Methods of wall insulation with expanded clay: options for cottage

When building private cottages, country houses or public buildings, zealous owners take care of how to minimize the heat loss of the facade as much as possible in order to reduce the cost of using gas, liquid fuel, firewood or electric heating sources. To do this, apply different types of insulation, with the most affordable option is to do the decoration with expanded clay or expanded clay concrete.

Expanded clay is a kind of insulation consisting of small loose fragments with a porous structure. This finishing material is obtained by foaming fusible clay and shale. Also among the additives can be declared sawdust, diesel oil and peat. Then the raw material is rolled in drums and burned in a furnace at a high temperature to impart additional strength.

The result is light and at the same time durable granules ranging from 2 to 40 mm. They may have the following form: expanded clay sand of up to 5 mm in size, expanded clay crushed stone resembling cubes in shape, as well as oblong expanded clay gravel.

Expanded clay is a very practical material. Experts have shown that only 10 cm of claydite in the wall is equivalent to 1 meter of brickwork or 25 cm wooden lining in terms of insulating properties. That is why this heater does not let the cold inside the building, but in the heat does not allow the house to overheat and keeps the inside cool. . When choosing claydite, it is worth considering which climate zone a house will be built in, of what materials and on which project.

It is necessary to adhere to a simple rule - product characteristics (density, brand, frost resistance) should correspond to the declared technical parameters.

The use of expanded clay as a heater has its advantages and disadvantages.

Among the advantages of this finishing material are the following:

• affordable price;
• the possibility of using expanded clay in the composition of concrete mixtures for blocks that are better than brick or reinforced concrete, they save heat;
• environmental friendliness and safety for human health;
• durability and long shelf life;
• resistance to external influences and chemical compounds - clay does not rot, does not corrode and is not afraid of rodents and insects;

• simplicity of installation, since this does not require special equipment and tools, so even masters with minimal experience in construction will be able to cope with the insulation works;
• excellent heat and sound insulation due to the porosity of expanded clay;
• high fire resistance, as the material is pre-burned at high temperatures;
• low weight, so it will be easier to work with such material;
• due to the loose texture and granules of small size, expanded clay can fill the cavity of almost any volume;
• resistance to temperature extremes.

Wall insulation with expanded clay is most common in brick houses, although it is sometimes used in frame versions. The technology is the same - it is laying in bulk. Although in frame buildings in most cases builders resort to warming with light materials. They use mineral wool, foam, liquid polyurethane foam and penoizol. But in favor of expanded clay, the owners make a choice primarily because of its low cost.

One of the common ways to insulate the house with expanded clay is the organization of a three-layer frame.

• The inner part usually has a thickness of about 40 cm and is made of expanded clay concrete - this layer plays the role of thermal insulation.

• The second layer is expanded clay mixed with cement in a ratio of 10: 1.This mixture is called capsi cement. Such a solid mixture gives the frame additional strength and rigidity, and its small mass hardly carries the additional load on the foundation of the building.
• The third outer layer plays the role of protecting insulation and just decorating the building. Different finishing materials are used for it, depending on the preferences and financial capabilities of the owner, as well as the general architectural solution. It can be wood, clinker bricks, wall paneling, granite, stone, fiber cement boards or aluminum panels.

With a three-layer wall insulation specialists, depending on the type of structure, use three finishing options.

• Masonry with diaphragms. In this embodiment, the walls are erected: one is brick-thick and the other is half thinner, while the distance between them should be 20 cm. After every fifth row, a heater is poured into the gap between the walls, tamped and poured with cement milk. Then 3 rows of bricks are laid out, and the corners are made without cavities.
• Laying with embedded parts is done by a similar technology with the filling of expanded clay between the walls as when laying with diaphragms.In this case, the walls are fixed between each other with reinforcement brackets.
• Well masonry involves the construction of walls at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other. Ligation of the walls through the row takes place with jumpers of 80–100 cm. The cavities are filled up first with claydite and then with cement milk.

The thickness of such insulation as expanded clay depends on its properties and the technical characteristics of the wall materials. Of course, it is easier to turn to the services of professional builders, who will always take into account the peculiarities of the local climate when calculating the thickness of the insulation layer.

It is possible to calculate the required thickness of the insulation layer independently, using the following indicators:

• thermal conductivity coefficient of claydite - 0.17 W / mx K;
• minimum thickness - 200 mm;
• thermal resistance, which is equal to the temperature difference across all edges of the material and the amount of heat passing through its thickness. That is, R (resistance) = wall thickness / CTS (wall thermal conductivity).

It is worth paying attention to the fact that if we are talking about the construction of a frame house, then the clay will have to be tamped especially carefully.A wooden structure to insulate expanded clay will be very difficult, since it is necessary to leave the cavity about 30 cm thick, and this is an additional load on the structure and foundation. Much more efficient, easier and cheaper in this case will be the use of mineral wool as a heater. And if the climatic conditions and the thickness of the log house allow, then you can do without it.

Despite the positive assessment of such a heat-insulating material, such as expanded clay, during installation, you should pay attention to such a disadvantage as a high level of fragility, which should be taken into account when backfilling and tamping. The prudent owners advise not only walls, but also floor, ceiling, and attic space to insulate with economical claydite. With proper care, this insulating material will last for many years.

Any building material, including expanded clay, if improperly stored, can lose its original properties. For example, if the bags with this insulation will stay for a long time in the country, then there is a risk that the claydite balls will eventually turn into ordinary dust. If claydite is required as a heater for walls or as a filler for lightweight concrete, then it is worth choosing fractions 5–10 or 10–20.

Internet users leave a lot of positive feedback, although there are negative. Many users who have made repairs to the cottage through the use of expanded clay, note that the use of fuel has significantly reduced in winter even at 20 degrees of frost, and even without heating the room remains warm for a long time. Not very high popularity of expanded clay, perhaps due to stereotypes or insufficient information about this material. Many believe that its use and installation technique is more complicated than that of other heat insulators.

In fact, the insulation of the walls of the cottage with claydite gives excellent results., the main thing is to choose high-quality material and ensure good tamping, without experimenting and entrusting the installation to professionals in their field.Another difficulty that can be encountered when using claydite is the threat of squeezing with other material. Therefore, additional work to strengthen will help avoid such situations. But it should be borne in mind that this will result in a reduction in the usable area of ​​the room.

So, if you need to insulate a country house or cottage, then the choice of expanded clay will be an excellent solution for the construction of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly homes. In addition, it is affordable even for people with very modest financial opportunities.

See how the clay house was insulated with claydite in the next video.