Universal insulation for a frame house. The use of foam glass in the construction of a house Foam glass in frame construction

The Ecostroy-City company offers an innovative insulation for frame house- foam glass. This material is far ahead of mineral wool, polyurethane foam and other means of heat saving, environmental friendliness and durability.

Usually the warming process standard materials happens like this:

First of all, parchment is used. It is needed to provide a waterproofing layer.
Then a foil-based insulation is laid to create a vapor barrier layer.
Followed by thermal insulation material: mineral wool, polyfoam, polyurethane.
high quality edged board. A prerequisite is a maximum humidity indicator of 15%.
The optimal section of the board is 25x150 millimeters.

If you use foam glass, then you can do without foil insulation. It perfectly copes with heat-insulating tasks, besides it does not let steam and moisture pass through itself. Blocks of foam glass are placed between the racks of the frame. Installation of the material can be done independently, if you already have experience in building houses.

Features of the use of insulation

Usually, the material for thermal insulation occupies about 80% of all walls of a frame house. At the same time, the insulation does not generate heat, it is an obstacle to the penetration of cold and moisture into the room. On the other hand, the layer keeps the necessary temperature in the house, obtained thanks to heating devices. In summer, everything happens the other way around: the coolness lingers in the rooms, and the heat remains on the street.

Foam glass not only copes with the above functions 100%, but also demonstrates soundproofing qualities. All unnecessary noise and extraneous sounds will be concentrated beyond the threshold.

Another important quality of foam glass is incombustibility. Which greatly increases the popularity this insulation compared to mineral wool and foam. In the event of a fire, there is no instantaneous smoke and emission a large number carbon dioxide.

In our company you can buy required amount foam glass blocks to ensure reliable thermal insulation of buildings. Eco-friendly insulation for a frame house will last up to 100 years, while the warranty period is at least 50 years. Detailed prices can be found by downloading the price list on the official website.

An energy-efficient eco-house built in the Novgorod region. The customer wanted the house to be very warm and environmentally friendly

It's good when it's cold outside, and the house is warm and cozy, and all comfort is provided minimal cost. The customer of the house, which will be discussed, chose to build his eco-house energy saving technology and very unusual material as a heater pressed peat blocks - geokar. The house has stood for three years, it turned out to be very comfortable: in summer there is no heat in it, it breathes like in wooden house, and even in the harsh Novgorod winters, there is very little to heat. The owner of the house is happy, and this is the main thing.

The history of the invention of "Geokar"

"Geokar", a heater based on peat - an affordable, environmentally friendly material, was developed at the Bezhetsk experimental plant and at the Tvergrazhdanproekt design institute. The production technology of "geocar" is simple. The sifted peat is mixed with water and ground in a special mill to thick paste. Then the filler (straw, sawdust, shavings) is added, blocks are formed in the press, and after the drying stage they are ready for use. By the way, there is nothing mysterious in the word "geocar", the developers named their invention in honor of the former Minister of Construction Georgy Karavaev.

Geokar - peat-based insulation

Technical characteristics of "Geokar":

Block sizes, mm - 510 x 250 x 88;
Weight - no more than 4 kg;
Thermal conductivity coefficient W / mS - 0.047-0.08;
Compressive strength kg / sq. cm - 10.7-12;
Durability - at least 75 years;
Combustibility class - G2 (flammable);
Specific weight - 250-450 kg/m. cube;
Sound insulation index at 1000 Hz - 53 dB.

Foundation of the house

A two-story house with a total area of 220 m² was built according to. Relatively lightweight design made it possible to use a shallow foundation. As a heater, foam glass was used for it - a material that is not afraid of moisture and fire.

Foam glass is produced both in the form of blocks different sizes, and in the form of a crumb

A crumb of foam glass, which is sold as waste, was also used for a blind area one and a half meters wide.

Construction of the foundation of the house. Foam glass chips were used as insulation

As a result, the foundation of the house also turned out to be energy-saving.

Construction of the foundation of the house.

house frame

Author's development of the creative team "EcoDomProject". The system is a double frame connected by rigid connections without cold bridges. Insulation is laid between the internal and external racks of the frame. Due to the high rigidity of the joints, the frame does not “lead” during the drying process, therefore, wood of natural moisture was used during construction.

regular frame

Double volume frame

In also used double beams. They, like the racks of the frame, are not subject to warping.

Construction of the frame of the house. The double frame of the house avoids many cold bridges, unlike a conventional frame

The design of the house allows for free planning of the first and second floors, placing bathrooms, a kitchen or a bathroom anywhere.

A feature of the double frame is that scaffolding is not required during construction. The need for them may arise only at the stage of exterior decoration.

Thermal insulation of the house - we use "Geokar"

The most curious stage of construction: the space between the double frame walls filled with pressed peat briquettes "geokar", they are laid with dressing, without mortar. The blocks are self-supporting and do not shrink over time. Since peat itself is an antiseptic, no living creatures, as well as fungi and mold, start up in it.

The internal space of the frame is filled with Geocar insulation - pressed peat briquettes with the addition of sawdust. The blocks are self-supporting and are laid with a dressing without mortar. When laying, you can do without vapor barrier membranes

Peat behaves very interestingly near the "dew point". Condensate, which falls out in others in the form of dew drops, freezes and destroys the material, but nothing like this happens in the thickness of peat. The steam condenses in the form of frost, which does not violate the porous structure of the "geokar" and quickly evaporates - "sublimates", as physicists say. Therefore, when laying thermal insulation from peat blocks, you can do without vapor barrier membranes, which are mandatory when building a frame house using mineral wool. So, our house does not need artificial ventilation. Here is another plus in favor of environmental friendliness and comfort.

According to the conclusion of the Research Institute of Stroyphysics, the "geocar" in terms of durability corresponds to brick, stone and panel walls. "Geokar" can be used not only as a heater, but also as a structural material in the construction of external walls in buildings up to 3 floors.

warm roof

The rafter is quite ordinary. But the roofing material is special, and was made to order. Galvanized steel plates cover the roof like "scales".

Straw slabs

The roof is well insulated with light basalt-based fibrous insulation. By the way, the developers recommend using the cheaper, but no less effective material "pressol" (it is based on pressed straw).

More massive load-bearing straw panels

The roof has a significant slope - 52 °, this is done in order to be able to use it as a heat collector (in the future it is planned to install solar panels). In principle, such a house can be heated by solar energy for almost all year round, except for the two coldest months.

Finishing the facade of the house

The customer preferred to sheathe his house with a block house, but it can be made of any material: stone, brick, tile or siding. Interior decoration - wood paneling, drywall, panels, decorative coatings for walls, tiles, wallpaper, painting.

A house lined with a block house is very difficult to distinguish from a log house from afar

Decorative plaster will also become an option: for exterior decoration - with high vapor permeability, but at the same time high moisture resistance, and for interior work - denser, with a lower vapor permeability index. This will avoid the accumulation of excess moisture in the thickness of the "geocar" and not use membranes.

Real examples of half-timbered buildings that were built hundreds of years ago and continue to be used inspire the construction of frame houses. Previously, the problem of insulation was solved with the help of natural materials such as clay, straw and sawdust. Today, the market is overflowing with offers. What insulation to choose for a modern frame house?

Offers from the past for homes in the present

Who said, that natural materials for insulation - is it a relic of the past? The slight popularity of the use of straw, shavings or sawdust is caused, first of all, by the high labor intensity of the insulation process. The assertion that natural components have a short service life is far-fetched. Remember all the same half-timbered houses - they were insulated with exclusively natural materials.

Yes, and a few decades ago, when there was a shortage of everything on the market, in almost every construction they used a mixture of clay with straw or sawdust - at least this mixture was used to insulate the floor and ceiling. Many houses, household and industrial premises of that time were built from adobe (lampach, clay block, valek, raw) - brick from unbaked clay mixed with straw, floor or sawdust. If such a brick is reliably protected from the outside from the effects of external weather factors, you will get strong, warm and very durable walls.

Natural materials are not used today mainly due to the laborious process of warming, as well as the need to increase the thickness of the frame. If the thickness of the “pie” of insulation when using modern materials is, depending on the climate, 12–20 cm, then in the case of natural heat insulators, this parameter will need to be doubled.

However, the costs for additional bars much less than the cost of thin types of insulation. Sawdust, straw or chaff - the materials are practically free, except that you have to spend money on shipping. So if you are not afraid of work, are ready to spend a lot of time and strive to save money - natural materials will suit you perfectly!

Classics of the genre - what do builders like?

Under the onslaught of market offers, natural materials faded into the background. Builders can be understood - buying modern materials, they get high speed work, long service life and reliability of the "pie" of the frame. In the list of the most popular heaters, two are invariably in the lead: mineral wool and polystyrene foam. Already long years there is debate about which is better, but each has advantages and disadvantages.

An important note - to insulate frame houses, you should use mineral wool only in slabs that better preserve given shape in a frame cake. Roll materials are excluded - in this case it is very difficult to work with them, besides, they shrink. Be sure to protect the insulation from condensation and moisture from the outside.

Insulation of a frame house with polyurethane foam is surrounded by a huge number of myths and unverified facts. For example, many "experts" claim that polystyrene releases harmful substances into the air, that it is combustible and rodents love it. In fact, this material is absolutely safe for our health, if only because it is 98% air. Its flammability is two times lower than that of wood, moreover, in the absence of a third-party source of fire, the material fades. However, manufacturers produce special grades of foam, which contains flame retardants - substances that prevent combustion.

Rodents with equal success can start up in the "pie" of the frame with both foam plastic and cotton wool. Styrofoam itself is of no interest to rodents. But if the house is rarely cleaned and not taken out the garbage, then the rodents will probably be interested in the contents of the garbage bags. At a price, foam plastic is almost the same as mineral-cotton materials.

However, compared to them, the foam does not shrink inside the "pie" and does not get wet even after prolonged exposure to moisture. You can work with it without any special skills and a minimum of tools - a hacksaw with a fine tooth or an ordinary construction knife. Thanks, plaster can be applied directly to the foam from the outside.

New and trendy - modern proposals

Ecowool, polyurethane foam and foam glass are among the latest offers on the building materials market. Manufacturers are trying to surprise consumers, if not with low prices (sometimes - on the contrary!), Then with the special properties of materials. So, the main horse of ecowool is an environmentally friendly base made of cellulose. The material is hypoallergenic, although both polystyrene foam and mineral wool boast the same quality.

The cost of ecowool is low, but the method of applying cellulose is much more laborious. There are two ways of warming - dry and wet. In the first case, ecowool is rammed into the walls, in the second case, it is sprayed wet between the frames. The second method is better - the coating forms a monolithic layer, which excludes cold bridges. The material practically does not shrink, but is afraid of moisture, therefore, it needs good vapor and waterproofing.

Polyurethane foam is well known to all builders mounting foam, however, in this case, a two-component composition is used.

Immediately before spraying, the components are mixed and applied to the wall between the beams. The material after polymerization creates a monolithic layer, which has high sound and heat insulation qualities and great durability. The spraying process is very convenient and takes place in a matter of hours, however, the cost of this method of insulation remains quite high. In addition, the material outside should be protected from sunlight.

Foam glass, perhaps, is just beginning to spread on the market of thermal insulation materials. In fact, this is glass foamed during the melting process, which is produced in the form of blocks. This material does not shrink, is absolutely safe for health, has high quality thermal insulation and does not lag behind others in terms of sound insulation and vapor tightness. Foam glass is a fireproof insulation. Its only drawback is its high cost.

We follow technology - how to properly insulate a frame house?

The technology of warming a frame house is quite simple, the main thing is to follow the sequence of actions.

One of best warmth and soundproof materials is foam glass. This insulation was created by Soviet scientists in the 30s, but due to the high cost and imperfect manufacturing technology, it was not widely used.

Three decades later practical use he was found by Canadians, where foam glass was used as a thermal insulation of the building. This material entered mass construction relatively recently, when all the shortcomings were taken into account and production costs were reduced. The article will discuss how to insulate with foam glass.

What is foam glass
Characteristics of foam glass
- Benefits of using foam glass
- Disadvantages of foam glass insulation
Attention! "Analogues"
Foam glass application
Improving Efficiency
Foam glass installation
- Foam glass laying technology

What is foam glass

This inorganic thermal insulation material has a porous structure. During the production process, the glass mass is heated at high temperatures, the added gas-forming substance forms bubbles with a diameter from a millimeter to a centimeter. Porosity varies within 80-95%.

Foam glass photo

The color of the products can be different: cream, green or black. This property depends on the feedstock, because crushed quartz, sodium sulfate, sedimentary rocks, and non-returnable cullet are used in production.
Insulation is offered in the form of granules, slabs and shaped products(shells for pipes). Foam glass blocks are popular, which can be of the following sizes:
- length - 200, 250, 400, 475 mm;
- width - 125, 200, 250, 400 mm;
- thickness - 80.100, 120 mm.
Installation is carried out using mechanical fasteners, cement mortars, mastics and other adhesive compositions. The fixing method is selected depending on the type of surface (concrete, iron, wood).

Characteristics of foam glass

This is a light material, its density is 120-200 kg/m. cube
As for the compressive strength, this indicator is very high and varies from 0.5 to 1.2 MPa.
Thermal conductivity is even better than that of wood - 0.06 W / m * s versus 0.09 W / m * s, respectively.
The sound absorption index of a 100 mm thick plate is 50 dB, which provides increased comfort.

The sorption value is negligible and does not exceed 4% of the volume.
The temperature range for the application of the material is very wide - from -200 to + 500C. At a higher temperature (from +540C), the plates begin to deform, but do not emit toxic gases or vapors. Heat resistance makes it possible to use foam glass at facilities that have increased fire safety requirements.
Chemical inertness is at a high level. The material does not interact with acids, alkalis, oil products and other aggressive media.

Benefits of using foam glass

In addition to high physical and technical characteristics, absolute environmental cleanliness can be noted among the advantages. The material is recommended for use in buildings with increased requirements for sanitary and hygienic conditions.
Mats do not change their dimensions during the entire period of service. Glass cells do not deform under operational loads and seasonal temperature changes. Thus, the formation of cold bridges due to compression, sagging, swelling or shrinkage is not allowed.

Foam glass is not subject to rotting and development of corrosion processes. It is also not attractive to microorganisms, mold, fungi and rodents, which indicates biological stability. Due to the above advantages, the service life of the blocks is at least 100 years.
Thermal insulation material is easy to process. It can be cut, drilled and sawn, while it does not form crumbs and cracks. It is combined with almost all types of building materials: cement, brick, iron surfaces, holds finishing compositions well.

Disadvantages of foam glass insulation

The main disadvantage is the high cost, because the manufacturing process itself is a complex technological task. For the production of insulation in the form of a shell, additional equipment is required, which entails an increase in the cost of the finished product.
One more drawback can be noted - low resistance to shock loads. But this indicator is not critical, since the insulation is not subjected to such tests.

Attention! "Analogues"

More than cheap analogue which is made from liquid glass. The finished product is not durable and moisture resistant. At its core, it is a porous glue.
The only plus of such a material is its low cost, which can be 2 or even 3 times less than that of foam glass products made from solid raw materials.

Foam glass application

Due to the thermal insulation properties, the material is used:

in civil engineering. It is widely used for thermal insulation engineering communications. This material equips "warm floors", exploited roofs, attics, basements, foundations. They also insulate the internal and external walls;

in sports facilities. Block and granular material widely used in the construction of ice arenas, swimming pools, playgrounds and other facilities that have special requirements;
in industrial facilities. Foamed glass works to reduce operating costs due to high thermal resistance. Therefore, its use is relevant not only for ground, but also underground structures, such as: buried tanks and other containers;
in the national economy. Foam glass crushed stone provides an opportunity to build buildings on clay and marshy soils. It provides reliable thermal insulation of farms intended for breeding poultry, cattle, etc.;

in home improvement. Foam glass bulk material has found its application in the arrangement of greenhouses and hotbeds. Performance characteristics allow you to form a relief on the site, equip footpaths, create gabions, use in drainage systems and outlets ground water. They also insulate recessed containers.

Improving Efficiency

When choosing the thickness of the plates, it is necessary to take into account the thermal insulation properties of the material used to build the house. So for external insulation of brick, concrete and silicate walls, foam glass plates 120 mm thick are used.
For buildings made of wood, foam and expanded clay concrete blocks, this heat-insulating material with a thickness of 80-100 mm is suitable.
Internal insulation works are carried out by means of foamed glass mass 60 mm thick. The plates are fixed with adhesives, thin dowels and steel L-shaped brackets.

For the "warm floor" system, foundation and interfloor (attic) floors, granular material is used. It will fill all the voids and provide the necessary thermal insulation. The calculation of the layer thickness is based on the temperature regimes of the region of residence.

Foam glass installation

For fixing the mats, a special glue for foam glass is used. It is applied to the back and 2 side walls. Cement-containing mortars and bitumen-based compounds are evenly distributed around the perimeter.
If there are slight bulges or depressions on the surface, then it is recommended to apply the adhesive mixture on the foam glass with “slaps” (at least 5 pieces per plate). With this method, the consumption of glue will increase, but the base will become as even as possible.
For wooden surfaces use special dowels. This is because wood is subject to thermal expansion. In this connection, the plates must be fixed mechanically, which will allow the foam glass blocks to “move” after the tree.
Before installing the boards on vertical surfaces, a horizontal strip is installed at the basement level. It can be a bar or a metal profile, if necessary, wedges are placed between the base and the rail. The empty space is filled with foam.
The first row of insulation is installed on a profile that acts as a support. After the adhesive has hardened, the support is dismantled. For reliability, it is better to remove the horizontal bar upon completion of all work.

Foam glass mats are mounted on walls and sloping roofs from the bottom up, on horizontal surfaces (for example, on interfloor ceilings, foundations) in the direction - "towards you", that is, from the far corner.
Laying of foam glass products is carried out close to each other with the obligatory displacement of one row relative to the other (with bandaging of the seams). If, in addition to glue, it is planned to additionally use dowels, then their fastening is carried out after the binder mixture has completely dried.
Thermal insulation boards around windows or doorways, chimney pipes and other elements are mounted in one piece. Docking of foamed molten glass blocks on corner lines is not allowed.

Foam glass laying technology

Knowing the method of fastening this material, you can easily and quickly perform the insulation of any objects under construction. Proper placement of all layers will help improve the effectiveness of thermal insulation.

The unique physical and technical properties make it possible to reduce the thickness of the “pie” and refuse to use wind and moisture protective membranes. Below is the most common use of foam glass panels.

heavy cladding wall. Products made of foamed glass melt are glued to a reinforced concrete or brick surface. Additional fixation is mechanically(4-5 dowels per plate). After the entire perimeter is laid, they proceed to installation metal profile intended for facing stone. This option is also applicable for arranging the basement.

Wall under plaster. On the brickwork or walls erected from foam or aerated concrete blocks, foam glass mats are attached by means of an adhesive composition. Before applying the finishing material, the boards are covered with an overlap mesh (at least 100 mm). It is fixed with disc dowels with pressure washers. The thickness of the plaster layer can be up to 30 mm.
Wall with facing brick. The brick base is pasted over with foam glass plates. It is more convenient to insert flexible ties after the insulation is laid, and not before its installation. Next, masonry is erected from facing brick. Here you can also use granular material, which is poured between the main and facing wall as the latter is erected (the distance between the masonry is at least 250 mm).
Wall under profiled sheet. Wall surfaces are covered with foam glass mats. On top of them, a crate made of wooden slats or a metal profile is arranged. Fasteners are selected depending on the material from which the walls are erected. Profiled sheets are installed according to the appropriate technology (from bottom to top and from left to right, overlapping in horizontal and vertical levels).

Internal walls (partitions). Indoor work is not much different from outdoor installation of the presented insulation. Insulation is also attached to the surface, which is covered with a layer of plaster (you can mount the profile under gypsum plasterboards).
roof under roll materials . reinforced concrete slab if necessary, it is covered with a bitumen-polymer primer, which provides a high level of moisture protection. Next, a hot bitumen-based mastic is applied to the foam glass block or adhesive solution and with slight pressure is fixed on the surface. The finished canvas is processed with hot bitumen. With the help of a torch, a waterproofing layer of EPP is fused, and then a roll material of the EKP type.

Roof with a slight slope for sheeting. On the floor from reinforced concrete foam glass blocks are glued. You can use special adhesives or bituminous mastics. Upon completion of the work, the surface of the foam glass is covered with a hot bitumen-polymer mass. To increase the waterproofing of the roof, fused roll materials are used. After hardening, a lathing is performed that corresponds to one or another roofing material.
wooden roof. On the rafters, a solid flooring is equipped. Spread over it is a layer of waterproofing materials on a bitumen basis, the fastening of which is carried out mechanically. Next, the foam glass is mounted, then the waterproofing material. Now the surface is completely ready for laying any roofing material.
Insulation of floors with foam glass. Foam glass slabs are laid out tightly on top of a concrete base or a compacted layer of sand or cement. Here, the thickness of the slab will depend on the expected loads. Next, polyethylene is laid in 2 layers, and then the whole cake is poured sand-cement mixture. This base is completely ready for arranging various finishing materials: linoleum, parquet, ceramic tiles etc.

Foam glass products have the characteristics necessary for effective thermal insulation of buildings for any purpose. They combine: low heat transfer rates, ease of installation, long term operation, fire and bioresistance, environmental safety for both humans and structures.

Foam glass video

Despite the high cost of this material, laying foam glass will pay off all costs due to the absence of additional layers of the pie and thanks to minimum amounts on heating bills.

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Different building materials have varying degrees of prevalence and popularity. Many names remain unknown to a wide audience due to their specialized purpose, but this does not mean that they are not suitable for private construction.

One of these materials is foam glass, which has unique properties and technical specifications, which we will introduce you to in this article.

Construction of cottages by InnovaStroy is carried out using modern and high-tech materials. Some of them are offered to customers as alternatives to existing products, as products that can maximize the performance of your home. For foam glass, the most important property is ideal thermal insulation and protection of the walls of the house from moisture. Due to its unique features, the material is used in energy and heavy industries. But it is not difficult to apply it to private construction, especially since the cost of the goods allows you to significantly save on purchases.

Foam glass - what is it?

From the name of the building material, it is not difficult to guess that it is a foamed glass, produced in several forms: blocks and granules. The production is based on the thermal treatment of the remains of the glass industry and the processing of secondary raw materials. The principle of creation is not much different from the creation of ordinary glass, but only in terms of the use of high temperatures. Each type building material is produced according to a special technology, the observance of which provides the product with the original specifications:

Blocks and molded products. This type is created from glass particles that are melted at a temperature of 1000 degrees and foamed using the gas emitted by coal. Inside the liquid mass, voids are formed, filled with a gaseous mixture with a pressure less than 1 atmosphere. After the completion of the thermal cycle, the hot foam glass is placed in molds and slowly cools down. It is the process of natural cooling and solidification that ensures the strength of the products and keeps the internal voids sealed;
Granulated foam glass. The principle of creation is very similar to the previous one, only the temperature reaches only 800 degrees Celsius. Crushed glass withstands the melting process with the obligatory addition of soda, limestone, quartz sand and sodium sulfate. Due to the release of combustion products, the mass foams and granules are formed with internal voids and a strong outer surface.

It should be noted that the final technical parameters of the foamed glass do not differ in any way in the two varieties described. The strength, thermal conductivity and insulation characteristics are completely identical. The difference in the type of building material is related to the areas of application - where it is impossible to use molded products and blocks, bulk granules are suitable.

Foam glass - application in construction

At first given view building material was used only in industrial purposes. Due to its environmental properties and fire safety foam glass was used for the construction of high-rise buildings, factories, main pipelines, nuclear power plants. Gradually, it began to be used for the construction of other large objects, as well as private buildings. Be sure to remember that the material costs more than the popular polystyrene foam or mineral wool, however, in the long term, these costs fully pay off, since the service life of foam glass is calculated for centuries. Unfortunately, there is no confirmation of this fact, since only about 50-60 years have passed since its invention. However, already built buildings show that even with a very intense external impact, the material does not change its characteristics and does not require replacement or restoration. So far, all buildings with foam glass blocks have shown themselves with better side and confirm the intermediate requirements for this type of material.

If we talk about private construction, then the service life of foam glass in cottages and country houses is even longer, since it is not exposed to aggressive external influences. In the catalog of our company you can find ready-made projects of country houses, in which the usual layers of insulation can be replaced with foam glass. Just a few recalculation operations will significantly increase the protective properties of the walls and even reduce their thickness or configuration. Be sure to consult with our architect in order to comprehensively evaluate the foam glass, its use in construction, and exterior finish options.

Foam glass house - how is it used?

A little lower we will describe all the advantages and disadvantages of this type of building material, and now we will talk about its use. Foam glass blocks are the most common in private construction due to their ease of use and various overall dimensions. The main scope of application is the cladding of the building and its insulation.

Remember that blocks have all the qualities of glass in terms of brittleness and resistance to vertical pressure. That is, it is impossible to build from foam glass blocks load-bearing walls, those that will perceive different pressures. When creating foam glass walls, the principle of laying a bearing frame made of monolithic concrete is used, and the surfaces being erected perform only enclosing functions. This method of building a cottage is possible, but almost never used due to the complexity of construction and rather serious financial costs. It is much easier to sheathe brick or aerated concrete walls in one layer and cover it with plaster - and there are more benefits, and the costs are not so colossal.

Foam glass blocks are used as a heater in all possible variations. With their help, you can provide ideal sound and heat insulation of rooms:

Sheathing of external walls and foundations, basement floor;
Laying blocks on a flat roof and attic insulation;
Floor insulation with foam glass installation on top concrete foundation or overlap;
Insulation of any part of the building from the inside, especially technical rooms for boiler rooms and other specialized purposes.

Foam glass house: pros and cons

Like any other type of building material, foam glass blocks and granules have their own positive and negative aspects. In most cases, the unique technical characteristics completely level out the shortcomings of the material, but we cannot remain silent about them.

Positive qualities of foam glass

Lack of response to temperature changes. Since the material is manufactured at very high temperatures, under normal conditions, any climatic zone it cannot be seriously affected. The ability to withstand cold is reflected in the same way - glass simply does not react to it in any way;
Unchanging dimensions. The internal structure of voids and glass cells does not allow the material to change its shape under any external influences. Also, over time, the properties of thermal insulation and strength of products do not change in any way, which makes the material close in durability to concrete and brick;
The surface of foam glass is not subject to erosion and oxidation;
Saving the form - additional advantage when installing a heat insulator;
Completely immune to fungus or mold growth. Due to the absence of organic components in the composition, it is an ideal protection against harmful spores and bacteria;
The material withstands any chemical influences, even those that, in principle, cannot appear in domestic use;
Like ordinary glass, foam glass blocks are completely impervious to moisture and can serve as an additional waterproofing structure;
Sanitary safety. Due to the presence of cells and voids with gas, the material "breathes" and perfectly removes excess moisture and condensate from its structure, which is extremely important for maintaining a normal and safe microclimate in the home;
Absolute incombustibility. This refers to the usual situation with a fire. Even if it is possible to reach the melting point of foam glass, which is very unlikely, it will simply drain from the walls to the floor. The material does not contribute to the spread of fire;
Soundproofing properties. Due to the same voids and cells in the structure, the material has very high rates of soundproofing rooms.

Negative features of foam glass

Relatively high manufacturing cost and complexity technological process. As a result, tangible costs in the purchase of materials;
Low rates of steam conductivity. Under the material you need to lay a layer of vapor barrier;
The need for precise and scrupulous adherence to the installation technology and methods of working with foam glass. Any violations and liberties can lead to cracking of the material;
Sufficiently low indicators for the susceptibility of loads to compression, pressure, torsion. When walls or foundations shrink, the material may crack;
Immunity to impact loads - after all, this is glass, albeit foamed. Even careless actions metal tools may cause block cracking. Subsequent gluing it with cement or glue will not return the original characteristics in terms of strength and thermal protection;
Quite an impressive weight, because glass always has a fairly high mass. Foam, of course, facilitates products, but not very much - therefore, you need to remember the additional weight of the building material when designing a cottage.

How to order a foam glass house in InnovaStroy?

First you need to determine together with the architect what differences the cottage will have using foam glass blocks. In elite construction, such material is quite in demand and popular, as it provides the residence with unique characteristics for protecting rooms, walls and roofs. Individual design of houses InnovaStroy specialists are carried out on the basis of the terms of reference from the developer. If you decide to use foam glass, then this must be indicated in your design project. With the help of modern computer programs our architects will be able to create objects of any complexity and apply foam glass insulation. Despite the rectangular building blocks of material, even rounded walls can be realized by our craftsmen.