ᐅ Combination of different thermal conductivity classes (stone wool)

Created on: 19 Jun 2018 13:03
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martin50939
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martin50939
19 Jun 2018 13:03
Hello everyone,

We are about to build a single-family house in the Rhein-Sieg district. Since we need to install a steel beam above one window, a sand-lime brick will be used in that area instead of the usual 36.5cm (14.4 inches) aerated concrete blocks. Our site manager wants to use a 24cm (9.4 inches) sand-lime brick with 12cm (4.7 inches) insulation (rock wool with a thermal conductivity of 0.035 W/mK), which will also insulate the ceiling above the ground floor.

I would be much happier with a 30cm (11.8 inches) sand-lime brick combined with 6cm (2.4 inches) insulation. Our suggestion was to use 6cm (2.4 inches) of rock wool with a thermal conductivity of 0.032 W/mK. However, our site manager said that combining insulation materials with thermal conductivities of 0.032 and 0.035 W/mK is not advisable because it could create thermal bridges.

Cutting a 30cm (11.8 inches) sand-lime brick down to 28cm (11 inches) is not an option. The necessary equipment is not available to our shell builder.

Best regards from Cologne
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nordanney
19 Jun 2018 13:14
Why are you happier with a 30cm (12 inch) masonry unit? What issue do you see?
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martin50939
19 Jun 2018 13:21
Below is a 36.5cm (14.4 inches) wall.
On top of that, a 24cm (9.4 inches) wall plus insulation.
Ceiling of the ground floor.
Then walls again with a thickness of 36.5cm (14.4 inches).

Personally, I find the overhang simply too large. I know the structural engineer has deemed it safe, but I don't feel comfortable with it. That’s why I would have preferred a different solution.
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Alex85
19 Jun 2018 21:45
That is purely a matter of perception and not based on facts. Sand-lime brick has significantly better load-bearing properties than aerated concrete. A load-bearing exterior wall made of sand-lime brick is usually 175mm (7 inches) thick...

The "mix" of thermal insulation values is nonsense. But whether you can even get WLG 032 (thermal conductivity 0.032 W/mK) mineral wool for that component is something I would question first. To avoid thermal bridges, I would rather consider rigid foam boards like PUR/PIR. A thickness of 6cm (2.4 inches) would be by no means sufficient. Damage caused by thermal bridges is much more realistic than structural overthinking.
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Hausbauer1
19 Jun 2018 22:27
The load-bearing properties of sand-lime brick are clearly superior to those of aerated concrete. A 24cm (10 inch) sand-lime brick likely has even better load-bearing capacity than a 36.5cm (14 inch) aerated concrete block. So, I wouldn’t worry about that.