ᐅ Lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA): Advantages and Disadvantages, Thickness, Suppliers
Created on: 17 Jan 2023 10:29
M
Mar_Mar
Good morning everyone!
My husband and I (both rather paper people) are planning to build a fairly large semi-detached house and are navigating through the jungle of options. We want a solid construction and have spoken with various suppliers. The available options regarding blocks are aerated concrete, Poroton, and expanded clay (prefabricated), all 36.5cm (14.4 inches) thick and built as monolithic walls. Of course, each consultant believes their own material is the best, so I would be interested in your opinions and experiences.
“Actually,” we would rather not build with aerated concrete/Ytong because our naive assumption about moisture absorption (sponge effect) during construction and later when drying out the house seems negative. However, I can understand the argument for its easy workability.
Poroton would be our “favorite,” but I get the impression that many companies really resist using it because of a lot of waste, losses during transport, and comments like “you don’t notice a difference,” etc. Then there is also the split between filled and unfilled blocks.
And then there is expanded clay. Our “new favorite with a question mark.” It seems very interesting because it somehow combines the best of both worlds: dry straight from the factory, quick, even cheaper. BUT if it’s so good, why don’t more people build with it and why are there relatively few suppliers? That makes us skeptical. I’ve read and researched a lot that it often cracks and that its insulation properties are not the best compared to Poroton. We were told that an unfilled 36.5cm (14.4 inches) Poroton block is comparable in properties to a 42cm (16.5 inches) expanded clay block.
We are lost in this jungle of U-values, lambda, etc. Can you support us?
By the way: insulation is more important to us than soundproofing.
Thanks so much!
My husband and I (both rather paper people) are planning to build a fairly large semi-detached house and are navigating through the jungle of options. We want a solid construction and have spoken with various suppliers. The available options regarding blocks are aerated concrete, Poroton, and expanded clay (prefabricated), all 36.5cm (14.4 inches) thick and built as monolithic walls. Of course, each consultant believes their own material is the best, so I would be interested in your opinions and experiences.
“Actually,” we would rather not build with aerated concrete/Ytong because our naive assumption about moisture absorption (sponge effect) during construction and later when drying out the house seems negative. However, I can understand the argument for its easy workability.
Poroton would be our “favorite,” but I get the impression that many companies really resist using it because of a lot of waste, losses during transport, and comments like “you don’t notice a difference,” etc. Then there is also the split between filled and unfilled blocks.
And then there is expanded clay. Our “new favorite with a question mark.” It seems very interesting because it somehow combines the best of both worlds: dry straight from the factory, quick, even cheaper. BUT if it’s so good, why don’t more people build with it and why are there relatively few suppliers? That makes us skeptical. I’ve read and researched a lot that it often cracks and that its insulation properties are not the best compared to Poroton. We were told that an unfilled 36.5cm (14.4 inches) Poroton block is comparable in properties to a 42cm (16.5 inches) expanded clay block.
We are lost in this jungle of U-values, lambda, etc. Can you support us?
By the way: insulation is more important to us than soundproofing.
Thanks so much!
We also built using expanded clay elements. So far, we haven’t seen any cracks or similar issues.
As nida35a already mentioned, the insulation values are very good. The house dried quickly, so we don’t need much energy for heating or cooling.
In our case, the elements were also manufactured directly on-site, right next to the local construction company.
As nida35a already mentioned, the insulation values are very good. The house dried quickly, so we don’t need much energy for heating or cooling.
In our case, the elements were also manufactured directly on-site, right next to the local construction company.
11ant schrieb:
There is the famous Goalkeeper thread here https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/reihenendhaus-mit-gue-in-eigenregie-bauen.31198/ about the adventure of a worst-case end-terraced house (which is ultimately similar to semi-detached houses). Otherwise, I have already summarized all the essentials in my various posts in semi-detached house threads, see https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/neubau-massive-doppelhaushaelfte-dinge-zu-beachten-wenn-nachbar-fertighaus-plant.43054/#post-566860 as well as https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-optimierung-doppelhaushaelfte-ca-150qm.43426/#post-576767 and https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/massiv-oder-fertighaus-doppelhaushaelfte-ca-160-qm-pro-und-konta.44754/page-2#post-612082
The most crucial factor is the coordination regarding the basement question, specifically that in “uneven” semi-detached houses, the party with the basement must build before the one without. The matching profile (meaning as consistent a roofline as possible along the shared wall) is the second “most important” point. Ideally, as already mentioned, the same shell construction contractor should be used. In your case, that would mean building with Schwabenhaus as well, at least as a “shell construction” (if you are brave enough to manage the finishing trades yourselves).
The posts listed above also include references to my external posts on this topic. When searching the internet, the previous name baulotse-hoffmann has now been replaced by bauen-jetzt. There, you can also find “The Stone Mantra of 11ant” related to your original question. I myself have lived for ages and through several projects mostly in pumice concrete, which is predominant in my region; the difference to expanded clay is negligible despite their different origins – the materials are at least cousins.
Contractors usually have one and a half preferred wall materials: one they have the most experience with, and the other they use in special cases or when the preferred one temporarily has a less favorable purchase price that would ruin their calculations. Some also try to discredit materials they find too expensive or have little experience with by spreading horror stories. There is no silver bullet or Columbus’ egg, but it’s certainly not devilish either. I also have no reservations against a timber frame panel builder like Schwabenhaus. So feel free to consider whether that might also be a good option for you. I would be happy to support your project personally.Thanks again for the links! I’ll start reading right away 🙂There will be no basement on either side; it will be like the technical rooms are located under the roof.
We have discussed timber frame extensively and concluded it’s not for us for several reasons. Mainly, it also simply costs more with Schwabenhaus.
The front building line is the same, but at the back our side will be both longer and taller than the neighbor’s. As it looks now, we will probably be the first to build, and the neighbors will follow shortly after (longer waiting time with Schwabenhaus). We were told it is definitely an advantage to be the first :P
Mahri23 schrieb:
For us, the elements were also manufactured directly on site, right next to the local construction company. Oh, right, just "for the sake of completeness" (although in this case, as I said, I would prefer the house provider of the half-neighbor): in HE there is also the company WETON (near Limburg) for lightweight aggregate concrete houses, with whom @Curly has, to my knowledge, built successfully.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Mar_Mar schrieb:
We have discussed timber frame construction extensively and have concluded that it’s not for us for various reasons. Above all, it simply becomes more expensive with Schwabenhaus. As I said, as an uncle who has been involved with this kind of stuff for forty years, I can say that both construction methods are equally valid. And in case Schwabenhaus is too expensive for you, I did suggest the self-build option with Ausbauhaus-Pfahl.
Mar_Mar schrieb:
The building line at the front is the same, but at the back our side will be both longer and taller than the neighbor’s. As it looks now, we will probably be the first to build, and the neighbors will then follow shortly after (longer waiting time with Schwabenhaus).
We were told it would definitely be an advantage to be first. Someone told you that without reading the Goalkeeper thread first: because if the neighbors decide to add a basement later, it would not have been an advantage. If the planner is clever, the best possible matching of the building profiles should be achievable even under these circumstances. Overall, it reads to me as if there are already concrete plans on both sides—then I recommend discussing these here as well 🙂
Mar_Mar schrieb:
Now we have 12×8 m (39×26 ft), which is really nice for a semi-detached house. Oh, twelve meters (39 ft), and yet the neighbor is building smaller???
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
11ant schrieb:
As I said, as an uncle who has been involved with this stuff for forty years, I can say that both construction methods are equally valid. And in case the prefabricated house is too expensive for you, I mentioned the option of a self-build kit house.
Someone gave you advice without reading the Goalkeeper thread first: if the neighbors decide to go for a shared basement later, it wouldn't have been beneficial. If the planner is clever, achieving the best possible matching of profiles should still be doable under those circumstances. Overall, it sounds like both sides already have concrete plans – in that case, I recommend discussing them here as well 🙂
Oh, twelve meters (39 feet), and yet the neighbor is building shorter??? Self-build kit house... well, I’m a bit hesitant here. We are office workers with no experience in construction. Although we have a talented father who can probably handle the electrical work himself and we can manage the flooring, the rest? I have respect for that... I would like to hand over the "reins" to someone who is in control. But maybe we underestimate ourselves, that’s also possible...
A basement is definitely out, that’s for sure 🙂
"If the planner is clever, achieving the best possible matching of profiles should still be doable under those circumstances" – sorry, I don’t understand that sentence or the word "plietsch" :/
We have DIY plans, of course, we are thinking about how it could look. We now have professional plans from companies, which don’t quite suit us (e.g., the hallway on the ground floor), and our own ideas. I’m happy to share them 🙂
"Oh, twelve meters (39 feet), and yet the neighbor is building shorter???"
What do you mean by that? That’s sarcasm, right?
THANK YOU!
In the past, lightweight expanded clay aggregate blocks must have been quite “rough.” A lot of leveling was probably necessary, which was just very tedious... that’s what a builder friend told me. As far as I know, the blocks are now ground to a smooth finish, making the masons’ work much easier. We built with KLB blocks.
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