Foam concrete as a building material

Recommendation points

• Advantages of foam concrete
• Reliability
• Heat resistance
• Thermal insulation
• High density and lightness
• Soundproofing
• Sustainability
• Good workability
• Profitability
• Fire safety
• Convenient transportation
• Width of application
• Low cost

Foam concrete, due to its porous structure, has excellent sound insulation. A very important quality of foam concrete is fire resistance, which makes it indispensable in the construction of any buildings that are not fire safe. The ideal surface of foam concrete is suitable for absolutely any kind of decor. In general, if you look for cons of this building material, it turns out that there are practically none of them – only advantages. So let’s consider all these advantages of foam concrete in more detail..

Advantages of foam concrete

Reliability

The reliability of foam concrete is determined by the fact that it is an ageless and practically eternal material, since it is not affected by time and has a compressive strength comparable to that of a stone. In addition, this material is not subject to decay and structural changes, as, for example, occurs in wooden structures..

Heat resistance

The high thermal resistance of foam concrete allows a building built of this material to accumulate heat, thereby reducing heating costs during operation by 20-30%.

Thermal insulation

The creation of a favorable microclimate in the house is one of the very important merits of foam concrete, which prevents significant heat losses in winter, avoids unacceptably high temperatures in summer and regulates the humidity in the premises by absorbing moisture and its subsequent release.

High density and lightness

Foam concrete has a sufficiently low density in order to make rather large blocks out of it, while maintaining their lightness in comparison with brick or ordinary, standard concrete. In this way, a record speed of masonry and subsequent processing of walls during finishing is achieved – for example, channels and holes are easily cut through walls made of foam concrete for the installation of electrical wiring, sockets or water and sewer pipes.

Soundproofing

Sound insulation is one of the most important requirements for modern building materials. Foam concrete fully complies with this requirement, since due to its cellular structure it perfectly provides absorption of sound of any intensity.

Sustainability

The ecological properties of foam concrete are also at a very high level and are confirmed by all international certificates – in this it is practically not inferior to wood. Foam concrete during operation does not emit any toxic substances, and if you make a comparative analysis, then the environmental safety of foam concrete is 5 times higher than any kind of brick, and 10 times higher than expanded clay blocks.

Good workability

Foam concrete has good workability, and it is thanks to this property that any elements can be easily made from foam concrete blocks – both the most diverse angular shapes and the most elegant configurations of arches, pyramids and other elements, which, in turn, will give the new home the necessary beauty and complete architectural expressiveness.

Profitability

The efficiency of foam concrete as a building material is ensured by the high geometric accuracy of the dimensions of all products. This allows the blocks to be laid not only on mortar, but also on glue, as well as to avoid unwanted “cold bridges” in the wall folded from foam concrete, and, in addition, to significantly reduce the thickness of the plaster – both internal and external. The total weight of foam concrete blocks is up to 80% in comparison with ordinary heavy concrete – this, as a rule, leads to a significant reduction in the load on the foundation, which allows significant savings on materials during its construction.

Fire safety

In terms of fire safety, foam concrete occupies one of the leading places among all building materials. Foam concrete walls reliably protect the building from the spread of fire, as they correspond to the highest degree of fire resistance, confirmed by numerous tests.

Convenient transportation

The ratio of weight and volume of foam concrete, including packaging, makes foam concrete building elements and structures very convenient for transportation, which allows using the power of road and rail transport with maximum efficiency.

Width of application

The breadth of application is another significant plus of foam concrete, it is suitable for almost all types of construction work – from heat and sound insulation of roofs and floors, to heat insulation of pipes, production of prefabricated blocks, panels and partitions in houses. In addition, higher density foam concrete is suitable for the construction of foundations and floor slabs..

Low cost

The relatively low cost of foam concrete in comparison with other building materials makes it very popular in the construction of private low-rise buildings for almost all segments of the population..