The contents
As you know, everything new is well forgotten old. So can be said about the arbolit. The manufacturers have positioned it as a new cheap and eco-friendly material, but if you dig into the history, it turns out, it is not so. Houses and buildings out of concrete blocks were built in the middle of the last century, in Soviet times because of its cheapness and availability built there were many, especially in the private low-rise housing construction. By the way, the owners of such buildings in the vast majority positive, though the house has stood for decades.
Whether arbolit today ↑
Of course, times change, the construction materials are put forward more stringent requirements on the construction market there are many new products. For reviews of builders and customers, any construction material has its pros and cons. Taking the decision:
- The question of whether to use concrete blocks, reviews owners new and old houses will be of good help to understand the diversity of the construction materials market;
- It is important to carefully read their specifications and decide whether they are suitable for your project;
- Competent technological approach allows to minimize the disadvantages of materials, and in some cases turn them into advantages.
On the other hand, the neglect of their peculiarities, violation of technology of construction works with specific materials could lead to the fact that you have to spend extra budget on additional work, and possibly something to alter. Even worse, if you then have to live in a poor house, lamenting that his time did not pay attention to reviews and expert advice on construction. So, before you opt for any of the options from which to build a house, it is better to know the reviews of people about houses of different construction materials in order to avoid repeating their mistakes.
To properly assess the advantages and disadvantages ↑
Mixed reviews can be found about the concrete blocks. To understand their advantages and disadvantages, you need to know their composition and production technology, be superfluous and reviews of builders to experience the features of such buildings.
Wood concrete blocks belong to the category of lightweight concrete, as opilkobeton. They are made of wood chips held together with cement mortar, with the addition of chemical components to increase strength, prevent decay and destruction of concrete blocks. In recent years the popularity of concrete blocks is increasing as the number of their manufacturers. The production of concrete blocks began to engage not only serious factories, but also many handicraft manufacturers. Now even described the methods of making concrete blocks with their hands, however, adhere to the technology and to make high-quality materials in terms of artisanal production is very difficult, the quality of these materials can be much lower than is made in accordance with the requirements of GOST. Therefore, to build from concrete blocks of dubious quality, serious objects experts do not recommend.
How to choose the right concrete blocks for construction ↑
Experts advise to pay attention to the following aspects:
- Price concrete block (a quality product will not be cheap, tempting the low price may indicate the violation of the technology, using cheaper components, cheaper and harmful chemical additives is environmentally friendly, but more expensive counterparts);
- Visual-concrete block should be of a homogeneous structure, according to GOST allowed bundle not more than 10 %;
- Manufactured concrete blocks as building material, are subject to mandatory certification. The absence of such documents – an occasion to reflect, whether to buy it. By the way, not stopping to pay attention to the authenticity of the certificate of quality, unfortunately, it can also be a fake;
- Rate the color of the proposed concrete blocks and the presence of visible foreign inclusions. Reviews of the masters it is known that high-quality stone – grey color if you see in the color of the concrete blocks, the presence of any shades of green or brown, is talking about violations of the technological process. May block the material was poorly dried.
Expert reviews on quality concrete blocks suggests that an important aspect of the quality of the material is the correct selection of components. Because concrete block 80-90% consists of wood chips, the correct size of chip is very important for the quality of the finished product. Wood chips should be the size within the valid GOST’s borders as violations of the size of the chip affects the strength and thermal conductivity of concrete blocks.
If you are using wood waste exceeds the upper limit, they will not be sufficiently impregnated with the cement binder composition, it would require a reduction of strength concrete blocks. Wood chips and cement and without that not the best way are bonded to each other due to differences in the structure of materials. And if we increase the size of the chips, the strength of the concrete block will be reduced significantly.
Affects strength concrete blocks to replace part of the small sawdust wood chips. If the manufacturer tries to compensate for this by increasing the amount of cement in the original mixture, increase the heat conductivity of concrete block, thus we lose a significant advantage of this material. Judging by the reviews of owners of houses constructed of these concrete blocks, the structure will be dry and cold.
Expert reviews on quality of construction materials indicate the importance of the producer’s compliance with technological standards of production of concrete blocks. Therefore, choosing concrete blocks for construction, try to find trusted manufacturers, take the opportunity to test the strength of a few selected samples to ensure the quality of purchased material. Good selection of information can be gleaned from the video
Opinion of Egor from the Perm region, the owner of a new home:
In the cut blocks to work hand saw – a very laborious process. It is better to use a chainsaw or a saw. With the sawing of the blocks with a chainsaw, also had difficulties. Quickly sat down the chainsaw chain. On the strength of the wall no questions, punch a hole in the wall for a wood stove was hard. In the packing unit is easy and fast, and still warm. The walls must be plastered, or when the wind is strong wind and heat. The joints were made of cement. In General, the quality of construction is satisfied. More detail can be found in video
Some developers to use as building materials-concrete blocks are inspired by what it was used for construction of buildings even on the coldest continent – Antarctica. In the sixties of the last century from the unique properties of concrete built office accommodation and dining on the Soviet research station.
Indeed, in comparison with other building materials thermal insulation properties of concrete blocks is almost five times greater than brick. Reviews of builders recommend to use it in the construction of buildings no higher than 7 metres. Concrete block has high enough index of bending strength, can withstand loads well. These advantages allow to build from concrete blocks on unstable soil, the walls crack when the ground. If there are doubts about the sustainability of the house, a cutscene video
Reviews of people who built the house from concrete blocks, large stress water absorption of this material (80%) that require additional costs for protection against moisture and humidity.
Also note the unsightly appearance of houses built of concrete blocks, you will need to decorate the outside of the building decorative materials.
A review of the master Builder having considerable experience with the arbolit:
The material is quite old, even in Soviet times it produced at the factory, set up pretty much everything. Concrete block is distinguished by a significant absorption plus low strength. The house of such material, I wouldn’t. For outbuildings, garages, sheds – you’ll be fine, and for houses it is better to choose higher quality and more durable material than a mixture of chips with concrete. Even for interior partitions can be taken, instead of concrete. Insulation will pass, and strength will be enough.
The opinion of Basil, the owner of the baths-concrete block:
Built from arbolita bath. The idea is to build from arbolita was an accident, I saw a video online about the benefits of concrete blocks and decided to try it. The result exceeded my expectations. At a price two times cheaper than of logs, the construction had two workers, and, built easily, without haste in the evenings, after the main work.
Interior and exterior walls sheathed with clapboard. On the ceiling for insulation laid a layer of sawdust with the sand. For heating in the bath put the stove out of brick. In operation the bath is also satisfied. Wood goes in two times less than conventional baths. No fumes, good ventilation. Retains heat even in extreme cold, down to -30ZeroC. Advantages of the selected material is obvious, I recommend to use. More details from material
Negative reviews ↑
Cons-concrete blocks – because of the high content in concrete blocks, wood chips easily absorb moisture from the atmosphere and from the soil. You should consider carefully to do the basement waterproofing, to protect the interior and exterior walls from moisture (snow, rain, high humidity indoors). Sometimes it becomes a source of peculiar «silage» smell. Well explained the nuances Alexander Matveev on video
Disadvantages of concrete blocks is considerable variation in size, this is inconvenient of them to build.
If you read the reviews of the specialists involved in construction of concrete blocks, they do not suggest to buy stones with broken geometry. Deviation according to GOST in this position – not more than 10%, if this figure is exceeded, the build of such material will be difficult. Moreover, increased costs for mortar to deteriorate thermal conductivity, you will lose the main advantages of concrete block. It is also not advisable to buy such material if it contains visible admixtures of straw, wood bark, leaves, soil particles. According to the norms of permissible numbers of such structures should be no more than 5 %. But, on the one hand, visually you can not determine the percentage of impurities in the finished concrete block. On the other hand, if you listen to the feedback from builders, they prefer not to work with the arbolit of such quality as can guarantee high-quality masonry wall of similar material.
Negative reviews of Maxim and Oleg from the Stavropol region, living in a house of concrete blocks:
The house remains an unpleasant smell, not helped by the plastering of internal walls. Cold, heating problems in winter cannot heat the room to an acceptable temperature. The air is constantly dry, and helps moisturizer.
Perhaps the owners of such houses instead of the present arbolita acquired material handicraft with broken technology of preparation, or concrete blocks confused with opilkobeton, which according to its technical characteristics, is considerably inferior to the arbolit.
Review of Alex from Nadym, the owner of a house from concrete blocks:
About four years ago started the construction of houses from arbolita. About his choice never had to regret. The construction took about two months. In the process, great difficulties arise, responds well to sawing, it is easy to drill the necessary holes. It was easy and later when I had to install the kitchen shelves, to do mounting under the mirrors, paintings and other necessities.
In the house remain comfortable conditions both in winter and summer. Complaints practically does not occur. In winter the temperature in the house never dropped below +20ZeroWith heating costs little, comes a little more than payment for an apartment. In the summer the cost of home care minimum.
The opinion of the owner of the garage from arbolita, the problems of freezing in the bitter cold, you can see from the video
The main disadvantage of concrete block is its main feature – in wet soil, poor waterproofing, damp climate, he, like a sponge, soaks up and draws a huge amount of moisture
Conclusion ↑
The ideal materials in nature do not exist, there is perfect quality. Might want to think about buying first quality material for a small test buildings. If you just chase the cheapness, even the most durable and warm material will always show their negative side at the most inopportune moment.
