ᐅ Solid Construction House: Which Type of Brick or Block?

Hello,

we are planning to build a single-family house in the medium term. The potential builders naturally offer a variety of products for the masonry.

The most prominent options are:

• sand-lime brick with insulation layer
• Poroton (T9, T10, rarely also T8)
• Liaplan

From a healthy living perspective, sand-lime brick is said to be very good, but I am unsure about the material combination (sand-lime brick plus insulation layer). Different materials can behave differently over time or under thermal changes. How does this work out in practice?

Poroton seems to be a good compromise – especially the filled T9 or T8 blocks have good insulating properties. But wouldn’t we have similar issues with the material combination here as well?

I haven’t been able to find much information about Liaplan yet...

What does the specialist and/or the experienced homeowner say?

Best regards,
Stefan

The Right Masonry

Hello Stefan,
You forgot one type of stone: pumice stone. It is volcanic in origin and mined through open-pit mining, in the Neuwied Basin.
The stone is cold-formed and, essentially, does not absorb water during the construction phase. Liapor is basically expanded clay (clay extruded and fired at about 1200°C (2192°F)). It mimics pumice with its good properties. I would also advise against a frequently used mixture of different building materials.
Whether you actually want to install an external insulation layer on a new build is something to consider very carefully. It is not strictly necessary. Regarding the term "building biology," to meet this attribute requires dry masonry that stores heat. This is what is called indoor climate.
This is my very personal conviction based on many years of experience in planning and building biology.
Good luck in expanding your knowledge.

testbert schrieb:
Hello,

We are planning to build a single-family home in the medium term. Of course, potential builders offer various masonry products. The most prominent are:

• Sand-lime brick + insulation layer
• Poroton (T9, T10, rarely T8)
• Liaplan

From a building biology perspective, sand-lime brick is said to be very good, but I am uncertain about the mixed materials (sand-lime brick + insulation layer). Different materials behave differently over time or with thermal changes. How does this work in practice?

Poroton also seems like a good compromise—especially the filled T9 or T8 bricks that have good insulation properties. But wouldn’t there also be potential issues with mixed materials here?

I have not been able to find much about Liaplan so far...

What does the “expert” or an experienced homeowner say?

Best regards,
Stefan

@Baufixx
Whether you actually want to apply an external insulation layer in a new build is something I would reconsider very carefully. It is not necessary.

That may be true, but

This is my personal conviction based on many years of work in planning and building biology.

however, says the opposite:

Planning: Thermal conductivity > 0.39 W/(m·K)
Building biology: Pumice is used for the production of lightweight concrete blocks

-------------------

It is important to stay within the "system" for it to work properly.
Also, the cost differences are significant. Sand-lime brick + external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) versus T9

Average value for walls made with lightweight concrete blocks with appropriate joint finishing at a “standard” wall thickness.
That it can be done better, no question.

Hello everyone,

I have a fundamental question:
Calcium silicate blocks or eco-friendly lime stone.

More precisely, I’m asking if anyone can share information about the eco-friendly lime stone. Our builder offers both options. Calcium silicate blocks are clear to me. However, I couldn’t find any opinions on this eco-friendly lime stone. Google only leads to the manufacturer’s website.
How does the pricing compare? The builder would offer the eco-friendly lime stone at a somewhat lower price.

It would be great if someone could share the advantages and disadvantages of this eco-friendly lime stone.

Thank you very much
Tims

A few months ago, I faced the same question and spent a lot of time thinking it through.
It quickly became clear that I did not want composite masonry with external insulation. Gluing large amounts of polystyrene to the facade and then not having a really solid exterior wall put me off. Besides, I didn’t like the idea of living in a house that feels like it’s wrapped in a diaper.
External insulation also needs to be applied perfectly to avoid future problems, which made me hesitant.

That left Ytong blocks or thermal insulation bricks as options.
In the end, we decided on bricks.

Personally, I’m not a fan of bricks with large perlite-filled cavities (Poroton). For example, you can’t drill in standard plugs. And what happens if the filling inside the brick settles or compresses after many years? There simply isn’t enough long-term experience with this yet.

Therefore, we chose a brick with a finer honeycomb-like cavity structure. Then there was the question: filled or unfilled?

It’s important to know that unfilled bricks need a much higher amount of foamed air to achieve the same thermal insulation. So we went for a brick filled with mineral wool, specifically the Unipor Coriso W08. It has the bulk density of a 10 cm (4 inch) brick and also significantly better soundproofing (45 dB instead of 42 dB), which shouldn’t be overlooked. So, even in the unlikely event that the mineral wool inside the brick settles one day, you would still have a W10 (equivalent to T10) brick, which would still provide decent thermal insulation.

We chose a wall thickness of 36.5 cm (14.4 inches) instead of the originally planned 30 cm (12 inches) for better structural stability, thermal insulation, and soundproofing. Especially where chasing is necessary (for electrical wiring, sockets, etc.), a 30 cm (12 inch) brick often doesn’t leave enough material, which can create thermal bridges.

By the way, the U-value is 0.21.