Foam block construction is becoming more and more popular, and there are both subjective reasons and objective reasons for this. In many ways, of course, the merit of the popularity in the relative novelty of foam blocks as a building material: the new always attracts, especially if specific advantages are hidden behind the novelty effect.
And what are the advantages /doma-iz-penoblokov of foam blocks?
Well, their main advantage is still in low weight and susceptibility to processing. Indeed, foam blocks are convenient to cut, saw, drill, hew, while it practically does not crumble and does not prick like brick or concrete. That is why they are very often used for the manufacture of various decorative elements: for this, foam blocks are very fond of architects. In addition, almost any finishing materials are perfectly combined with foam concrete, reliably lining the foam blocks and creating a complex decor.
As you know, foam blocks are much lighter in weight than traditional concrete and brick, even hollow ones: this simplifies its transportation and storage, and reducing the total weight of the building allows you to invest less in laying the foundation. In addition, the standard sizes of foam blocks are much larger than bricks, which significantly speeds up the process of building a building.
Other important qualities of foam concrete are low thermal conductivity and high soundproofing properties. The walls of the house, built of foam blocks, thanks to their cellular structure with millions of air bubbles, like a thermos, retain heat inside during the cold season, saving on space heating, and in the summer heat they protect from heating from the outside. The advantage over a brick in this sense is as much as 3.5 times! The same can be attributed to the soundproofing of foam block walls.
With all this, natural ventilation of the premises is surprisingly provided: the vapor permeability of foam blocks has quite high rates. Among other things, the property of foam concrete, from which foam blocks are made, is the maturation process, which is why it becomes stronger over time, providing remarkable durability to both the material and the building as a whole.
An equally valuable quality of foam blocks is their excellent fire resistance, for which firefighters love them so much, referring foam blocks to the highest fire resistance classes. Foam blocks practically do not burn, and high temperatures do not lead to their destruction.
The only difficulty is the design of buildings from foam blocks: their relative fragility requires accurate calculations of point loads, and, as a result, special design with a full package of construction documentation. It is also categorically unacceptable to change the type of foam blocks during construction: a material with a lower density compared to the calculated one will significantly reduce performance. Avoiding this, the result is a beautiful, inexpensive, warm, comfortable home with a very long service life.
