How to build a house inexpensively - reasonable savings at every stage of construction. What is cheaper to build houses from? Materials for building a house What materials are used to build modern houses

Quite often, when designing a private house, the future owner thinks about the optimal choice of materials for its construction. What is cheap to build a house from, so that it does not affect the quality, thermal insulation, external attractiveness and durability of the building. The right selection of materials will help not only build the desired house with your own hands, but also save a lot of money.

Construction stages

From the very beginning, you should determine the order that must be followed when doing construction with your own hands:

The very first building of the foundation begins.
The construction of the walls begins to be engaged after checking the readiness of the base.
The next in order will be the conduct of communications (heating, water supply, sewerage, electrification, gas supply) and pouring the floor.
The next step will be laying the floor.
The last step is to build a roof. This type of construction work is carried out in spring or autumn.

The level of costs is affected by the design of the house, the foundation, materials for construction, materials for hydro- and thermal insulation, installation of doors and windows

The following factors influence the level of costs:

efficient building layout;
the depth of the foundation, the materials for its construction and the technique used in its construction;
the use of inexpensive and high-quality materials for walls;
heat-saving and waterproofing materials;
type of heating system;
installation of door and window blocks;
the use of heat-saving and waterproofing agents.

Any construction must begin with a project. This approach makes it possible to avoid unnecessary expenses and optimize the project area already at the initial stage. You should also decide what material the house will be built from.

Create a project

To reduce the cost of construction and materials, you can calculate the area of \u200b\u200bthe house in such a way as to comfortably place all the necessary premises in the smallest possible area and decide which material will become the basis for the walls.

To save money, when building a house, make an extension - a veranda, it will protect the building and will serve as a great place for summer holidays.

To reduce heat loss, you can abandon pillars, bay windows, as well as all kinds of decorative partitions, as well as insulate basements, roofs and walls. The fewer walls in a building, the easier it is to heat it.

An excellent solution would be the construction of verandas and balconies that will protect the building and serve as a place of rest in the summer. It is also recommended to combine the hall with the dining room and kitchen, in this case the total area will reduce heat loss, and minimal zoning will help create a cozy and original interior of a small room.

You can resist the cooling of rooms from the side of the roof by arranging the attic.

As roofing materials, it is recommended to use reliable tile materials or tiles. You should not save on roofing material, since the life of the building and the possibility of rational use of the attic floor directly depend on it. In addition, these materials look very decorative, improve the overall appearance of the structure and are very durable, which more than pays for their high cost.

Wall materials

Since inexpensive construction is designed not only to create beautiful and comfortable housing, but also to do it yourself in a short time with reasonable savings, modern materials for interior decoration should be used whenever possible.

The scheme of the insulated frame house

For the construction of a strong frame, concrete, metal, brick or wood are used. One of the options for economical construction is the installation of a wooden frame, which is then sheathed with soft insulation. This allows you to significantly lighten the design and save on the construction of the foundation, as well as significantly reduce energy consumption for heating.

Another profitable option for building walls is the construction of aerated concrete. A house made of such material is very quick and easiest to build, while reducing mortar and labor costs. The material is light and dimensional, and after finishing work it will take on any necessary form, and will not differ in any way from brick structures.

Wood is a favorite raw material for construction, but it can hardly be saved on it. The material itself is not so expensive, but since it is constantly subjected to deformation, shrinkage, the appearance of cracks and gaps from the effects of weather conditions, and also needs careful insulation, the cost of it increases significantly.

An economical material for a wooden house is only a type-setting system. It is assembled in production conditions by specialists from full-bodied structural elements.

In addition, such a house periodically requires sealing cracks as a result of building subsidence, as well as other expensive maintenance and control.

foundation type

You can reduce the cost of building a foundation by using highly efficient structures that can reduce the weight of the walls of the house and allow you to use a lightweight version of the foundation.

The ability to build a low-buried foundation is determined by the condition of the soil and the proximity of groundwater.

A low-depth foundation will save a lot of money

Under what conditions can a low-buried foundation be built:

Such a foundation is used only on non-rocky soils. Coarse-grained sand is an ideal base for a low-buried foundation.
Subject to the installation of a drainage system. This will prevent the rise of groundwater and protect the basement of the building from excessive moisture.
It is also advisable to use waterproofing.

If an architect decides in favor of building a low foundation and decides in favor of lightweight materials, then the amount saved will be quite significant.

In order to determine the appropriate type of foundation with your own hands, you should dig a hole about one meter deep. If there is no water in the pit, and the composition of the soil is represented by sand, clay and stones, then with all certainty it can be said that it is possible to build an unburied foundation (60-80 cm). If water appeared in the pit, then the occurrence of the base should be at a depth of more than one meter.

Roofing material is used to waterproof the foundation

The solution should be thick enough and consist of cement, sand and gravel. Before pouring, formwork is constructed from boards. The width of the base should be 20 cm more than the width of the walls. Be sure to use reinforcing mesh.

To ensure waterproofing, roofing material is laid in the foundation at ground level in two layers and then built to the required height.

After the completion of construction work, the foundation should be given several months to mature, and only after that the walls should be built.

Window systems

When choosing and installing window systems with your own hands, you should pay attention not only to the quality of the window block itself, but equally to the condition of seals and fittings. They must provide a snug fit, high-quality heat and sound insulation.

Poor-quality double-glazed windows will contribute to the cooling of the room and the formation of drafts.

The number of windows required for optimal lighting is calculated by the formula: floor area divided by 8. For example, for a room with an area of 40 meters, 5 windows are needed.

Heating system

The finished building needs the installation of a gas or electric heating system. Measures to insulate the walls, floors and basement of the building significantly reduce heat loss, but they are not able to provide a comfortable temperature at home during the cold season.

Underfloor heating is one of the most efficient ways to heat a room. There are two types of such a floor: electric and water. This system is quite cheap and provides pleasant warmth and comfort in the room. The acquisition and installation of such a system with your own hands will allow, without causing a significant increase in the cost of the project, to ensure savings and organically fit into the interior of the house.

Comfortable for this type of heating, the distribution of warm air from the bottom up, in comparison with other types, is the most correct. Whereas heating from radiators can be minimized by drafts walking inside the room.

Knowing what is cheaper to build a house from, you can save a good amount and bring your dream home project to life with your own hands. Tips for arranging an inexpensive home will help you build a comfortable, beautiful and ergonomic design with your own hands, in which you can pay maximum attention to the interior decoration of the room with the remaining funds.

Starting the construction of your own home, you want to choose the cheapest material for building a house - in order to maximize savings. But the pursuit of a low price of building materials can result in both expensive maintenance in the future, and an increase in the cost of the entire construction as a whole. How to build a cheap house?

What determines the value of a house?

The final price tag for construction depends on several factors. Materials play an important, but not the only, role here. So, the construction estimate will include:

If you do a monolithic fill, you will need a large amount of wood for the formwork. And working alone on weekends, construction is delayed indefinitely, which is also not always economically profitable.

The cheapest materials for building a house - handmade?

There is an opinion that materials made by one's own hands will be much cheaper than those purchased from the manufacturer. Of course, there are recipes for different brands of concrete, you can fold straw walls yourself or even fill the frame with sawdust.

This is economically justified in the following cases:

the availability of free assistants - it is difficult to interfere, fall asleep and press alone, which can lead to poor-quality work;
no need to go to work five days a week - otherwise construction will often have to be postponed due to weather conditions;
the opportunity to obtain equipment and raw materials for building materials at very low prices - the delivery of sawdust from another region will not be cheap.

So, the cheapest construction options:

Thatched walls with clay plastering. They are distinguished by good thermal insulation, but require repair due to rodents that settle in the thickness of the wall.

Abrolite or sawdust concrete. You can make your own or purchase ready-made blocks. In the first case, you will have to wait a long time for the sawdust concrete to dry, in the second - to build walls as quickly as possible and do the exterior finish, since the wood concrete is hygroscopic.

Clay or cordwood. Dry logs and chocks, peeled from bark, are used. They are laid across the wall on a clay mortar. The ends of the wood must be impregnated with antiseptics or burned, otherwise they strongly absorb moisture.

Backfilling with sawdust or expanded clay. To do this, a non-removable formwork is made from a cut board on the frame, into which the insulation is poured.

The appearance of the house of these materials is rather unsightly. And if it is quite simple to beat straw walls or peeking logs, you will also have to make a screed on top of the wood concrete. Another significant disadvantage of homemade materials is that they are not strong enough. But this is a problem of all frame houses. To hang shelves or install a kitchen set, it is necessary to provide mortgage boards at the construction stage.

Economical building materials - what are they?

If it was decided to abandon self-production by common sense, it is worth taking a closer look at the prices on the market. What is the cheapest building material? Paradoxically, almost any:

tree - can be purchased extremely cheaply in the forest belt, but in the steppe zone it is expensive;
brick - building in the neighborhood of a brick factory, you will be able to buy red brick at manufacturer's prices;
aerated concrete and foam concrete - lightweight and relatively simple material to build, has good thermal insulation;
frame construction is the most budget option, suitable for any climate, but requiring the organization of forced ventilation.

Not every carpenter can assemble a log house with high quality, so you will also have to take into account the cost of the work of builders. The same applies to a brick house - the skew of the masonry will result in a large-scale alignment of the walls.

So when choosing materials, you need to take into account the cost of working with them. For example, aerated concrete is laid on a special glue, due to which the gaps between the blocks are minimal.

This allows you to save on fine finishing, but requires care from builders. Foam concrete does not differ in the quality of geometry - the blocks can be skewed and differ in size. It is unpleasant to work with such material, it is difficult to level the walls.

As a result, the cost of work is higher.

How to globally save on construction?

Not only building materials can reduce the cost of building your own home. To save as much as possible:

Think over the plan of the future building. The simpler the layout, the cheaper it is to equip it. You should not plant bathrooms at different ends of the building - laying pipes will cost a pretty penny. Placing the kitchen next to the bathroom will also save on pipes. The even geometry of the walls, the absence of non-functional niches and differences in floor heights, although they look simple, do not require extra costs. Together, this will give up to 20% savings on the total cost.

Refuse architectural excesses. Balconies, terraces and a tiered roof can increase the value of a home by 10-15%. It is much more rational in the future to build a small gazebo or attach an open terrace.

Use building materials produced in your region, abandoning the popular and advertised ones. This will allow not only to buy them cheaper, but also not to overpay for delivery. So, houses made of shell rock in the Altai Territory are among the most budgetary, but Moscow cannot boast of a low price for this material.

Lighten the truss system as much as possible using lightweight roofing materials. Then, instead of a 10x10 cm beam, it will be possible to use a 5x10 cm board laid on the end, while not reducing the pitch of the rafters.

Get rid of the basement. Filling, waterproofing and roughing out the basement will add another 20% to the estimate.

The choice of building materials

If the building materials market offers several types to choose from, that's great. Indeed, in this case, you can compare all the advantages and disadvantages and purchase materials that combine low price and good quality.

General features to look out for:

durability - if the house is idle for a maximum of 10 years, saving on materials is rather doubtful;
ease and accessibility of installation - the need to use heavy equipment at a construction site can negate all the savings;
environmental friendliness - maintaining natural humidity in the house is achieved through "breathing" materials, otherwise you will have to take care of forced ventilation;
heat capacity and thermal insulation are two parameters responsible for future efficiency, because the house should not only be cheap during construction, but also during operation.

Having considered the most popular of building materials, you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.

Wooden houses

Timber houses are considered the most environmentally friendly and one of the best in maintaining an optimal microclimate. A wooden building has the following advantages:

But such a structure also has disadvantages. So, the quality of literally every log is very important - an undried tree will begin to twist, longitudinal cracks may appear, the ends must be “plugged” with an ax to prevent waterlogging of the tree due to precipitation. If, however, to deviate from the classical processing of logs in favor of the use of modern antiseptic and flame retardant solutions, the house ceases to be environmentally friendly.

Ready-made kits are expensive, but only professionals can assemble an inexpensive log house from round timber. After all, you have to customize every log! In addition, in regions with cold winters, the thickness of the walls of a wooden hut should be at least 50 cm to ensure minimal heat loss during the heating season. Finding logs of this diameter will also cost a pretty penny.

To let the house "breathe", it cannot be insulated with polystyrene foam, only with vapor-permeable mineral wool. And so that the insulation does not get wet, be sure to arrange a ventilated facade. There are also certain limitations for interior decoration - it is better to use modern vapor-permeable membranes if you plan to cover the house with plasterboard or clapboard.

But the log house is beautiful in its original form. To get a cozy and windproof house, you need to regularly check and caulk the cracks in the walls. Particular attention is paid to the corner lock system - simply cutting into half a tree will not provide the necessary insulation and will lead to the formation of cold spots.

brick houses

Brick has excellent heat capacity. This means that when the heating is started, the house will warm up for a long time, but then cool down just as long. For permanent residence - a great option. But for a country house visited on weekends, this will become an irrational waste of money on heating. After all, while the house warms up, it is already necessary to leave back to the city.

For one-story buildings, walls of 1.5 bricks will be enough. But such a thickness of the walls is completely unsuitable for winters, where the temperature drops to -20 degrees.

In order not to increase the cost of brickwork, the house will have to be insulated from the outside. What is especially nice when building brick buildings - you can use any insulation! So, by choosing foam plastic with a thickness of only 5 cm, you can reduce the heat loss of the house from 125 kWh per square meter to 53 kWh per heating season. In other words, you can halve your heating bills.

The disadvantages of brick houses include:

a large weight of the building - you will need a recessed strip foundation, which will significantly increase the cost of construction;
the duration of the construction - a team of five people can raise a box at home in three weeks, subject to continuous work, but alone, the time increases significantly;
finishing work - if you can live in a log house immediately after construction, a brick house requires a mandatory screed of walls and floors, followed by a fine finish.

Houses from a gas block or foam block

These buildings have all the advantages and disadvantages of brick houses. At the same time, they also have their own characteristics:

At the same time, the price per cubic meter of brick and gas block is almost the same. And given the need for insulation along the facade, the advantages of aerated concrete over ceramic bricks are rather illusory. But due to the large size of the blocks, building a house is quite simple, which determines the low cost of the work.

frame houses

For those who are really on a tight budget, frame construction is a real salvation. A house on a wooden frame with mineral insulation is many times cheaper than all previous options. And that's why:

But, despite the obvious advantages of frame construction, preference is still given to brickwork. All because of no less significant shortcomings:

On the other hand, approaching the construction of a frame house wisely and without saving on building materials, you can get a good and reliable structure that will last for decades. And in the future, the frame is just as easy to disassemble and put in its place a capital brick house.

You can build a small and cozy house in a few months, and this video confirms this:

So, you have finally decided to build your own house. And, of course, the first question that arose before you was “What is cheaper to build a house from?” The budget is quite often an obstacle on the way to a good warm house in which you can live comfortably all year round. But should it be? Maybe it's the wrong calculations and illiterate selection of materials? But there is also no desire to save on their housing. The house should be reliable, strong, warm and cozy. How to achieve this? What is the cheapest and best way to build a house?

The Teplo Doma company is engaged in the construction of all types of houses. We know which house is better and which is worse, which house is more expensive and which is cheaper? An objective assessment of the construction of houses from various materials has been prepared especially for you. During the analysis, it will be found out from which material it is cheaper to build a house.

You can contact a specialist of our company and discuss all the nuances personally, or you can first read the information provided.

Let's get started.

Note! The cost calculations given in this article are made on the example of a house of 180 sq.m. with an interior Savoyardi 250. The foundation of the building is pile-grillage, the roof is a metal profile or metal tile. A standard set of engineering works - electricity, plumbing, septic tank, sewerage, heating, air conditioning and so on. Project and estimate - free of charge. The prices for work and materials in 2017 were used in the calculations. In your particular case, the cost of construction can vary significantly, both up and down.

We DO NOT build houses from timber cheaply

You have probably heard about the construction of wooden houses at a low price. A house made of timber seems to be such an elegant structure. Yes, his appearance deserves special attention. But is it effective to build a wooden house? Why is wood used as a material for building walls? Let the house "breathe". Right? But timber is not the best material in terms of resistance to heat transfer. Yes, this indicator is the most important if year-round living is planned in housing. How to create comfortable living conditions inside such a building? According to GOST, the thickness of the walls should be approximately 55 cm.

Half a meter wooden walls are at least an expensive pleasure. In addition, such thick walls of wood are not erected anywhere. It turns out that wooden house needs to be insulated as well as interior and exterior decoration. BUT this in turn will prevent the house from "breathing".

The Teplo Doma company does not take this option seriously, so we do not build turnkey log houses cheaply. But you can do it yourself. However, all of the above should be taken into account. It will be cold in an uninsulated house, and building 55 cm walls is expensive.

brick house

Now that's another matter. We are used to seeing brick houses everywhere. This is an affordable and not very expensive material. However, to say that we are building the cheapest brick house is also impossible.

Firstly, I would immediately like to note that the thickness of the walls in such a house should be at least one and a half full-bodied bricks. But this, of course, is not enough to create a cozy temperature in the house in winter, and even in summer. Such thin brick walls have strong thermal conductivity. Therefore, they must be supplemented with 100 mm of insulation. Of course, the thickness depends on what material will be chosen as a heater (mineral wool, polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, and so on). If you do not want to use insulation, be prepared to build brick walls 52 cm thick. So you can meet the requirements of GOST R 54851-2011 and not freeze in the winter.

Please note that a wall 52 cm thick will “eat” a large area either in the house or on the site. In addition, building a house cheaply on a turnkey basis will prevent the high cost of the foundation for heavy brick walls. It is also worth considering that brick walls are far from perfectly even, so finishing them will also cost a lot of money and effort. Plus, building a brick house will require quite a lot of cement mortar. Well, let's not forget about the two-layer crate of the facade. All this in the end will significantly increase the final cost.

In fact, it turns out that building a brick house is the most expensive, not the cheapest. For example, let's take a building with a total area of 180 square meters. m. Its average turnkey cost with finishing and engineering in Moscow and the region will be approximately 7 125 000 rubles. This is 57,000 rubles per 1 sq.m.

House made of autoclaved aerated concrete blocks

Building a house from aerated concrete blocks is a good choice. This is a great material and very easy to work with. Walls made of autoclaved aerated concrete are considered to be warm. However, they still need to be insulated. The thing is that at high humidity this material loses its heat transfer properties. A 5 cm insulation is enough to achieve positive results.

The walls, as in the case of a brick, for such a house should be quite thick - 49 cm. But the cost of the foundation will be slightly reduced due to the fact that the foam blocks are lighter. It is difficult to say that building foam blocks at home is cheap. But it will be cheaper than brick.

Medium the cost of a house made of aerated concrete will be 6,558,000 rubles. By the way, this is almost 500,000 rubles cheaper than building a brick house.

Ceramic block house ST300

Building a house with ST300 porous ceramic block is a good choice. This material does not require insulation, due to this, the final cost of housing is reduced. However, when working with the ST300 ceramic block, the instructions must be strictly followed. Otherwise, disruption of technology may become a serious problem in the future.

Here are just a few of the details you need to be aware of:

Ceramic blocks are cut using special equipment.
To fasten the crate, liquid nails should be used together with the dowel-nails.
The blocks are laid on warm glue using a grid.
For laying internal communications, plastering of the walls with a layer of 30 mm is required.

It should be noted that all these nuances, or rather the time, effort and money spent on the technology of working with a ceramic block, will be included in the cost of the house.

The pleasant moment is that at last we have reached such material which does not demand the big thickness of walls. 34 cm is enough to feel comfortable inside the house. And this is taking into account the fact that no insulation is used outside. The small thickness of the walls saves usable space.

But perhaps the most important plus of warm ceramics is a relatively inexpensive foundation. At least these works will cost the owners much cheaper than in the case of building a brick house or a foam block building.

Medium the cost of a ceramic house is 6,298,000 rubles(we are talking about a building with an area of 180 sq.m.). Such housing is in the middle of the conditional table of the cost of houses from various materials.

Houses made of reinforced concrete panels with rock wool insulation and BENPAN+ ventilation facade

It will be not only cheaper to build such a house than all those listed before, but also easier. Thanks to the special BENPAN+ technology, as well as the properties of reinforced concrete panels, some stages of work are excluded. For example, there is no need to plaster interior walls. During construction, all communications fit into the thickness of the walls. The outer surface does not need to be prepared separately for cladding.

Savings on everything: internal works, external works, laying of engineering communications.

Of course, you can choose the option - "we build cheap houses from blocks", but if you want to save a little more without losing quality, then you should opt for reinforced concrete panels and BENPAN + technology.

The cost of building such a house with an area of 180 square meters. m. is 6 235 000 rubles.

You can discuss the conditions for building houses using the BENPAN+ technology right now in the online chat.

frame houses

And finally, we have come to the last option that we would like to offer you - this is the construction of a frame house. If you were looking for the cheapest accommodation, you have found it. What is the cheapest house to build? It is this one.

Frame houses are in no way inferior to housing from any other material. And in most cases, they do the opposite. Perhaps the most important of which is the price.

I would like to point out right away that the cost of a frame house with an area of 180 sq. m. is 5,268,000 rubles. This is almost 2,000,000 cheaper than in the case of a solid brick house.

Cost reduction is achieved at all stages of construction, excluding the roof and interior decoration.

The walls in such houses are built of wooden beams, which are upholstered on both sides with OSB. Insulation-polystyrene foam is placed inside. Outside, the walls are finished with siding, and inside with drywall. In a frame house you will be both warm and comfortable. But the main thing is that you will be able to enter it to live in 90 days.

The final price comparison table for houses from different materials

Cheaper to build or buy?

Many are interested in the question of what is cheaper to build a house or buy a finished one. In fact, this topic can be discussed. The cost of a finished house may vary depending on the situation on the construction market, as well as the desire of the investor to quickly sell the building. All the nuances of building a house are negotiated in advance, so the price at the exit will not change. You cannot influence the house that has already been built in any way, if you wish, you can only redo something, and these are additional costs. Should they be included in the total cost? Or you decide something from the category "Nothing, and so, in principle, it's good." At the design stage of the project, you can influence the development of events. As a result, at the output you will see what you wanted. No additional expenses. I would like to say that a finished house will cost more, but this is not entirely true. At the design stage, you can make changes that were not originally planned. Changes will increase the price and you will overpay. You want to move quickly, so force the construction crew to hand over the house early. It will also seriously increase the final cost. There are a lot of factors affecting the price of a finished house and a house under construction. It is possible to consider the situation in a vacuum, but this makes no sense.

What is cheaper to build or buy? There is simply no answer to this question.

Which house is cheaper? Frame. Which house is better? One in which you will be happy.

We build houses in Moscow and the region

The Teplo Doma company is engaged in the construction of houses from various materials. We can easily find the option that is right for you. If you decide to order the construction of a house from us, then the project, estimate and other documents and drawings can be obtained free of charge. We are a serious company that knows everything about the construction of houses. Our craftsmen are experienced professionals who know their job well.

Many materials are used to build the walls of a country house, including wood, brick, concrete, stone, various types of building blocks or finished frame products. There are also extravagant options for wall structures made of metal and straw plates, but this is more an exception than a rule.

Country houses made of brick and stone

High-quality brick has a lot of advantages:

The excellent strength characteristics of the material will make your home durable, strong and reliable, and also resistant to fire and climatic extremes.
The brick does not rot, does not rust, is not afraid of moisture and ultraviolet radiation, harmful microorganisms and bacteria do not start in it.
The unique structure of the brick allows air to pass through well, protecting it from overheating.
The small size will make it possible to embody any architectural form in the building - from a round tower to a Gothic castle.
The low thermal conductivity of the material will provide an opportunity to save on additional sources of heating. In the heat in such a house it is cool, and in the frosty cold it is warm.
Good sound insulation will make your stay in the house quiet and peaceful.

The disadvantages include a fairly high hygroscopicity, so a brick house will need to be plastered or overlaid with siding or facing bricks.

The stone building looks solid and respectable. With minimal restoration costs in such a dacha, as practice shows, you can live for centuries. The main disadvantages of such a dwelling are the great laboriousness of building walls, as well as the high cost, however, these shortcomings will pay off handsomely over the years.

For massive walls made of brick or stone, you will need a powerful foundation, with a reinforcing belt. In addition, building a house will take a lot of time. However, in comparison with the benefits received, these disadvantages fade into the background.

Features of wooden country houses

A country house made of natural wood has a powerful energy, it is easy and comfortable to breathe in it. Such dwellings are always at the peak of popularity and it is unlikely that this will ever change:

Wooden houses are cheaper than stone and brick houses, with the exception of houses made of glued beams.
The environmental friendliness of wood contributes to longevity and blooming health of the owners.
It is possible to build a house from wood much faster than, for example, from stone, and besides, during the construction process, you can do without the involvement of expensive construction equipment (crane, concrete mixer); the foundation for a wooden house can be lightweight.
For winter heating of a house made of natural wood, less fuel is needed.
Wooden walls are able to create a favorable microclimate in the room, passing air masses through themselves and taking excess moisture from the air or moistening it with insufficient humidity.

The best option for a country house is to build it from a factory-made glued beam, which is delivered to the customer in assembled parts. Such a cottage can be erected in a couple of weeks, spending a minimum of time on interior decoration and protective coating. However, it should be borne in mind that only a properly dried timber will make your home a reliable home, otherwise you will be bitterly disappointed.

One of the options for giving is a handmade log house with minimal processing of the outer layer. In order to maintain clear geometric proportions of the structure, only the highest quality logs are selected during the sorting process, which significantly affects the cost of construction and leads to its rise in price.

However, wooden houses also have their drawbacks. First of all, it is an increased risk of fire. For fire-fighting purposes, the building material is impregnated with a special fire retardant compound. There are also antiseptic solutions that prevent the decomposition of logs, their decay and the appearance of mold, fungus and other microorganisms.

All these chemical mixtures are very effective in preserving the technical characteristics of wood, but at the same time they kill its main natural superiority, completely depriving it of environmental friendliness.

Building blocks: pros and cons

Building blocks in summer cottage construction appeared not so long ago, but they have already earned themselves a good reputation, because houses from them are very warm, light, strong and durable.

The appearance of blocks is dictated by two main reasons: the desire to reduce the complexity of building walls and improve their energy-saving characteristics.

The most popular today are gas silicate blocks and foam blocks.

Less commonly, claydite-concrete, arbolite and porous ceramic blocks are used in summer cottage construction.

A house made of building blocks with exterior decoration with modern materials looks solid and rich.

Building blocks have undeniable advantages:

High resistance to wear and seasonal temperature changes.
Excellent thermal insulation will create a year-round comfortable indoor microclimate, will save on air conditioners in summer and heaters in winter.
Excellent soundproofing - the key to a cozy and relaxing atmosphere for relaxation.
The high fire resistance of the blocks helps to prevent the spread of fire in the event of a fire.
The lightness of the building material minimizes the load on the foundation and reduces construction time. It takes an average of 15-20 minutes to lay a 1 m³ wall of building blocks, instead of the 3-5 hours required to lay a brick wall.

When choosing the type of building blocks for building a house, some features of the materials should be considered:

Gas silicate blocks are hygroscopic, while foam concrete is more resistant to moisture. This places high demands on waterproofing when building houses from a gas silicate block.
The strength of the gas silicate block is higher and more stable than that of foam blocks, which is very important when choosing a material for the construction of load-bearing walls.
According to the characteristics of the environmental friendliness of foam blocks or gas silicate materials, there is not much difference. In the manufacture of gas silicate, aluminum powder interacts with lime, forming hydrogen. This gas is safe for both humans and the environment. Protein and artificial additives that foam the material in the manufacture of foam blocks are also safe.
The shrinkage of foam concrete blocks is 2-2.5 times greater than the shrinkage of gas silicate material, therefore cracks almost never appear on the walls of houses made of gas silicate blocks.
In terms of thermal conductivity, foam concrete blocks are warmer than gas silicate blocks.

Frame construction of a country house

Frame construction has recently become widespread. Assembling a country house from frame panels resembles a designer and takes only a few days. The finished house is quite inexpensive and looks like a toy - very light and beautiful.

The walls of the house (shields) are assembled, as a rule, in the factory. GVL or OSB plates are used as the material, between which insulation is laid.

There are various technologies for the manufacture and assembly of frame-panel houses (Canadian, German, etc.).

The most convenient and practical for summer cottage construction is the frame-frame method. It is simple and does not require the use of special equipment, is being built directly at the construction site, and also has unlimited design and architectural solutions.

The main advantages of frame houses are:

Construction speed. All parts of the house are manufactured and numbered in accordance with the assembly instructions attached to the order.
Work can be carried out in a limited area, because. all elements of the future home are stored very compactly.
The light weight of the building makes it possible to significantly save on the foundation (on average, the cost of the foundation reaches 25 - 30% of the total costs according to the estimate).
High thermal insulation properties of the walls contribute to low heat loss.

It should also be said about the disadvantages: wood walls are flammable and prone to decay and pests, and therefore require special treatment and protection from moisture and fire.

If the option of moving out of town is seriously considered, the question of which is better 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 housing, his financial capabilities, in some ways - on the prevailing local traditions. Of course, the specifics of the climatic conditions of the region and the characteristics of the soils 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 opt for one of them, you need to figure out what problems you will encounter during large-scale construction work and during the operation of the finished building.

Criteria for choosing material for construction

When choosing a material for building a house, you should start from a number of important criteria:

In order for the house to be comfortable for living at any time of the year, when choosing a material for construction, it is necessary to take into account the average winter temperatures of the region where it is planned to build it, comparing them with the thermal insulation qualities of future walls and ceilings.

In addition, most potential owners seek to make their housing energy efficient. That is, with minimal energy costs, to obtain a comfortable temperature in the premises both in winter and in 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.
The durability and reliability of a residential building will directly depend on the strength of the selected material.
The appearance of the building also plays an important role. Therefore, it is immediately necessary to decide: which version of the material is preferable - requiring or not requiring additional finishing.
Of course, an important criterion is always the affordability of the material. In many ways, it depends on the region of construction.
If the owner plans to carry out the construction on his own (in whole or even in part), then the degree of complexity of working with the chosen building material may also be a priority of the criteria.

The main types of materials for building a private house

Today, for the construction of houses, both traditional materials are used, which have been used, without exaggeration, for centuries, and developed relatively recently, but have already shown themselves on the positive side.

So, when deciding on materials for building 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.
Composite materials based on wood.

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

Brick

For the construction of houses, silicate and ceramic bricks are used. Both one and the second option are produced in two types, which differ in the internal structural structure - a brick can be hollow and solid.

Both types are widely used for building walls of houses. However, different bricks can also have very different characteristics.

Solid and hollow ceramic bricks

Solid brick has a higher strength, so it can withstand high loads. However, it has a high thermal conductivity, and because of this, walls made of 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 better in the house, so they are often lined with a wall built of solid bricks, leaving a space between the walls that is filled with heat-insulating materials - slag, expanded clay, foam concrete or expanded polystyrene.

Agree, it is very difficult to compete with neat brickwork in terms of the aesthetics of the facade.

Brick houses have a respectable appearance and a long service life, which sometimes exceeds the deadlines laid down in the design of the building. Buildings made of this material favorably differ from other buildings in their strength and reliability. That is why, despite the emergence of innovative materials, the brick has not lost its popularity at all, as it has successfully passed the test of time. The proof of this is that the buildings, sometimes erected several centuries ago, are still in operation.

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

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

Ecological purity of the material.

Nowadays, future home owners always pay special attention to this quality of the material. Brick buildings in this regard are impeccable, since the composition of the solution from which the products are made does not include artificially produced or toxic components. Ceramic bricks are made from refined clay, and silicate bricks are made from sand and lime.

The strength of the structure built from it, long service life.

For centuries, in different countries, both one-story and multi-story buildings were built of brick, some of which are still in operation today, without even requiring restoration of facades. The walls, built of bricks made without violating technology, and laid on a high-quality mortar, are resistant to ultraviolet rays, moisture, wind, and 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 maintain its operational and decorative qualities during numerous cycles of deep freezing and thawing. Today, different brands of bricks are on sale, the frost resistance of which may vary. Therefore, when purchasing this material, you should pay attention to the F indicator, which just shows this number of cycles. The higher the value, 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-combustible material, moreover, it has been hardened at high temperatures during firing. The brick does not ignite and does not support the combustion of adjacent elements of the building. True, when exposed to open fire for a long time, it loses its safety margin. And this means that the operational life of the walls that survived the fire is significantly reduced.

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

Material cost.

Having chosen a brick for building a house, you need to be prepared for fairly large costs, since, given the “modest” size of the products, a lot of them will be required. In addition to the brick itself, you will need to complete the interior decoration of the walls - this is plastering, followed by puttying, painting, or else. All these processes are also quite costly and require a certain amount of time.

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

Brick houses are a very heavy structure. And this means that under them it is necessary to equip a reliable and solid foundation. Otherwise, under high load, it will sag, and with it the brick walls, as a result of which deep cracks will go along them.

Therefore, to build a high-quality one that is guaranteed to cope with a high load, you will also have to seriously spend money.

The design of a brick structure should only be carried out by a professional. Errors in the calculations of the foundation and the determination of the thickness of the bearing walls are 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, in insufficiently hardened or too porous bricks. In houses made of such material, there is always increased humidity, and getting rid of it is quite difficult. Therefore, the walls have to be periodically etched, which takes a lot of time and causes discomfort in the operation of housing. It is good that today there are many tools that will help protect brick walls from moisture - they process surfaces at the very beginning of the building's operation. It will help protect brick walls and a high one that separates them from ground moisture, splashes in the rain or from contact with snow drifts.

Silicate brick is more hygroscopic than ceramic. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it for building a house in regions with a humid climate. And it is completely excluded when laying the basement.

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

Feature name	solid brick	hollow brick	silicate brick
Density, kg/m³	1600÷1800	1400÷1700	1700÷1900
Thermal conductivity, W/m˚С	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 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 in the table is deliberately not indicated. This parameter varies over a very wide range, depending on the type, brand, size, manufacturer, region of construction. Even for 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 have been increasingly chosen for the construction of a private house. Such masonry materials have a number of advantages over traditional bricks, and the first of these can be called an 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 manufactured using different technologies and with different 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 techniques are somewhat different.

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, a chemical reaction is activated, accompanied by gas evolution, 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 a foaming agent, which is added at the stage of mixing the solution before pouring into molds. The cell is closed.

Both one and the other blocks can have different densities, and are divided into grades. The numerical indicator in the brand just indicates the density of the finished material (kg / m³):

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

- D 500-D 900 - structural and thermal insulation materials. It is they who are most often chosen for individual construction, combining, so to speak, “pleasant with useful”.

- D 300- D 500 - thermal insulation blocks. For load-bearing structures, the strength qualities of such a material are clearly not enough.

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

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

Ease of processing. Blocks are easily sawn with a regular wood saw. Thanks to this quality, anyone, even an inexperienced builder, can handle the adjustment of the material during the construction of walls. Moreover, the block can be given an arbitrarily intricate shape.
Material strength. The indicators of this parameter may vary depending on the porosity and brand of the product.
Low thermal conductivity. This indicator averages 0.08÷0.22 W/(m×˚С). The D300 and D500 grades have a particularly low coefficient, so they are great for additional insulation of houses for permanent residence. Walls made of this material perfectly retain heat in the house in the winter cold and cool on hot summer days.
Soundproofing. Aerated concrete and foam concrete have significant noise absorption indicators, and the final parameters depend on other characteristics of the material, as well as on the thickness of the walls. According to the norms of SNiP II-12-77, in private houses the level of sound insulation should be 41 ÷ 60 dB, and the sound insulation qualities of aerated concrete usually exceed these figures:

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

Ecological purity of the material. Industrial production of blocks is carried out under strict control (especially for aerated concrete). The laboratories are tested 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 - 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 limitations about which you also need to have information:

Foam and gas blocks are fragile, therefore, during work, with careless handling of the material, it can crack or split. In addition, this can also happen when the foundation shrinks. Therefore, the base under the walls should be as reliable as possible. In order to avoid subsidence and cracking, every second ÷ third row of masonry must be reinforced with metal rods.
The hygroscopicity of aerated concrete can be attributed to serious shortcomings. This feature predetermines an increase in the volume of work, which includes waterproofing measures.
Mandatory interior and exterior finishing involves additional costs.

What to choose - foam concrete or aerated concrete?

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

Expanded clay 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 commensurate with similar parameters of brick walls. The blocks have very large linear parameters and relatively low weight, so they are laid in a short time.

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

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

To virtues correctly built frame houses include the following:

Ability to work independently.
The low thermal conductivity of the walls helps keep the heat inside the house.
Relatively fast and fairly simple installation of structural elements.
There is no need for a massive foundation, as the construction is easy.
The design does not shrink, so you can move into the house immediately after finishing work.
You do not have to level the surfaces of the walls and ceiling, as 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 fachwerk.
Insufficiently long service life due to low strength and reliability of the structure.
In frame houses, the correct one must necessarily be equipped, otherwise mold may appear on the walls and underground due to insufficient air exchange.
Poor quality of sound insulation.
High fire hazard.

Insulating 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 better to choose for construction - a bar or a log, or give preference to a frame structure, then it would be useful to refer to a special comparative publication. The recommended link leads to it.

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Above, we figured out what materials can be used to build houses for year-round use. Given their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, approximate prices in your region, you can decide which one is best for a particular case by combining all the evaluation criteria.

If desires and opportunities coincide, then you can stop at the best option and start developing a project at home.

Complement the information reflected in the article, an interesting video on the same topic: