What material for building a house is more durable. What materials are best for building a house. Ceramic brick - a classic of suburban housing construction

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 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 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.

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.

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 respect 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:

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 them 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, 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:

• 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 beam 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:

Video: What material is better to choose for your own residential building?

Let's make a reservation right away that in this article we will not consider exotic building materials, such as adobe bricks, reeds or felt. Let's talk about materials traditionally used in Russia and most other countries for building houses. There are a lot of them (and new ones are constantly appearing), however, all of them are one or another variation on the theme of wood, stone or concrete.

The traditional dispute about which walls are “warm” and which are not, in our opinion, has already lost its relevance: on the one hand, there are now so many effective heat-insulating technologies that any wall can be made “warm”; on the other hand, even the “warmest” wall, made “by a blunder”, instead of heat, will give only drafts. Therefore, we believe that one of the most important qualities that the best material for building a house should have is its weight. The more massive the walls of the house, the stronger they are and the greater the load they can withstand. But the foundations in such a design must also have a large bearing capacity, which significantly increases the cost of construction (the cost of the foundation can reach up to 30% of the cost of the entire house!)

wooden houses

The "lightest" types of houses are frame-panel and panel. Their walls and partitions consist of a wooden frame upholstered with wooden panels, between which there is a layer of heat-insulating material. The difference between them is that the walls of a frame house are erected “on the spot”, while the walls of a panel house are built at the factory in the form of panels. The advantages of such houses are: the speed of construction (professional teams spend about 3 weeks on assembling a frame house, a panel house can be assembled in a few days), the ability to use weakly supporting foundations that are easy to install, and, consequently, a serious reduction in the cost of construction. Disadvantages: weak strength and bearing capacity (it is allowed to build up to two floors with an attic), fragility (the warranty life of such houses is about 20-25 years, although in reality a well-built house stands without repair and 50-60 years - there are examples). In addition, in Russia, frame-panel technologies are still somewhat wary, although in Europe and America this is one of the most common houses, so wooden panels may well act as the best material for building a house with the tolerance of certain structural restrictions.

Wooden log cabins are next in weight, either from a round log (manual or mechanical cylinder), or from a rectangular bar. Their advantages: ease of erection, average cost, the possibility of using inexpensive foundations, increased strength and durability (40-50 years minimum) compared to frame houses. The disadvantages are as follows: log cabins are subject to shrinkage, so it is impossible to build such a house within one season; as a result of shrinkage, cracks are formed, therefore log cabins require mandatory caulking; increased fire hazard of the material, requiring the use of additional protective measures; the most important thing is the direct dependence of the quality of the material on its price. Inexpensive hand-fed log cabins are usually made of poor quality wood, with many slots, and good quality logs and beams are usually expensive.

Houses made of stone and concrete

Recently, houses made of various kinds of concrete derivatives have become widespread: foam concrete, polystyrene concrete, etc. These materials are quite light (compared to ordinary concrete), non-combustible, have good heat and sound insulation, are easy to install and also claim to be the best material for building a house. Of the minuses, one can note the fragility of the material, which does not allow building above two floors. There are problems with interior decoration - the "softness" of the material forces us to make all sorts of additional "false walls". In addition, buildings made of these materials require the immediate installation of insulated facades, otherwise unprotected walls begin to quickly collapse.

Every good owner sooner or later faces some kind of construction. Someone is building a garage, someone is building a bathhouse, and some are aiming at building a large mansion on their own. Here the question arises as to which material is better to choose for building a house.

The main stages of construction include pouring the foundation, as well as erecting walls. For any owner, it is important that the aesthetic appearance of the building is of a high level, the walls are warm, strong, and in general, the cost of building materials is not very high.

The most popular materials for building a house

The modern construction market is rich and diverse. Let's take a closer look at the top five most popular building materials for building a house.

• One-piece profiled beam.
• The log is rounded.
• Brick.
• Foam blocks.
• Thermal panels.

What to give preference? Each owner makes this decision independently, but for this it is worth studying all the pros and cons of each of the materials.

Wood

Wooden building materials for building a house have become very popular in our time. Wooden walls have low thermal conductivity, but stable heat capacity. Even if the house has not been heated for some time, with the stove in operation, the resulting condensate will be absorbed into the wood. After that, the already heated air draws moisture, and a special, favorable microclimate is created in the room. Coniferous species (pine, spruce, fir, larch, cedar) are often used in construction. In addition to the popular solid profiled timber, round logs, glued, ordinary timber, carriage are used.

Solid profiled beam

Material that has undergone special processing. In the profiled timber, the content of wood resin is very high, thanks to which the structures made of it are durable and are not exposed to aggressive environmental influences.

Back in the last century, when choosing finishing and building materials, rarely did anyone stop at a profiled beam. During the construction of the walls, manual adjustment was required. Now, thanks to modern technologies, the bars are processed on machines in such a way that they simply fit perfectly, the gaps between them are minimal.

This eco-friendly material is not too expensive. The walls keep the heat inside for a long time, they can be built in a matter of days. Smooth, machined beams allow you to assemble a house, like puzzles.

rounded log

When studying building materials for building a house, pay attention to round logs. Like timber, this building material is made from conifers. Unlike the first, rounded logs allow you to build buildings that are more durable, all this is due to the shape of the material. The construction of round logs is also carried out in a short time.

Brick

The most popular building material for building walls is brick. Brick buildings are outwardly quite acceptable, they are very strong in strength, durable, and also environmentally friendly.

silicate brick. This building material is very common. Buildings made of such bricks can last for decades.

Clay brick. It has always been considered a symbol of something stable, indestructible. Such a brick has increased strength, frost resistance, immunity to aggressive atmospheric action. However, the thermal performance of such a building material does not always meet expectations.

The construction of reliable buildings requires high-quality building materials. Brick factories offer a wide range of their products, which can be divided into three categories:

1. Solid bricks, these include the following types: conditionally effective, ordinary, effective.
2. Hollow bricks, the share of voids in them reaches 40%. Facing products also fall into this category.
3. as well as large-format stones-bricks. The high thermal conductivity of this category is ensured by the honeycomb-shaped structural material.

Disadvantages, advantages of brick

During transportation, especially over long distances, a small percentage of products lose their presentation, brick materials for building the walls of the house crumble. Their cost, however, is very high.

The ability of a brick to retain heat is much less than that of a tree. Walls built from conditionally efficient or solid bricks always require additional insulation. This problem is solved by three options: a ventilated facade - installation of a hinged insulation system, a heat-insulating plaster system, as well as three-layer walls with a heat layer.

The brick house is comfortable for living. This design "breathes", provides air exchange, and at the same time has active thermal inertia. Having warmed up, brick walls hold heat for a long time and gradually release it into the room.

Foam blocks

If you need high-quality and at the same time inexpensive building materials for building a house, then pay attention to the foam blocks.

Foam blocks are characterized by such qualities as heat resistance, high strength, low weight. Sudden temperature changes do not affect the walls erected from foam blocks. They do not crack or expand. There are many air bubbles inside the block, which increase the effect of thermal insulation. For comparison: foam concrete walls have a thermal conductivity eight times higher than conventional concrete walls. The material is good not only for the construction of the main walls, but also for internal floors. Thanks to this, the whole structure perfectly retains heat. Foam concrete structures do not require additional insulation. Heating costs are significantly reduced, by about 30%.

Advantages of concrete structures

• Due to the low weight, the pressure on the foundation is reduced.
• Savings in finishing. Normal wall putty is enough, plaster is not required.
• Reducing labor intensity. One 15 kg foam block replaces 20 bricks, the total weight of which is 80 kg.
• Cellular foam concrete blocks have excellent soundproofing properties.
• Brick factories produce such building materials in sufficient volumes. The popularity of foam blocks is growing every day.
• In terms of environmental friendliness, this material resembles wood. The room maintains optimal humidity, the walls breathe. Unlike wood, blocks do not rot, burn, or rust like metal.
• Foam concrete is often used as a heat insulator, it can withstand high temperatures (up to +400 degrees).
• The blocks are very easy to work with conventional hand tools.

Disadvantages of foam concrete

When we choose materials for the walls of the house, we try to study not only the advantages, but also their inherent disadvantages, foam concrete also has them. These include:

• Brittleness of the material.
• Every three rows of walls must be reinforced.
• Foam concrete quickly absorbs moisture, which somewhat reduces thermal conductivity.
• To avoid dampness, it is necessary to create waterproofing, moisture-resistant protection between the foundation and walls.
• Vapor permeability of foam concrete. Vapor barrier required.

Frame thermal panels

If you need inexpensive building materials for building a house, then you should pay attention to frame thermal panels. The advantages of this material include low thermal conductivity, relative strength and fast assembly. Minus - the lack of naturalness.

Thermal panels today are very often used for finishing frame-panel houses. Their design consists of extruded polystyrene foam (in the role of a heat-insulating substrate) and High performance properties allow the use of thermal panels in the construction of houses using Canadian technologies. The most important characteristics of this facade material, which ensured wide demand, of course, include the absence of moisture absorption, low thermal conductivity, high compressive and impact strength, resistance to fire and any biological attack. The material is easy to install and use.

Finishing and wall-building houses must meet all modern requirements, then the design will delight the owners for many years. Frame thermal panels provide an attractive, aesthetic, solid appearance to the building. It is for this reason that this material is very often used for the construction of cottages. built according to Canadian technology, finished has the appearance of a smooth, flawless brickwork.

If the building is lined with thermal panels, heat losses are immediately reduced by 30%, all this thanks to the substrate, which consists of extruded polystyrene foam. Clinker tiles are connected to the insulation under high pressure with heavy-duty adhesive. The thinnest cutting of expanded polystyrene sheets allows you to make high-quality tight joints. In order for the facade to take on a finished look, in addition to the main panels, you can purchase various additional elements to neatly arrange the corners.

We have presented the most common building materials on the market today. It is up to you to decide how and what material to choose for building a house, to give preference to price, naturalness, aesthetic qualities or technical characteristics.

The owners of suburban areas have a great opportunity to assemble inexpensive houses with very good performance characteristics. There are several ways to build an economical and reliable building today. In this article, we will talk about what is cheaper to build houses from.

What factors affect the cost

You can save when building a country house:

• Properly drafted. A compact house with a well-thought-out layout will cost less than a large “chaotic” building and will be no less comfortable at the same time.
• Choosing the right material for walls, roofs, ceilings and finishes.

It is the latter factor in terms of project cost that often plays a decisive role.

Materials for how to choose

When deciding what exactly the walls of the house, its ceilings and roof will be built from, you need to pay attention to the following factors:

• Climatic conditions. In cold regions, it is better to use, albeit not so durable, but always warm materials. The owners of sites located in the southern regions of the country have a much wider choice. In this case, you can use absolutely any modern inexpensive materials.
• Specific properties of materials. Of course, buildings made of SIP panels or foam concrete are much cheaper than brick or log houses.
• features of the local market. For example, wood may be cheaper in wooded regions, while concrete may be cheaper in steppe regions.

The most economical building materials

So, now let's see what is cheaper to build houses from. A very economical and convenient building in our time can be built using:

• Timber and modern insulation. This is the most inexpensive type of buildings at the moment. At the same time, despite the cheapness, panel houses have very good performance characteristics. Inexpensive materials are also used as cladding in this case. Most often it is plywood and siding.
• SIP panels. Such a building will cost more than a shield building, but it is also built faster.
• Foam blocks. Buildings erected from them are also very inexpensive and at the same time are considered somewhat more reliable than panel buildings.

All these modern materials for building a house fit very well and at the same time are able to last for a long time. Next, let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Perhaps this will help someone make the most successful choice.

Advantages of frame buildings

Wooden houses of this type, in addition to being cheap, also have such advantages as:

• Ease of construction. You can build a frame-panel house on your own, without the involvement of specialists. When erecting such a building, there is no need to use any expensive equipment. The foundation for a panel house can be poured with the most inexpensive - columnar (of course, only on reliable ground).
• Excellent heat-preserving qualities. Such houses are isolated from the cold using modern inexpensive materials. Usually it is mineral wool or polystyrene foam. Even not too expensive unprofiled timber in this case is used in minimal quantities - only for the construction of the frame.
• Aesthetic With the use of high-quality internal and external cladding, choosing this technology, you can actually get a very beautiful and at the same time comfortable building.
• No shrinkage. Unlike expensive block and log buildings, you can move into a house built using this technology immediately after its construction.

Disadvantages of panel buildings

Timber and modern insulation are just a great answer to the question of what is cheaper to build houses from. But of course, like any other technique, this building construction technology has its drawbacks. The disadvantages of frame-panel houses include, first of all, a not too high degree of environmental safety. The fact is that mineral wool and expanded polystyrene are materials that, in certain situations, can emit. When building a house, this must be taken into account and the inner lining made as airtight as possible. Mineral wool releases and polystyrene foam - poisonous styrene.

The disadvantages of panel structures can also be attributed to a not too high degree of fire resistance. Wiring in such a house is best left to a specialist. Even though it will incur additional costs. You will also have to spend money on treating the wooden frame with antiseptic and fire-resistant compounds, as well as insect repellents. As you know, only if these funds are used, wooden houses are quite durable.

The owners of remote summer cottages often refuse to erect such buildings due to the not too high mechanical strength of the walls. To break into such a house in the absence of protection, thieves may not even need to pick the lock.

Advantages of buildings from SIP panels

This type of building is structurally very similar to the previous one. In fact, this is just a kind of panel house. The only difference is that the elements of this type of building are assembled from panels supplied ready-made. Of course, when using such material, the building is more reliable and durable. Houses made of SIP panels are not too expensive. However, their cost, as already mentioned, is slightly higher than that of conventional shield ones.

SIP panels consist of two OSB boards, between which expanded polystyrene is fixed. Despite the apparent fragility, due to the integrity of the structure, they are able to withstand huge loads and, in fact, are just perfect for buildings. You can also build a building from this material yourself. It is not required to fill under SIP-walls and too powerful foundation. The advantages of this material include a very low degree of thermal conductivity.

As in the case of a frame-panel house, the construction of such a building does not require the use of expensive equipment. The panels are processed in an elementary way - with the help of a conventional hacksaw. Therefore, houses from SIP panels can have any layout and architecture.

Cons of SIP buildings

The disadvantages of such houses are about the same as those of conventional frame-panel houses. That is, they do not differ in fire safety and environmental cleanliness. In addition to expanded polystyrene, in this case, OSB panels are also used, the safety of which is highly doubtful. Some of the disadvantages of SIP panels include the fact that you can build houses from them only of a limited height (maximum 2 floors). Engineering communications in buildings of this type are quite difficult and expensive to carry out. This can also be attributed to the disadvantages of such buildings.

Advantages of houses from foam blocks

This material is slightly more expensive than SIP panels. However, the cost of the foam block is still low, and the difference in price in this case is not critical. In addition, in comparison with SIP buildings and panel buildings, houses made of this material have a lot of advantages. These include:

• The ability of the walls to "breathe". In this regard, buildings made of foam blocks are comparable to, for example, comfortable structures such as log houses. The microclimate in buildings erected from this material is created almost the same.
• Fire resistance of walls. Concrete, as everyone knows, does not burn.
• Durability. By definition, such a building can serve much longer than a wooden building. Concrete does not rot and is not damaged by insects.

Disadvantages of foam concrete houses

The disadvantages of such buildings include, first of all, the need for thorough waterproofing of the foundation and the use of materials that prevent the penetration of moisture into the walls. Inexpensive foam block houses should be protected as carefully as possible. The fact is that this porous material absorbs moisture very well. At the same time, its heat-preserving qualities are lost. Moreover, wet blocks of this type easily crumble, which can even lead to cracks in the walls.

Despite the fact that foam concrete is light, the foundation for it should be used sufficiently powerful and reliable. It's all about the fragility of this material. Foam concrete can give cracks even with small movements.

The disadvantages of this material, in comparison with SIP panels, include some difficulty in building houses when using them. To build, fasten the foam blocks with special glue. In this case, the seams, unlike concrete ones, are very thin and do not let the cold through. However, masonry by this method involves the use of blocks of ideal geometry. But despite the existing standards, material with various kinds of defects is often sold on the domestic market.

From the foregoing, a simple conclusion can be drawn. You should buy foam blocks only from large manufacturers who value their reputation and supply the market with sufficiently strong material with ideal geometry.

Cost of materials

For the construction of the walls of the building, structural and heat-insulating foam blocks are usually used. The price for them depends on the size, manufacturer and supplier. For the D500-D600 block, for example, you can pay from 47 to 185 rubles. The cost of a foam block of the most convenient dimensions for laying 20x30x60 mm is usually 135-150 rubles.

The price of SIP panels of different sizes can be found in the table below.

Thus, the price of a SIP house (or rather, only its walls) 5x5 m in size with a ceiling height of 250 cm and a wall thickness of 12 mm will be 47,200 rubles, not counting the cost of consumables. Of course, it's not too expensive. Foam blocks of the same size will cost about 55,000-60,000 rubles, which is also quite cheap.

What to make ceilings and roofs from

The use of SIP panels and foam blocks significantly reduces the cost of building houses. From various materials of a modern type, such as metal tiles, ondulin or profiled sheets, it is possible to assemble a very inexpensive roof for a country building. The floor and ceiling in a budget house are usually sheathed with a simple edged board.

As for the frame of the floors and the roof, then the choice, of course, is not too big. Logs, beams and truss system are usually made of timber. And the material used is quite thick. After all, such structures are load-bearing and must withstand serious loads. Therefore, saving on them, of course, is not worth it. However, the price of an ordinary non-profiled timber is not too high.

Thus, using the materials described above for building a house, you can save a lot of money and at the same time get reliable and environmentally friendly structures.

How to choose a cutting board

When choosing this material, you should pay attention to two factors:

• The presence of knots. They should be as few as possible. Especially the dark ones. Such knots will surely fall out over time, and ugly holes will form in the floor or ceiling.
• Material geometry. All selected boards must have the same thickness and be even in all planes.

Advantages and disadvantages of metal tiles

In addition to the low price, the advantages of this material, which is used to assemble an inexpensive roof most often, include:

• light weight,
• strength and durability,
• aesthetic appearance,
• ease of installation.

The disadvantages of metal tiles are:

• noise during rain
• the ability to rust and click in the sun with improper installation.

As you can see, the answer to the question of what is cheaper to build houses from is not too complicated. Choosing inexpensive materials for the construction of walls, floors and roofs of a building is very simple these days. Of course, when drawing up a project, everything should be carefully calculated and thought out. In this case, the house will be economical, reliable and comfortable.