Polystyrene concrete is made of cement, quartz sand,
additives and foam balls, which are the basis of this building material. At present, polystyrene concrete blocks are not particularly widespread, and the whole reason is their shortcomings, which, in my opinion, still prevail over the advantages of this material. Although, as they say, the taste and color. ..
Nevertheless, first I will tell you about the merits, which include:
- Easy and simple installation of polystyrene concrete
- Low cost
- Low foundation load due to low density
- Excellent thermal insulation
- Lightness inprocessing - polystyrene blocks can be sawed with an ordinary hacksaw and give them any shape
Based on the above, this material will be an excellent choice for thermal insulation of residential premises - all the best polystyreneConcrete is directed towards ensuring good insulation.
Now about the shortcomings of polystyrene concrete
Doubtful is its ability to withstand multiple cycles of freezing-defrosting. When installing polystyrene concrete blocks, it is always advisable to isolate them with an external finish - the plaster layer must be at least 2 cm thick. In view of the low density of this building material, the question arises about the reliability of fastening in the walls of various fastening materials - anchors, dowels and nails. All these fasteners from polystyrene concrete can be pulled out with their bare fingers - they are extremely fragile in the thickness of this type of concrete.
From here and another problem - the doors and windows built into this material are loosened in six months or a year, as they do not strengthen. Actually, all the shortcomings of polystyrene concrete blocks are due precisely to the presence in its base of foam plastic balls - the material is rather flimsy. When cutting, balls often fall out, which worsens the strength of the block. The consequence of the presence of foam is a rather high shrinkage compared with traditional concrete - from 1 mm / meter.
Polystyrene concrete blocks have, in addition to low thermal conductivity, very low vapor permeability - i.e.walls from this material practically do not breathe. This imposes an obligation to install additional ventilation and drain excess moisture.
Drawing a conclusion from all of the above can be summarized - polystyrene is a pretty good building material, but for limited use, rather than use as the bearing walls of the building.
