the walls are lined with one of the decorative materials.
• Massiveness.

Brick houses are a very heavy structure. This means that it is necessary to build a reliable and solid foundation for them. Otherwise, under high load, it will sag, and with it the brick walls, resulting in deep cracks along them.

Therefore, to build a high-quality one that can reliably cope with a high load, you will also have to spend a lot of money.

• The design of a brick building should only be carried out by a professional. Errors in foundation calculations and thickness determination load-bearing walls unacceptable. The project and calculations will also be expensive.
• Hygroscopicity of the material.

This quality is especially pronounced in bricks made in violation of technology, that is, insufficiently hardened or too porous. In houses made of such material there is always high humidity, and getting rid of it is quite difficult. Therefore, the walls have to be etched periodically, which takes a lot of time and causes discomfort in the operation of the home. It’s good that today there are many products that will help protect brick walls from moisture - surfaces are treated with them at the very beginning of the building’s operation. It will help protect brick walls and high walls that separate them from ground moisture, rain splashes or contact with snow drifts.

Sand-lime brick is more hygroscopic than ceramic brick. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it to build a house in regions with a humid climate. And it is completely excluded when laying the base.

In digital terms, the main characteristics of the brick are as follows:

Name of characteristics	Solid brick	Hollow brick	Sand-lime brick
Density, kg/m³	1600÷1800	1400÷1700	1700÷1900
Thermal conductivity, W/m˚S	0.81÷0.87	0.44	0.95
Strength, kgf/cm²	125÷200	100÷200	150
Moisture absorption,%	7÷8	7÷8	8÷10
Frost resistance cycles	50÷100	50÷70	35
Recommended wall thickness, mm at air temperature -20/ -30/-40 ˚С (mm)	510/640/770	380/510/640	510/640/770

The cost of a brick is deliberately not indicated in the table. This parameter varies very widely, depending on the type, brand, size, manufacturer, and region of construction. Even among one seller, the spread of prices for seemingly identical products, but coming from different factories, can be very significant.

Cement-based masonry blocks

In recent years, cement-based building blocks are increasingly being chosen for the construction of a private house. Such masonry materials have a number of advantages over traditional brick, and the first of them can be called affordable cost. In addition, the blocks have impressive linear dimensions- one can replace from 4 or even up to 14 standard bricks, so building a house will go much faster.

Manufacturers today supply cement-based blocks to the construction market, but made according to different technologies and with various physical, technical and operational indicators:

• Foam blocks and aerated concrete blocks.
• Cinder blocks and expanded clay concrete blocks.

To understand what each of these materials is and how they differ from each other, let’s take a closer look at their characteristics.

Aerated concrete and foam concrete blocks

These building materials, at first glance, are similar in their characteristics. However, their manufacturing technologies differ somewhat.

Aerated concrete is made from cement, lime, sand and water with the addition of aluminum powder. Thanks to these components, during the manufacturing process of the composition, it is activated chemical reaction, accompanied by the release of gas, which ensures the creation of a porous structure with an open cell. This determines the very high hygroscopicity of the material.

Foam concrete products are made from cement, sand and water. But the main thing for the formation of the structure of the material is the foaming agent, which is added at the stage of mixing the solution before pouring it into molds. The cell turns out to be closed.

Both some and other blocks can have different densities, and are divided into brands. The numerical indicator in the stamp indicates the density finished material(kg/m³):

— D 1000– D 1200 - structural products, that is, intended for the construction of load-bearing walls. Their insulation qualities are not the most outstanding.

— D 500-D 900 - structural and thermal insulation materials. They are the ones most often chosen for individual construction, combining, so to speak, “business with pleasure.”

— D 300- D 500 - thermal insulating blocks. For load-bearing structures The strength properties of such a material are clearly insufficient.

Foam concrete is also produced in another version, which is marked D1300 to D1600. These are structurally porous blocks having high density, but also very significant thermal conductivity. As a rule, material of this brand is made to order and is practically not used in residential construction practice.

Aerated concrete and foam concrete blocks have the following characteristic features:

• Easy to process. The blocks are easily sawed using a regular wood saw. Thanks to this quality, anyone, even an inexperienced builder, can handle adjusting the material during wall construction. Moreover, the block can be given any intricate shape.
• Strength of the material. The indicators of this parameter may vary depending on the porosity and brand of the product.
• Low thermal conductivity. This figure averages 0.08÷0.22 W/(m×˚С). Brands D300 and D 500 have a particularly low coefficient, so they are excellent for additional insulation of houses for permanent residence. Walls made of this material perfectly retain heat in the house during winter cold and coolness on hot summer days.
• Soundproofing. Aerated concrete and foam concrete have significant noise absorption properties, and the final parameters depend on other characteristics of the material, as well as on the thickness of the walls. According to SNiP II-12-77 standards, in private houses the level of noise insulation should be 41÷60 dB, and the sound insulation qualities of aerated concrete usually exceed these indicators:

Brand of material most often used to build a private house	Sound insulation level, dB, with wall thickness of the enclosing structure, mm
	120	180	240	300	360
D500	36	41	44	46	48
D600	38	43	46	48	50

• Environmentally friendly material. Industrial production of blocks is carried out under strict control(this is especially true for aerated concrete). The laboratories check for the presence of radioactive materials and toxic components - they are completely excluded.
• Mass of blocks. This parameter depends on the density of the material:

As you can see, this parameter can vary somewhat in one direction or another. It must be remembered that the higher the density of the material, the higher its thermal conductivity and the worse the sound insulation.

Along with positive characteristics, these building materials also have their own flaws , about which you also need to have information:

• Foam and gas blocks are fragile, so during work, if the material is handled carelessly, it can crack or split. In addition, this can also happen when the foundation shrinks. Therefore, the base for the walls should be as reliable as possible. To avoid subsidence and cracking, every second to third row of masonry must be reinforced with metal rods.
• The hygroscopicity of aerated concrete can be considered a serious disadvantage. This feature predetermines an increase in the volume of work that includes waterproofing measures.
• Mandatory interior and exterior finishing involves additional costs.

What to choose - foam concrete or aerated concrete?

With mass common features, these materials have significant differences. By what criteria can you compare More detailed information can be found in a special publication on our portal.

Expanded clay concrete blocks and cinder blocks

These blocks, like the materials described above, can be classified as very affordable and have decent characteristics.

Their frost resistance and strength are comparable with similar parameters brick walls. The blocks have very large linear parameters and relatively light weight, so they can be laid in a short time.

Expanded clay concrete blocks are made from cement mortar with the addition of fine-grained expanded clay of 5÷10 mm, or coarse-grained expanded clay sand.

Now, having figured out what frame house structures are, it is necessary to highlight their positive and negative sides.

TO merits correctly lined up frame houses the following can be attributed:

• Possibility to do the work yourself.
• The low thermal conductivity of the walls helps retain heat inside the house.
• Relatively quick and fairly simple installation of structural elements.
• There is no need to arrange a massive foundation, since the construction is easy.
• The design does not shrink, so you can move into the house immediately after finishing work.
• There is no need to level the surfaces of the walls and ceiling, since they are already ready for decorative finishing both outside and inside.
• Relatively low cost.

However, the frame structure also has a fairly large number shortcomings , which can bring disappointment to future residents of the house during its operation:

• Low tightness of all frame structures, except for half-timbered structures.
• Insufficiently long service life due to low strength and reliability of the structure.
• IN frame houses it must be properly equipped, otherwise mold may appear on the walls and underground due to insufficient air exchange.
• Low quality sound insulation.
• High fire hazard.

• Insulation material in the floor and walls can be chosen for housing by rodents and various insects. And it will be very difficult to get rid of such a “neighborhood”.

So which is better, timber or frame construction?

If you have to decide which form of wood is best to choose for construction - timber or logs, or to give preference to a frame structure, then it would be useful to refer to a special comparative publication. The recommended link leads to it.

* * * * * * *

Above we figured out what materials can be used to build houses for year-round use. Taking into account their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, and approximate prices in your region, you can decide which one is best suited for a particular case based on a combination of all evaluation criteria.

If desires and possibilities coincide, then you can stop at optimal option and start developing a house project.

The information reflected in the article will be supplemented by an interesting video on the same topic:

Video: What material is better to choose for your own residential building?

At the current stage of development, there are more than 20 technologies used to build private houses. It is impossible to say unequivocally that this technology is the best, and this one is completely bad. They are all imperfect, they all have positive and negative points. To correctly answer the question “What kind of house to build”, you need to decide on the basic requirements that you place on your home. Choose a technology for them. Definition better home Everyone has their own, and so does the material and technology.

What are houses made of?

All external walls can be divided into two large groups: inertial and non-inertial. Inertia houses are built from materials with high heat capacity. They tend to accumulate heat and then emit it. Moreover, the radiation comes in the infrared range. Such houses are warm even at relatively low air temperatures. The feeling is this: infrared heat is better perceived by our body.

The walls of non-inertial houses are a “pie” of materials different composition and consistency. But they all have one property: the materials have good or excellent thermal insulation properties, but have low heat capacity. The main difference between houses of this type is that it is not the walls that heat up, but the air, and it warms up quickly, but also cools down. In order for the heat to last for a long time, the rooms are made airtight. And this has its downsides. Let's talk about the properties and materials of both in more detail.

Inertial materials

Inertial wall material tends to accumulate heat and remove moisture. To retain the accumulated heat for as long as possible, external insulation is required for them. The advantage of rooms made of inertial materials is that in the absence of heating they “hold” the temperature for quite a long time. It follows that such technologies are more appropriate for permanent residences. For temporary visits - for dachas - they are inconvenient and irrational: it takes a lot of time for the walls to warm up. In the meantime, the walls are cold and the rooms are chilly.

Materials for the construction of inertia houses:

• ceramic brick (solid and hollow);
• adobe;
• ceramic blocks;
• foam block and monolith from it;
• gas block;
• expanded clay concrete blocks and monolith;
• adobe houses;
• cinder block.

The main disadvantage of houses of this type is the relatively high cost and duration of construction. Somewhere these shortcomings are more pronounced, somewhere less, but in general they are like this: a strong foundation is required, the walls take a long time to build.

Inertia-free materials

Inertia-free houses are built from materials with low energy intensity. Mainly modern materials and technologies that provide a multi-layer cake for walls. The main point is that almost all of them have low vapor permeability or do not conduct vapor at all. It’s the same with air: it doesn’t pass through walls. This means that to regulate humidity and ensure the flow of fresh air and remove carbon dioxide, a competent ventilation system is necessary.

The main requirement for inertia-free houses is compliance with the technology and the tightness of the room, and ventilation is necessary to regulate air conditions

Inertia-free houses are built from the following materials:

• 3D panel, MDM, SOTA - inside the system there is polystyrene foam, and outside there is densely reinforced concrete;
• Thermohouse, Izodom - concrete is poured into permanent formwork made of polystyrene foam;
• polystyrene concrete - a new type of material - concrete with polystyrene filler;
• sandwich panels - most often they are used to build industrial facilities, but sometimes, in order to save money, they build country houses;
• SIP panels - insulation (mineral wool or polystyrene) between two OSB boards;
• frame houses - insulation between plywood or OSB slabs:
• Vacuum panels are a new construction technology that is not yet used in private housing construction, but already exists.

The main advantage of non-inertial houses is the short time and low cost of construction. Since the walls are light, foundations for such buildings require inexpensive ones. Since they account for a significant part of construction costs, the overall reduction in construction costs is significant. If you are deciding what kind of house to build and the key constraint is money and/or time to build it, you may need to choose from these materials. But at the same time, we must not forget about the design of ventilation systems and be sure to take its cost into account when making calculations, otherwise living will be very uncomfortable, and in some cases, impossible.

This is a diagram used by sellers of new technologies to demonstrate their advantages, “forgetting” to talk about the disadvantages

Wooden houses

Wooden houses stand apart. These are houses made of logs or timber (regular, profiled, glued). On one side the walls breathe, on the other there is little inertia. Previously, such buildings could be classified as partially inertial due to the fact that in the center of the building there was a stove with a large heat capacity. The heat accumulated in it warmed the house until the fire burned.

When building wooden houses today, few people install a brick stove for heating. This is mainly water heating. Therefore, houses can be classified as non-inertial: if a large-diameter log still has at least some significant inertia, then the heat stored in a 150*150 mm beam is definitely not enough. You have to either add fuel at night, or put combi boilers, which run on electricity at night. There is another way out - to do external insulation. The measure is understandable and quite effective, but only if the insulation and finishing material are vapor permeable.

Without proper care, a wooden house will look like this

There is another important aspect: in order for wooden houses to have a normal appearance, they require annual maintenance. This means that every year or every two years (depending on the type of processing) you will either have to work with a brush yourself or hire workers. Without this, a beautiful building will turn black and unattractive. Actually, then there is a way out - to do the exterior finishing, but this is also an expense, as is the maintenance of wood - impregnation, paint cost a lot.

As you can see, there really are no ideal technologies. To decide what kind of house to build, you need to proceed from your situation, decide on key points, which will allow you to correctly and with awareness of all the nuances choose the material for the walls and the technology for its construction. Let's take a closer look at a few of the most typical home requirements.

Which house is cheaper to build?

Let's start with the fact that the costs of constructing the foundation and frame of a house from all inertial materials industrial production definitely more expensive than non-inertial ones. They have a higher density, and this is reflected in the mass of the building, which leads to an increase in the cost of the foundation.

The most expensive house is brick. We will take it as a standard and compare the cost of construction using other technologies with it. The next most expensive is made from ceramic blocks - about 90% of the price of brick. The most inexpensive of this group are adobe and adobe houses.

An adobe house is 100% environmentally friendly, warm, and cheap. A fairy tale, not a technology

If you have time and the weather permits, you can make and dry it over the summer. adobe bricks for a very large house. In terms of the cost of materials, they can compete with many modern technologies. Especially if you have the opportunity to extract clay yourself. The remaining fillers are straw, manure, etc. - also either free or cost a little. The only point is that it takes time to make bricks, and sometimes it is more expensive than money - after all, there are no industrially made ones. Another limitation is the climate - not everyone’s weather will allow them to dry the clay to stone density. So this technology is available for low-cost construction in regions with hot summers.

More expensive than adobe, but significantly cheaper than brick and block buildings. Aerated concrete, expanded clay concrete and foam concrete blocks require approximately 70-75% of the estimate for the construction of a similar brick house. But aerated concrete requires excellent waterproofing and should be used in areas with high level groundwater is risky. Cinder concrete is inexpensive. By the way, you can also do it yourself. But the service life of slag concrete is about 50 years. Further it will be destroyed.

Even less - about 30-50% of the cost of a brick house is required for the construction of non-inertial houses. The cheapest so far are SIP panels. They cost no more than a third of the price brick construction. For frames - about 40% will be required. But at the same time, the service life is about 25-50 years, depending on the quality of the materials and the accuracy of the technology. However, for this entire group, adherence to technology is key: even small deviations can have disastrous consequences.

Once again, please note that the cost of the ventilation system must be added to the cost of all non-inertial boxes. If it works out - natural, if not - forced will be necessary (it is much more expensive to install and maintain). But there must be ventilation, and it must be calculated correctly.

The construction of a wooden house will require about 60-70% of the cost of a brick one. But it is also necessary to include caulking and sanding of the frame. You won't be able to get by without them. However, if a wooden house is immediately planned for finishing, sanding is not required.

What is the fastest way to build?

The longest construction period is for a brick house (again). Its construction will take at least a year. This is if all technical processes proceed without delays. It will take about 6 months to make a box of building blocks from finished adobe. It takes 1-3 months to build a house from all types of panels. The same amount will be required to assemble frame houses.

Once again, wooden houses do not fit into any group. If you cut the corners on the spot, you will be assembling the walls for about a month, perhaps two. If you ordered finished project and a layout with cut-out bowls was brought to the site; it can be folded in a few days. Add time to the foundation and roof. The total will be up to six months. But you won’t be able to move in immediately after the walls have been removed - you will need to wait at least six months or even a year before finishing can begin - it depends on the initial importance of the material.

Only a house made of laminated veneer lumber can be finished immediately. All other wooden houses must stand for at least six months - the wood must dry out and shrink, take on its operational dimensions. The difference in height can be up to 15-20 cm per frame, and this is a lot. Therefore, finishing begins only after 9-12 months. So in this case, putting up a box and quickly moving into it will not work.

So, there is a sea of ​​features. But if you are deciding what kind of house to build in the country, and you plan to stay there only during the season, and you don’t want or have the opportunity to spend a lot of money, then pay attention to frames or SIP panels. They are inexpensive and can be built quickly. Just study the technology thoroughly: they don’t like mistakes.

My home is my castle

If we talk about the strength of the walls, then in first place are brick houses. These are definitely bulletproof walls. Quite strong - expanded clay concrete, cinder block, adobe technologies. Their density is also enough to stop a bullet. With other building blocks it is a little more difficult - you need to look at the density.

Expanded clay concrete is a good choice - dense enough to be reliable, average in price and construction speed (about 6 months)

Houses with concrete components 3D panel, MDM, SOTA, Thermod, Izod are quite durable. All other technologies are in no way an obstacle to serious shock loads. Of course, nothing can break through them, but they are definitely not a fortress.

As you can see, it is impossible to say unequivocally that any technology is the best. Weigh the advantages and disadvantages, choose the most important points and determine for yourself what kind of house will be built so that it meets your requirements.

Fixed
formwork Warm
ceramics

Comparison various materials and their combinations for thermal conductivity:

What to build a house from?

Before starting construction, you need to decide why you need a country house. Conventionally, country houses can be divided into two large categories.

Seasonal houses. They are designed primarily for summer living and for ambient temperatures of 0...-5°C. The walls of such houses are made in a frame design, from timber 100 - 150 mm thick, from rounded logs of small (up to 220 mm) diameters. Due to low level protecting the walls of such a house from heat loss, the construction cost is low.

Some typical wall options for such houses:

Homes for permanent residence. The name speaks for itself and implies constant heating in winter. They are designed for outdoor temperatures down to -30°C. Such houses can be either wooden or stone.

Walls wooden houses for year-round use are made from profiled or sawn timber from 200 mm and above, with or without insulation, from rounded or chopped logs 240 - 280 mm.

Stone houses for permanent residence are also built using different technologies: monolithic houses in permanent formwork, stone houses from aerated blocks (gas silicate blocks), bricks, warm ceramics, expanded clay concrete blocks.

Typical wall designs for permanent residences:

You can read more about the energy efficiency of various building materials in the article Thermal characteristics of wall materials.

Choosing building material

Wooden house usually chosen by people who prioritize the environmental friendliness of the building. In such a house it is most pleasant to relax from heavy working week, get some sleep, get some psychological relief. Wooden walls maintain a very comfortable atmosphere for humans - an optimal level of humidity and air exchange. Stone house, First of all, a practical choice. Minimum operating costs, low heat loss and long service life are the factors that make you think about building such a home. Combined house- a house that allows you to combine the practicality of a stone house with the light atmosphere of a wooden one. The stone ground floor provides space for practical solutions and design experiments, and in the bedrooms wooden second floors, your sleep will be sound and pleasant. General comparative characteristics of materials are summarized in two tables. The tables contain general information, and not technical coefficients and parameters, which, if interested, are not difficult to find. Table 1.

Material	+	-
	Low weight (600 - 900 kg/m3) allows the use of a lightweight shallow foundation. The material is environmentally friendly and acts as a natural filter in the room. The ability to leave the internal and external surfaces of the walls without additional finishing. Possibility of year-round construction, wide architectural possibilities, attractive appearance. Price.	Fire hazard, susceptible to biological effects, wood shrinkage, cracking, lower durability compared to stone houses, lower wall heat transfer resistance.
Warm ceramics	High degree of fire protection, low susceptibility to atmospheric influences, absence of biological influence, high structural strength, durability, good performance vapor permeability.	The desirability of using foundations poured to the depth of soil freezing. Requires interior wall finishing, restrictions on wall construction work in winter. Difficulty in attaching heavy hanging structures to hollow walls. The wall thickness is quite large - 51cm (without insulation). High price.
Monolithic houses (in permanent formwork)	Short construction time. Savings when constructing foundations. Saving on the cost of wall materials. High thermal characteristics of walls. Expanded polystyrene - environmentally friendly pure material, does not contain substances that feed microorganisms. Durability and reliability of monolithic walls. High seismic resistance. High resistance of the structure to destruction on floating foundations.	It is not a natural eco-friendly material. Wall finishing required. For plastering, special expensive materials are used - “wet plaster”.
Gas silicate blocks (Air blocks)	Good vapor permeability, high heat capacity. Does not emit any harmful substances into the atmosphere. Good frost resistance and durability.	Requires more complex compared to monolithic houses, foundations. Difficulty in attaching heavy suspended structures to fragile walls made of aerated blocks. Inability to carry out work in winter.

Table 2.

Materials	Thermal conductivity	Reliability	Eco-friendly	Exploitation	Foundation cost	Fire safety	Vapor-air-permeability
Beam and log	*	**	***	*	***	*	***
Gas silicate block	**	**	**	***	**	***	**
Foam block	*	*	**	**	**	***	**
Monolith in permanent formwork	***	***	**	***	**	**	*
Warm ceramics (porous brick)	**	**	***	***	*	***	**

Some additions.

To maintain normal heat and humidity conditions in brick house, it must be constantly heated. If the house has not been used in winter, then in the spring it will have to be heated thoroughly before it warms up and the rooms become dry. House made of wood or monolithic house, built using permanent formwork technology, does not require heating during the winter.

The construction of a heavy foundation and thick brick walls is significantly more expensive compared to the construction of a wooden cottage or the construction of a monolithic house.

In a wooden house exchange and purification of air occurs more intensively. Through a log or timber in an enclosed space, up to 30% of the air per day can change, and the unique properties of these materials allow them to release accumulated moisture in dry weather, and, on the contrary, to absorb excess moisture from the living room in damp weather. That is why wooden houses have a special microclimate and a high level of comfort. Wood is a very living material. Even after being cut down, it continues to breathe, radiate heat energy, and exude the aroma of resin. Wooden houses give people a boost of bioenergy, heal them, and have a positive effect on the human nervous system.

Construction of a monolithic house using permanent formwork gives creative scope to the most daring architectural ideas. This material can bring to life any architectural form - from a warm garage for an iron pet to the floating lines of a small country residence. And you can be proud of the heating of the building in front of your neighbors - it is so economical.

A house made of warm ceramics is a combination of durability, reliability and environmental friendliness. The walls of such a house will last for hundreds of years, paying off their fairly high cost. A house made of such blocks does not need additional insulation(with a wall thickness of 51cm). The use of natural clay as a basis for ceramic blocks guarantees the absence of any chemical impurities in the air. Such a house is a long-term investment in which more than one generation of descendants will live.

So, make up your mind!! If your choice is in favor of a cozy wooden house or you are attracted by the reliability and durability of a stone one, contact our construction company, we will help you select a project from the catalog, or we will develop a new one to suit your needs.

WOODEN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

Which tree is better?

Many developers are faced with the question of what type of wood to build a house from. Since ancient times, preference has been given to trees when constructing a wooden house. coniferous species- larch, pine and spruce. No wonder there was a saying among the people: “The hut is a spruce tree, but the heart is healthy!”
The most famous material for wood construction is pine. It has a hard, resin-impregnated core and a looser
top part. Of all the coniferous species, pine is most often used in construction. It is distinguished by the greatest straightness of the trunk, the minimum number of knots and good technical properties. Pine has a high resistance to decay, but often (especially in July-August) with high humidity it tends to turn blue. Blue stains in themselves do not change the physical and mechanical properties of wood, but spoil the appearance. Pine is the main material for the construction of wooden houses, both here and in Europe (in particular, in Finland).

An equally popular building material is spruce. The physical characteristics of these breeds are very similar. Spruce has a stronger outer shell, but a softer core. In a dry state, spruce wood is not inferior in strength to pine wood. Spruce is more susceptible to rotting, but turns blue much less. On the world market, spruce is valued higher than pine.

Another building material (almost ideal) is larch, which has a unique pattern that is unique to it. Larch is stronger, denser and practically unaffected by moisture, but it is more difficult to process than pine and splits easily. Therefore, larch is ideal as a wall material, but is not used as a material for structures (beams, valleys, rafters, tie-downs, etc.). However, this material is relatively expensive and not available to everyone.

What will we build the walls from?

Our construction company offers a large selection of building materials for your home or bathhouse. Let's look at their main types.

Technological material that requires a minimum of manual labor construction of a house, since the house is assembled according to the principle of a designer. All necessary operations with rounded logs are performed at the production site, in particular the selection of mounting cups and landing channel in rounded logs.

The advantage of a rounded log is its smooth, round shape allowing to achieve a tight connection of logs. The diameter of rounded logs ranges from 160 to 320 mm. And thanks to the same diameter and high quality Surface treatment of rounded logs does not require wall finishing.

Advantages of building houses and baths from rounded logs:

Precision manufacturing of rounded logs and their marking speeds up the assembly of buildings and reduces construction costs;

The beautiful appearance of rounded logs due to the high quality and cleanliness of the surface treatment allows you to do without additional finishing of the walls inside and outside;

The tightness of crown and corner connections of logs is ensured by the technological precision of the groove and “cups”;

The aesthetic appeal of buildings constructed using rounded logs.

2. Hand-hewn logs with a diameter of up to 40 cm
For manual cutting environmentally friendly, high-quality wood (spruce, pine, larch) is used, not infected with woodworm and fungus, with a humidity of 45-60%. It is quite easy to process and is less deformed when natural drying in assembled form. The logs undergo manual processing: removal of bark, cutting, removal of cups and grooves, processing with a plane. This treatment preserves the upper hard protective layer logs (“sapwood”). Hand-hewn logs are less deformed during the aging process. Corner connections logs are made into a “bowl” or “paw” with each other, the crowns are fastened with wooden spikes (dowel) every 1000 - 1500 mm, all logs are treated with an antiseptic. Such houses are warmer than those assembled from rounded logs, and their walls are less susceptible to cracks. And with high-quality processing of logs, the appearance of such houses is not much inferior to houses made of rounded logs.
If you like old Russian or Finnish style of houses - this is your material!

A house made of profiled timber is an island of comfort and coziness in the world of the concrete jungle. A wooden house will delight its owner with a very comfortable atmosphere indoors - after all wood is an excellent natural conditioner , maintaining air exchange and humidity at a very comfortable level for humans.
When producing profiled timber, a high purity of the treated surface is achieved, so the wood becomes almost polished, which allows you to avoid using additional materials for the interior decoration of a wooden house, and therefore avoid unnecessary costs. Unlike log walls, the walls in a cottage made of profiled timber are even, almost o makes it easier possible finishing, furniture arrangement, use of wall cabinets.
Currently, many people prefer this material. The price-quality ratio is optimal here. Cottages made from profiled timber are very modern, look great, and withstand temperature changes well, which is very important for the regions of central Russia.
The construction of houses and cottages from profiled timber is a technological process that includes processing the material on a machine and preparing a “cup” with a double lock. It is possible to pre-assemble the house in the workshop, which ensures particularly high assembly accuracy. Final assembly includes erecting the frame on the construction site, drilling and securing the timber with dowels.
When building cottages and country houses from profiled timber, our company uses material manufactured by one of the company’s departments.

4. Regular sawn (unplaned) timber
This is the cheapest wood building material. The sawn timber used for the construction of a well for a wooden house is made of an equilateral section (150x150mm, 200x200mm), or a versatile section (from 150x100mm). In construction, either simply sawn timber or planed timber (on one or both sides) is used. Basically, ordinary timber with a cross section of 150x150, 200x150, 200x200 mm is used for the construction of country houses (optimal price/quality ratio), and larger sizes - for the construction of cottages with subsequent insulation and finishing with other facing materials.
However, we must not forget that a simple beam does not have a thermal lock. Because of this, it is difficult to insulate it, because... the blowing coefficient will be several times higher than that of a wall made of properly made logs or profiled timber. In any case, after 1 - 1.5 years (after the log house has dried out), it is necessary to carefully caulk the seams between the beams and sheathe finishing materials walls both inside and outside (eurolining, siding, etc.). All these activities absorb the savings obtained when purchasing the timber itself. The benefit here is one thing - such a house can be built (and, therefore, invested in it) in stages, over time.

Naturally, any option for constructing a wooden house must involve antiseptic treatment of the walls with special compounds and paints that protect the wood from blueing, putrefactive diseases, mold and wood-boring beetles.

TECHNOLOGIES OF THE XXI CENTURY: Monolithic houses in permanent formwork

IN modern world, where are the prices for building materials, as well as electricity, gas and fuel are growing rapidly, the issue of cost-effective construction of cottages is being raised quite seriously, and during operation - saving on heating and air conditioning of houses.
In this regard, we propose technology of monolithic housing construction "Izodom" (using permanent formwork made of expanded polystyrene). This technology for thermal protection, sound insulation, comfort, simplicity and speed of construction, as well as durability refers to advanced technologies in the field of construction and is designed for rapid construction warm, reliable and inexpensive houses.
This technology has been tested for many years in the USA, Canada and Western Europe, confirming the cost-effectiveness and durability of this system, and in recent years it has begun to enjoy popularity in Russia. The scope of application of the Izodom technology is the construction of cottages, rural houses and dachas; construction of shops, cafes; multi-storey residential buildings; warm individual pools, garages and much more.

What does the Izodom technology (monolithic houses) give to developers?

Reduced construction time. When using traditional materials (such as brick), building a house takes up to long term. If you build using the Izodom technology, the same wall area is built several times faster.
Savings when constructing foundations, since Izodom walls create a significantly lower specific load on the foundation. For such a house it is recommended to install a shallow foundation.
Saving on the cost of wall materials. Price square meter Izodom walls are significantly lower than the cost of a brick wall, which is similar in terms of heat conservation.
Benefit from obtaining additional usable space, since the thickness of the IZODOM walls is much less than the thickness of walls made of other building materials with similar heat-saving ability.
High thermal characteristics of walls- this is a way to avoid high costs for the purchase of expensive heating equipment, transportation of fuel, time and labor for its operation. The cost of heating an IZODOM building will be 3-4 times less compared to a brick building.

How cottages are built from monolithic concrete.

The Izodom system modules are hollow polystyrene foam blocks with a density of 25-27 kg/m3, which are joined together like parts children's construction set. Permanent formwork modules have cavities that are reinforced and filled with concrete during the construction process, and a special The design of the locks allows you to quickly and accurately connect blocks. In this way, a monolithic wall is constructed, framed on the inside and outside with a heat- and sound-insulating shell made of expanded polystyrene. Thanks to this wall design, houses built using permanent formwork are durable, light and very warm. The wall thickness is selected depending on the purpose of the structure, as well as the temperature parameters of the construction region.
Internal partitions houses can be made from these same blocks or from any other traditional materials. When constructing buildings, you can use any type of floors - monolithic floors, concrete plates or classic wooden floor designs.
For exterior finishing plaster, siding, facing brick or stone can be used on walls. Interior decoration Can carried out using plaster or plasterboard. The undoubted advantage of a house built using this technology is that the walls, both internal and external, have a very smooth surface, therefore, an economical thin layer of plaster is needed to finish the walls. In addition, electrical wiring is very easy to install in such walls.
Expanded polystyrene is environmentally friendly (97% air and 3% material) and is even used for packaging food products. It does not contain substances that feed microorganisms, i.e. not subject to the destructive effects of rodents, mold and bacteria. In addition, it does not burn unless exposed to flame for a long time (more than 2.5 hours).

Technical parameters of walls.

The wall thickness is 25, 30 or 35 cm, where 15 cm is concrete, the rest (10, 15 or 20 cm, respectively) is polystyrene foam.

The weight of the walls without finishing is 400 kg/m2.
Concrete consumption is about 125 liters per square meter of wall.
Thermal conductivity coefficient - R0=0.036 W/mK excluding external and internal finishing.
The fire resistance limit of the wall is 2.5 hours.
Vapor permeability - 0.032 mg/(m.h.Pa).
Water absorption in 24 hours, by volume - 0.1%.
Acoustic insulation - 46 dB.

Fire safety:

Fire hazard class of load-bearing wall - K0 (fire spread limit is 0)
The fire resistance limit of a load-bearing wall is at least 155 min.**

* According to the conclusion of the State Unitary Enterprise "NIIMosstroy"
** According to testing center of the Federal State Institution VNIIPO EMERCOM of Russia

Whatever material you choose to build your house, we will be happy to help the future homeowner decide on a project or develop an individual one, discuss materials and finishing, and build STRONG HOUSE, according to your wishes, tastes and capabilities.

Any person who decides to build a private house wants his future home to be reliable and provide warmth and comfort for many years.

In order for dreams to become reality, you must first take a serious approach to the choice of material from which the walls will be built.

To build a house, you can use a wide variety of materials - timber, cinder block, aerated concrete, rounded logs, brick, sandwich panels, foam concrete. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so ideal option does not exist.

House made of timber

Suitable for people who prefer natural and environmental material. Modern house construction is made from laminated and solid timber.

According to its characteristics solid timber more environmentally friendly, but it requires mandatory treatment with special compounds to protect the wood from fire, pests and rot.

Glued laminated timber is more resistant to negative external influences and, in addition, has a low deformation coefficient. But it also has its pitfalls.

An unscrupulous manufacturer may use low-quality wood in its production. And, what’s most offensive, this can be determined upon examination. finished product almost impossible.

Cinder block house

Cinder block is an inexpensive building material that is made from slag, water and a binder. The thermal conductivity coefficient directly depends on the porosity and size of the block.

If we talk about the advantages of cinder block, it is distinguished by its low price, durability and short construction time.

This material also has plenty of disadvantages. It has low frost resistance, a high water absorption coefficient and low environmental friendliness.

House made of aerated concrete

A distinctive feature of aerated concrete is its porous structure, which is achieved through a special production technology.

Aerated concrete has low thermal conductivity and small specific gravity, which allows you to build houses from it on lightweight foundations. The presence of a groove and a tenon on aerated concrete blocks facilitates the installation of walls during construction.

Aerated concrete blocks have few disadvantages, but they still exist. It has a high coefficient of water absorption, so such houses require additional external finishing.

You can view the comparative characteristics of aerated concrete with other building materials on the website bgazobeton.ru. If necessary, you can purchase it there.

House made of rounded logs

A house made of rounded logs is a modern version of the classic “log” house. The only difference is that the logs have the same diameter and size, which has a positive effect on the construction of the house.

The advantages of a house made of rounded logs are the same as those of the classic material for log houses. The main disadvantage is that it requires special treatment protective compounds from negative impact external factors.

Brick house

Brick is a universal building material that has been a leader in the construction market for a long time. It does not lose its popularity even today. Ceramic or silicate bricks are used in the construction of houses.

Sand-lime brick has high strength, density and frost resistance, and when using the hollow version, sound insulation increases and heat loss decreases.

Its cost is lower than ceramic bricks. The main disadvantages include low fire resistance, high water absorption coefficient and construction time.

Sandwich panel house

Sandwich panels have found their application in the construction of prefabricated houses. The composition of these panels is insulation and galvanized steel sheets.

This material has many advantages - quick installation of the building, does not require laying a reinforced foundation, and has a high coefficient of sound and heat insulation.

And now about the shortcomings. There is a possibility of damage to the outer sheet, cold bridges may form in the places where the panels are joined, and a rather short service life compared to other building materials.

House made of foam concrete

According to its characteristics, foam concrete is similar to aerated concrete. A significant difference is the fact that houses built from aerated concrete practically do not shrink, as they have the necessary margin of safety.

Foam concrete needs time to gain strength. It hardens within a month, and the house undergoes shrinkage for some time.

But unlike aerated concrete, foam concrete has a lower water absorption coefficient. If we talk about the geometry of the blocks, then with aerated concrete it is more accurate.

Construction of a country house is a complex and responsible process that requires considerable investment and a detailed approach to the selection of materials for the construction of the foundation, roof, and load-bearing walls. You should be prepared for the fact that from 25 to 50% of the entire budget will be spent on the “box” and walls alone. This is why choosing the right material is so important. We will tell you how to do this in this article.

What is the best material to build a cottage for permanent residence from?

When choosing building materials for building walls, you should take into account at least three criteria:

1. Price

To reduce costs, it is better to select options with minimal weight - you will be able to save significantly on the installation of the foundation, since it is selected based on the calculation of the obtained weight of the load-bearing structures. The light weight of the walls allows you to choose a lightweight foundation, for example, a pile or block foundation.

2. Thermal insulation characteristics

Not all wall materials retain heat well. Cold walls in the autumn-winter period will require large expenses for heating the premises. It is for this reason that it is important to make accurate calculations of the thickness of the walls and their thermal conductivity, taking into account the climatic conditions of the region where the country house is being built.

An optimal level of thermal insulation can be achieved by using an additional layer of insulation. Or consider a more effective, in this regard, wall building material. For example, gas silicate - houses built from it, as a rule, do not require the use of insulation.

3. Time costs

The fastest way to build cottages and dachas is from gas silicate blocks and “frameworks”; the longest time is from bricks and timber that has not undergone technical drying.

Let's take a closer look at the main building materials used in the construction of country houses for permanent residence.

Ceramic brick - a classic of country house construction

Visual feature - red or Orange color. It is made from fired clay and has impressive characteristics in terms of wear resistance, strength and durability.

This is one of the most highly environmentally friendly materials. Not afraid of high and low temperatures, as well as their changes. Does not deteriorate when exposed to sunlight, rain and snow.

There are two main types of bricks on the market: hollow and solid. For hollow - up to 50% voids are typical, for solid - this figure should not exceed 13%.

Bricks also differ in the shape of the voids and their number. As a rule, the more voids they have, the higher their thermal insulation qualities.

Sand-lime brick - affordable price, convenient sizes, high quality

It has a gray-white hue and is made from a mixture of sand, additives and lime. This type of brick is available in two types: with and without internal cavities.

The strength of sand-lime and ceramic bricks is determined by the assigned grade. Manufacturers mark bricks with the letter symbol M and a serial number. The higher this number, the greater the load it can withstand.

Criteria for choosing a brick: what to look for?

An important indicator of this material is its frost resistance, designated letter code F and a number: from 15 to 100. The number series indicates the number of freezing/thawing cycles during which the material is not destroyed and there is no loss of its technical and operational qualities.

For the construction of load-bearing structures in residential buildings located in a temperate climate zone (with rare abnormal cold), it is optimal to use brick grade F15; for colder regions, it is recommended to use a grade of at least F25 for the construction of walls.

For all its versatility and many positive qualities, brick is an expensive material, and not everyone can afford to build a house from it.

Other disadvantages of sand-lime brick include:

• heavy weight;
• the need to build a solid foundation;
• installation of thermal insulation;
• complex masonry;
• high costs for the work of specialists.

Ceramic block – modern house building using European technologies

In Europe, residential buildings are mainly built in two ways: using ceramic blocks, and also using frame-panel technology.

The first option is more reliable and durable - the service life will be at least 100 years. Houses made of ceramic blocks have good strength, which allows the construction of buildings of both 2 and 3 floors.

The height of a standard ceramic block is similar to a classic brick. It differs from the latter in length, width and weight. The width varies from 23 to 25 cm, the length can be from 25 cm to 51 cm. The larger the block, the easier it is to lay it, reducing costs due to savings adhesive solution. For wall masonry, it is optimal to use blocks with a length of 30 centimeters.

When building a house from ceramic blocks with a thickness of 38 cm or more, you don’t have to do any additional thermal insulation of the walls at all - experts note that this material has minimal thermal conductivity.

Ceramic block has a strength rating similar to sand-lime brick. For reliability, when constructing walls, it is recommended to use blocks of grades M150 and F50. Such a house can withstand up to 50 freeze/thaw cycles, and will keep warm very well in the winter season.

Advantages of the material:

1. optimal degree of noise absorption;
2. good thermal insulation;
3. “breathable” structure due to the presence of porosity.

Load-bearing structures made of ceramic blocks regulate the humidity in the room, absorb excess, creating a favorable microclimate. The maximum service life of a residential building made of ceramic blocks is 150 years, during which the material will not lose the technical and operational characteristics specified by the manufacturer.

The disadvantages of ceramic block include:

1. high price;
2. The material appeared relatively recently on Russian market, so not every master has the skills to work with it;
3. It is fragile, which requires the creation of certain conditions during storage and transportation.

Aerated concrete blocks: in trend for more than 10 years

Despite their unattractive “appearance,” houses built from aerated concrete blocks are reliable and warm. Walls made of aerated concrete 30-40 cm thick are no worse than brick walls in their thermal insulation qualities. And the façade of a house can always be made more expressive by exterior finishing siding or decorative brick.

In cottages built from aerated concrete, air humidity and temperature are always pleasant and comfortable for residents. This building material does not rot or collapse under the influence of low and high temperatures.

The thermal insulation of aerated concrete is three times higher than that of brick. Due to the presence of hundreds of tiny pores, aerated concrete block environmentally friendly and safe, relatively cheap compared to ceramic blocks and bricks. It also has good technical and operational properties in terms of frost resistance and strength.

This material is easy to install. It can be cut into pieces with a regular hacksaw or saw. Plus, constructing a wall made of aerated concrete will require a significantly smaller amount of mortar, thanks to large sizes blocks. The use of a special adhesive solution allows you to create the thinnest possible seam, which contributes to high thermal insulation in the room, with no cold bridges.

Important technical specifications aerated concrete - density. It is denoted by the Latin letter D and a numerical indicator ranging from 350 to 1200 kg per m3. For the construction of a cottage or summer house, it is better to select brands from D500.

Another huge advantage of this building material is its lightness. Thanks to this, you can significantly save on foundation construction. Standard weight one block – only 18 kg. And it has the same characteristics as 20 bricks weighing 80 kg.

Aerated concrete also has its disadvantages:

• the material may crumble and be susceptible to cracks;
• loses its properties when exposed to moisture - during storage and construction, walls must be protected from rain and snow.

Wood and timber

To create a favorable microclimate in the house, many people prefer to build walls from natural wood. Fresh air, nice smell, maintaining optimal humidity, keeping warm in winter and cool in summer, environmental friendliness is far from full list advantages of natural wood.

The technology of construction from hand-processed logs, used for centuries, has today faded into the background, giving way to timber produced in factories and delivered to the site already in finished form. Wooden beams are produced in different sizes and sections, they are square, D-shaped and rectangular.

To build a house you can use timber:

• Planed. The humidity of the building material is not higher than 20%. The wood is dried as much as possible and planed under production conditions. The shrinkage of such timber is minimal;
• Sawn. The wood is moister, without additional drying. Usually immediately after cutting it is sent to the construction site. The main disadvantage of a sawn log house is that it requires at least a year to shrink (can reach up to 10 cm in diameter with the appearance of longitudinal or transverse cracks);
• Glued. It is produced from layer-by-layer laid, pre-dried wooden slats. The moisture content of the material does not exceed 10%. The gluing of the lamellas is carried out under pressure, the fibers are located perpendicular to each other, which eliminates deformation of the timber, shrinkage, and reduces the risk of cracks.

Are frame houses suitable for permanent residence?

Frame houses are difficult to classify as real estate for permanent residence. Today the technology has been improved in Europe, but is not yet fully adapted to the Russian climate and conditions. In addition, we still have very few specialists capable of accurately installing all structures without deviating from technology.

In any case, if you are planning to build a cottage for year-round use, the “framework” will have to be significantly insulated. Without this, such houses will definitely be cold in winter in most Russian regions.

Choice good insulation, its width and correct styling- This is an extensive topic that deserves a separate article.

What wall material is better to choose?

Almost all wall materials used today in low-rise construction have decent technical and operational characteristics, tested in our harsh climatic conditions, withstanding and high humidity air, and constant temperature changes.

When choosing a material, it is important to weigh the pros and cons and select optimal brand, evaluate the financial side of the issue, and also strictly adhere to construction technology. And then your home will delight you with warmth and comfort for many years.