The warmest house – brick, timber or frame technology

Recommendation points

• Why does the house have to be warm
• Brick house
• Warm house from a bar
• Warm house using frame technology
• Warm home technology

In this article: A warm house is a mandatory rule; characteristics of a brick house; wooden house – the pros and cons; characteristics of a frame house; how to make a house really warm.

What should be a good home? Big enough, good-looking, relatively inexpensive, and just as important, warm – heating costs don’t have to make a big dent in a homeowner’s budget. In equatorial states, the problem of a warm house is not as acute as in our country – some walls made of reed, some kind of roof made of the same material, and here it is, a full-fledged house. If everything were as simple in a temperate climate … Consider in this article the options for structural materials and their effectiveness in creating a really warm home.

Why does the house have to be warm

Our cities look great at night, and regardless of the number of lampposts with working gas-discharge lamps, the houses themselves glow, however, this glow is noticeable only on the thermal imager screen. Private houses and high-rise buildings every night of the warm season and around the clock during cold weather in the best way warm the atmosphere of the city, giving the warmth of the premises to the street. And this is one of the main reasons for the higher temperature of the urban atmosphere compared to the suburban. Why, then, city builders in the last century did not take into account such high heat losses of the buildings they erected?

From the middle of the last century, large-scale construction began in the union republics – cities absorbed the outskirts, new microdistricts grew. The builders were faced with the task of building as many square meters of living space as possible in the shortest possible time, with minimal costs. As for the high heat loss rates of buildings, no one thought about this at that time, because there was an abundance of cheap fuel.

Today the situation in the fuel industry has changed dramatically – the world’s hydrocarbon reserves, as it turned out, are running out very quickly and against this background, their prices are growing. Therefore, the construction of energy-saving “warm houses” is not a whim, but an urgent need, enshrined in law in the federal law of the Russian Federation No. 261-FZ “On energy saving and on increasing energy efficiency and on amending certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” 2009 year.

Brick house

Among other construction materials, brick is the most popular – it is with it that the concepts of “good quality” and “reliable” are associated; for most Russians, the authority of brick in matters of construction is indisputable, despite its rather high cost. However, brick walls without any additional insulation have high rates of thermal conductivity: 0.56 W / (m • K) solid ceramic brick; 0.70 W / (m • K) silicate brick; 0.47 W / (m • K) hollow ceramic brick. The thermal conductivity of brick exceeds only reinforced concrete – 1.68 W / (m • K).

Advantages of brick buildings:

• strong, durable walls;
• fire resistance, i.e. absolute non-flammability;
• high-quality sound insulation;
• absolute non-susceptibility to rotting and insect attack;
• overlapping with reinforced concrete slabs is permissible;
• deep foundation makes it easy to create a basement.

Cons of brick buildings:

• high cost of construction material;
• the need for a strong foundation laid over the entire freezing depth (on average 1.5 m);
• high heat transfer, the need for additional thermal insulation. Without an insulating layer, the wall thickness that can retain heat must be at least 1.5 m;
• the impossibility of periodic (seasonal) use of a brick building. Brick walls absorb heat and moisture well – in the cold season, full warming up of the building, where the owners are not often, will take at least three days, it will take at least a month to completely eliminate excess moisture.

In addition to the listed disadvantages, brick walls of 2.5 bricks will “steal” from 1/3 to 1/6 of the usable area of ​​the premises (depending on their size), after erecting the building box, it is required to pause for at least a year for the walls to shrink and only then proceed to finishing works. A thick cement-sand joint that holds the brickwork together has a three times higher thermal conductivity coefficient compared to brick, i.e. heat loss through a masonry joint is more significant than through a ceramic or silicate brick.

The technology of a warm brick house will require additional insulation from the outer (outer) side of the walls – either by insulation plates with mesh reinforcement and plastering, or by installing the insulation and overlapping it from the outside with a ventilated facade.

Warm house from a bar

A wooden house costs the customer much cheaper than a brick building – most often it is the relative cheapness of a wooden house that attracts its future owners and tenants. In addition, wood has a much lower thermal conductivity coefficient than brick – 0.09 W / (m • K).

Positive characteristics of wooden houses:

• the low weight of the wooden structure of the house allows you to lay a lightweight foundation under it, including a columnar (pile) foundation;
• low heat capacity allows the building to be used for intermittent residence;
• wood walls create a pleasant atmosphere in the premises, filling the air with the scent of pine needles;
• the natural structure of the tree normalizes the level of humidity in the house;
• the walls of a wooden house are able to withstand the cycles of freezing and thawing several times, thereby ensuring a long service life.

Negative characteristics:

• premises in wooden houses have worse sound insulation than in brick and concrete buildings;
• it is difficult to create large rooms (for example, from 60 m²) on the ground floor without additional reinforcement of the structure with pillars;
• low fire resistance. The advantage in terms of fire resistance of concrete, brick and stone buildings in comparison with wooden houses is obvious. The only exception is larch, the wood of which is very resistant to combustion;
• exposure to insects and decay, which requires periodic treatment with aseptic preparations;
• the need to maintain buildings for at least a year before starting finishing the premises. In this case, the draft of wood can be up to 10% of the initial volume of construction materials, which exceeds the draft of frame and stone walls three times;
• require caulking of cracks as it settles, and this work must be done periodically.

The rigidity of floor beams in wooden houses is most often insufficient; when walking on them, deflections are noticeable. However, this unpleasant phenomenon is no longer associated with the low strength characteristics of the tree, but with the insufficient professionalism of the builders.

With less heat loss compared to brick, wooden houses still need to be additionally insulated.

Warm house using frame technology

According to a number of its characteristics, a frame house looks more attractive than a stone or wooden one – its construction is much cheaper and faster, the SIP panels that sheathe the frame have the lowest thermal conductivity coefficient among other building materials 0.0022 W / (m • K).

Pros of frame houses:

• lightweight foundation, columnar (pile) is allowed;
• it takes no more than a week to erect a frame box, the calibrated elements of which are manufactured at the factory from dry wood;
• no time is required for the drying of the wood, i.e. work on the cladding and finishing of the building begins immediately after the end of the frame assembly;
• assembly of a frame-panel house can be done at any time of the year;
• no construction equipment familiar to construction sites is required, respectively, during the assembly process of the building, the damage caused to the natural landscape will be minimal;
• ideal for a temporary (seasonal) residence. In the cold season, its premises can be warmed up to the optimum temperature in just 2-3 hours;
• the building can be assembled and disassembled several times without damage to its structure.

Cons of frame houses:

• the almost complete absence of the heat capacity of the walls requires a constant heat source that works without long interruptions. Alternatively, you will need a massive brick oven capable of accumulating heat and giving it off within a few hours after stopping the furnace;
• SIP panels are not capable of absorbing excess moisture, so an effective exhaust system will be an important element in the construction of a frame house. However, laying ductwork is not cheap;
• flammability, while the release of toxic substances is possible (depending on the nature of the insulation);
• periodic processing of wooden structural elements with antiseptics is required;
• the average service life of such houses is relatively short – about 50 years. The main reason for this is the strength wear of the insulation incorporated in the construction of SIP panels..

Warm home technology

It is clear that only frame houses do not require any additional measures for insulation, in any case, until the insulation in the SIP panels is worn out. But all other residential buildings, of which the majority, must be insulated. External walls of any buildings erected after the adoption of Federal Law No. 261-FZ, that is, after 2009-2010, must have a thermal conductivity coefficient of no higher than 0.02 W / (m • K) – not only reinforced concrete should be subjected to additional insulation and brick walls, but also wooden. Consider how exactly you can reduce the heat loss of external walls made of brick and wood.

First of all, work on the insulation of the walls of the building is ideally required to be done outside the building. This is necessary for two reasons – the installation of insulation outside the building will not affect the heat capacity of brick and wooden walls, and will not reduce the useful area of ​​the premises. However, the technologies of installing insulation on external walls and the insulation itself must be treated selectively …

As a result of the vital activity of the household members of any residential building, an average of about 15 liters of water is produced per day in a vaporous state – breathing, cooking, washing, going to the bathroom. And if in non-insulated rooms the excess of this moisture is somehow removed through the walls, then upon completion of the insulation work, the moisture will not be removed at all. And with the onset of cold weather, the outer walls will acquire a lower temperature than the air temperature in the premises, and since the steam tends to the colder parts of the building, it will condense on the walls, and moisture condensation will occur continuously. As a result of moisture deposition on the inside of brick and wooden walls, dampness will appear and fungus will develop. At the same time, moisture will inevitably penetrate into the structure of the insulation placed outside on the walls of the building, causing its compaction – in particular, mineral wool and slabs based on it will suffer. An exception among heaters in this matter will be extruded polystyrene foam – this material is almost completely vapor-tight (0.013 mg / m • h • Pa).

If a decision is made on external insulation with expanded polystyrene, with its coating after installation with a layer of plaster, then the only way to combat excessive humidity in the premises will be the exhaust ventilation system. But when insulating walls with mineral wool slabs, the installation of a ventilated facade, the design of which allows you to eliminate excess moisture in the insulation due to air circulation, will be most correct. At the same time, a ventilated facade will be equally effective for brick and wooden buildings..

Important! When conceiving and carrying out work on insulating your home, be sure to take care of creating supply and exhaust ventilation, otherwise the atmosphere of the rooms of your house will be identical to the atmosphere of a greenhouse!

Insulation of the attic will be an integral part of the work on creating a warm house – about 15% of the heat is lost through this room in winter. Installation of insulation in the attic is carried out from the inside: on the floor according to the scheme “vapor barrier film – insulation layer – decorative coating”; under the roof – “a layer of waterproofing film – insulation (between the rafters) – a layer of vapor barrier film – decorative panel”. Ideally, the waterproofing membrane should be installed above the rafters, i.e. directly under the roof covering.

The warmest house that does not require any additional measures to retain heat is a frame house, the outer cladding of which already contains insulation. And if the climatic zone where the house is supposed to be erected is not characterized by particularly low temperatures of the cold season, or the building being built will be used by the owners only periodically, then the frame house will be an ideal solution. However, already in a temperate climate and when a frame house is used as a permanent home, the cost of heating it will be much higher than for heating, say, a brick house insulated from the outside, because the heat capacity of the frame walls is absolutely none, that is, it will have to be heated. constantly.

Whether we like it or not, our houses will have to be insulated. Federal Law No. 261-FZ is a requirement of our time, taking into account the promising growth of prices for energy carriers at times, because the hydrocarbons we are used to will be exhausted in the next few years, and completely.