ᐅ Selection of Stone for a New Single-Family House Construction
Created on: 26 Jun 2025 06:28
H
Holzi68Good morning forum members,
I registered here because I am looking for some support with my construction project. I have already read a lot on this forum. Unfortunately, I am still undecided about the type of masonry to use for our new home.
We are building a 1.5-story bungalow with about 140 m² (1,500 sq ft) of living space. We have basically decided on a wall thickness of 36.5 cm (14 inches). We do not require any government efficiency subsidies such as KFW, but we are aiming for something close to an Energy-Efficient House 40 standard.
We will have a brine heat pump, and the piping for it is already installed.
We want to build monolithically, meaning no external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS / External Wall Insulation) if possible. Sound insulation is also very important to us, both from outside and inside.
We will do all the work ourselves and are confident in our ability to manage it.
There are so many types of masonry systems available these days. I had initially focused on Poroton blocks with insulation fill in 36.5 cm (14 inches) thickness and have already requested some quotes. These materials are quite expensive by now, but that’s the reality.
Now, I’m wondering if there are other options that might be a bit more affordable? Stone is not an option for various reasons.
Does anyone have experience, especially regarding sound insulation, that they could share?
So far, our planned construction approach has been as follows:
1. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, with interior walls made of calcium silicate blocks. There may be issues with material transitions here.
2. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, interior walls made of Poroton acoustic blocks filled accordingly... still under consideration.
3. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, interior walls made of drywall. Also still an option.
4. KLB autoclaved aerated concrete blocks seem very interesting, and I am trying to get a quote. I think they might offer even better sound insulation than Poroton.
5. Old school calcium silicate blocks would have been my favorite, but unfortunately, those require external insulation systems.
It feels like there are a thousand Poroton block manufacturers and all of them claim to be excellent, at least according to their websites. However, I haven’t really found any genuine sound insulation testing reports for these products yet. So, I do not know how the manufacturers arrive at any specific decibel ratings.
In summary, we want to build a masonry solution that offers the best combination of price, performance, and sound insulation. We are not yet finalized, although we are leaning toward Poroton.
If anyone has experience, positive or negative, please feel free to share it here.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Best regards
I registered here because I am looking for some support with my construction project. I have already read a lot on this forum. Unfortunately, I am still undecided about the type of masonry to use for our new home.
We are building a 1.5-story bungalow with about 140 m² (1,500 sq ft) of living space. We have basically decided on a wall thickness of 36.5 cm (14 inches). We do not require any government efficiency subsidies such as KFW, but we are aiming for something close to an Energy-Efficient House 40 standard.
We will have a brine heat pump, and the piping for it is already installed.
We want to build monolithically, meaning no external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS / External Wall Insulation) if possible. Sound insulation is also very important to us, both from outside and inside.
We will do all the work ourselves and are confident in our ability to manage it.
There are so many types of masonry systems available these days. I had initially focused on Poroton blocks with insulation fill in 36.5 cm (14 inches) thickness and have already requested some quotes. These materials are quite expensive by now, but that’s the reality.
Now, I’m wondering if there are other options that might be a bit more affordable? Stone is not an option for various reasons.
Does anyone have experience, especially regarding sound insulation, that they could share?
So far, our planned construction approach has been as follows:
1. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, with interior walls made of calcium silicate blocks. There may be issues with material transitions here.
2. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, interior walls made of Poroton acoustic blocks filled accordingly... still under consideration.
3. 36.5 cm (14 inches) Poroton block filled with EPS replacement or wood fiber, interior walls made of drywall. Also still an option.
4. KLB autoclaved aerated concrete blocks seem very interesting, and I am trying to get a quote. I think they might offer even better sound insulation than Poroton.
5. Old school calcium silicate blocks would have been my favorite, but unfortunately, those require external insulation systems.
It feels like there are a thousand Poroton block manufacturers and all of them claim to be excellent, at least according to their websites. However, I haven’t really found any genuine sound insulation testing reports for these products yet. So, I do not know how the manufacturers arrive at any specific decibel ratings.
In summary, we want to build a masonry solution that offers the best combination of price, performance, and sound insulation. We are not yet finalized, although we are leaning toward Poroton.
If anyone has experience, positive or negative, please feel free to share it here.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Best regards
N
nordanney26 Jun 2025 08:38Holzi68 schrieb:
5. Old-school in sand-lime brick would actually always have been my favorite. But unfortunately, that only works with external thermal insulation composite systems.What is the difference in insulation (regardless of the material) between sand-lime brick and the facing brick veneer (which is actually the usual construction method with sand-lime brick) and a brick filled with insulation material? If you are opposed to ETICS, build with aerated concrete. If you don’t exclude insulation, it doesn’t matter.Holzi68 schrieb:
So, to summarize, we actually want to realize the best combination of cost, performance, and sound insulation somehow as masonry.You could also simply ask your architect...Holzi68 schrieb:
So, to summarize, we actually want to realize the best combination of cost, performance, and sound insulation somehow as masonry.Why and for what purpose? Please define your requirements. Are you in an airport noise zone, next to a highway, in a purely residential area with some concerns, etc. What specific sound insulation do you need indoors and why? What kind of floor plan?nordanney schrieb:
What is the difference in insulation (regardless of the material) between sand-lime brick and the facing brick veneer (which is actually the usual method with sand-lime brick) and a brick filled with insulation material? If you dislike external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS), build with aerated concrete. If you don’t rule out insulation, it doesn’t really matter. We don’t want facing bricks nor aerated concrete.
nordanney schrieb:
You could simply ask your architect... We already did. Poroton blocks, both hollow and filled!
nordanney schrieb:
Why and for what purpose? Please define your requirements. Proximity to an airport flight path, next to a motorway, purely residential area and you have specific concerns, etc. What special sound insulation do you need inside and why? What kind of floor plan? It’s 535 m (590 yards) in a straight line to the motorway. It’s not really that disturbing. The worst is the morning rush hour and the supposedly 1000 roosters crowing from 4:00 a.m. in the direct neighborhood. For my light sleep, only earplugs help so far.
Inside it’s pretty normal. The bedrooms and my home office should be well isolated from the rest of the house.
N
nordanney26 Jun 2025 09:01Holzi68 schrieb:
Straight-line distance to the highway is 535 m (1755 ft). It’s not really that bothersome. The worst thing is the morning rush hour and the seemingly 1000 roosters crowing from 4:00 a.m. onwards in the immediate neighborhood. For my light sleep, only earplugs help by now.
Inside, it’s actually quite normal. The bedrooms and my home office should be well insulated from the rest of the house. So basically no special requirements. Just choose any kind of masonry. Inside, you can also achieve great performance with drywall (especially for DIY projects). BUT: Please coordinate everything with the architect. You can’t just build any walls using drywall. Even non-load-bearing walls might be stiffened (and thus necessarily solid).
Holzi68 schrieb:
We already have. Poroton filled or unfilled! Filled or unfilled probably means different wall thicknesses and thus either affects the floor plan (centimeters go inward) or changes the exterior dimensions (centimeters go outward).
nordanney schrieb:
So basically no special requirements. You can use any type of brick. Inside, you can achieve excellent values with drywall construction (which is especially doable for DIY). BUT: Please coordinate everything with the architect. You can’t just build any walls as drywall. Even non-load-bearing walls could provide bracing (and therefore must be solid).We will definitely coordinate that with the architect. It will be included in the architect’s planning.nordanney schrieb:
Filled or unfilled cavities will probably result in different wall thicknesses and therefore either affect the floor plan (centimeters go inward) or change the external dimensions (centimeters go outward).Yes, exactly. We are aware of that. Thanks for the information. We will take it into account.If noise is a significant concern, you shouldn't focus only on the exterior walls. I actually believe there are quite different “weak spots” where sound can enter the house. Besides, there isn’t just one type of noise.
I’m not an expert, but for example, in our case there are roosters crowing in groups of three from 4 a.m. onwards, and the only solution is to keep the windows closed. During the day, there’s often noise from the nearby farm, lawn mowing, etc., and again—windows closed. Since we have air conditioning, this is not a problem in summer.
We have a visible roof truss with insulation installed above the rafters, below which there are PIR panels. This insulation is quite thick at 24cm (9.5 inches) and ideally suited for temperature control, but less effective against noise. In hindsight, we should have added a layer of wood fiber insulation for better soundproofing. Another weak spot was the eaves connection, which we later improved with blown-in insulation.
Despite having high, open rooms in the living area, we don’t experience any noise issues there, so investing in acoustic wall panels would have been unnecessary.
What I want to say is: noise is very diverse, and each person reacts differently to different noises. Some people are bothered by the mechanical ventilation system, others by audible water pipes… also, noise inside the house can be important.
Focusing only on making the walls soundproof can be too narrow an approach, since there are multiple points of entry. Find out exactly what kind of noise will bother you and address that specifically. Otherwise, you risk spending a lot of money on a “special” wall material while lacking effective solutions where you really need them (doors, windows, insulation, etc.).
Bedroom location, windows with soundproofing
The same applies here, including interior doors with increased sound insulation.
I’m not an expert, but for example, in our case there are roosters crowing in groups of three from 4 a.m. onwards, and the only solution is to keep the windows closed. During the day, there’s often noise from the nearby farm, lawn mowing, etc., and again—windows closed. Since we have air conditioning, this is not a problem in summer.
We have a visible roof truss with insulation installed above the rafters, below which there are PIR panels. This insulation is quite thick at 24cm (9.5 inches) and ideally suited for temperature control, but less effective against noise. In hindsight, we should have added a layer of wood fiber insulation for better soundproofing. Another weak spot was the eaves connection, which we later improved with blown-in insulation.
Despite having high, open rooms in the living area, we don’t experience any noise issues there, so investing in acoustic wall panels would have been unnecessary.
What I want to say is: noise is very diverse, and each person reacts differently to different noises. Some people are bothered by the mechanical ventilation system, others by audible water pipes… also, noise inside the house can be important.
Focusing only on making the walls soundproof can be too narrow an approach, since there are multiple points of entry. Find out exactly what kind of noise will bother you and address that specifically. Otherwise, you risk spending a lot of money on a “special” wall material while lacking effective solutions where you really need them (doors, windows, insulation, etc.).
Holzi68 schrieb:
It’s not that much of a problem actually. The worst is the morning rush hour and the seemingly 1000 roosters crowing from 4 a.m. in the immediate neighborhood.
Bedroom location, windows with soundproofing
Holzi68 schrieb:
The bedrooms and my home office should definitely be well isolated from the rest.
The same applies here, including interior doors with increased sound insulation.
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