Hello everyone,
We are currently planning our own home and are quite overwhelmed by the many controversial opinions regarding walls and construction techniques.
Our current ideas:
Now, the question for us is the construction method.
As far as I understand, the three options remaining for us are:
Are my statements accurate so far?
Have I overlooked any essential aspects in my considerations?
How should claims like “sand-lime bricks offer better sound insulation” be evaluated?
Is this only relevant in noisy locations (airports, busy roads, etc.), or should it be given more thought generally?
To what extent are properties like sound insulation more important when planning with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery?
Are my concerns about algae growth on external insulation systems outdated? Are there new variants that no longer have this problem?
Lightweight expanded clay / Liapor seems very interesting at first glance based on marketing promises, yet I have the feeling I might be missing something important.
I would be very grateful for your suggestions.
We are currently planning our own home and are quite overwhelmed by the many controversial opinions regarding walls and construction techniques.
Our current ideas:
- Urban villa, or if the zoning plan does not allow it, possibly a mansard roof; in any case, two full stories.
- Should be KfW 55 standard, hoping to get better financing through additional subsidies (no equity available apart from the land purchase costs)
- The lower half should be brick-faced
- Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery for better indoor climate and comfort
- We do not want prefabricated timber houses.
- I have ruled out aerated concrete blocks (Ytong) because we are not skilled in craftsmanship, and I worry about leaving large damage when attempting installations.
Now, the question for us is the construction method.
As far as I understand, the three options remaining for us are:
- Poroton (clay blocks)
- Pros
- Drilling is straightforward, possibly special anchors needed?
- Cons
- Sound insulation is poor compared to the others
- Brick facing involves high additional costs since usually only fine plaster is applied
- Sand-lime bricks (Calcium silicate blocks)
- Pros
- Drilling is straightforward
- Good sound insulation
- Brick facing relatively inexpensive since a separate façade is needed anyway
- Cons
- Problems with algae growth on the exterior insulation system (ETICS/WDVS)
- Lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) / Liapor (possibly prefabricated walls)
- I have found only a few usable sources on this, but from what I have read so far, it could be an alternative?
Are my statements accurate so far?
Have I overlooked any essential aspects in my considerations?
How should claims like “sand-lime bricks offer better sound insulation” be evaluated?
Is this only relevant in noisy locations (airports, busy roads, etc.), or should it be given more thought generally?
To what extent are properties like sound insulation more important when planning with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery?
Are my concerns about algae growth on external insulation systems outdated? Are there new variants that no longer have this problem?
Lightweight expanded clay / Liapor seems very interesting at first glance based on marketing promises, yet I have the feeling I might be missing something important.
I would be very grateful for your suggestions.
Tego12 schrieb:
Regarding mechanical ventilation with heat recovery: In my opinion, it is always mandatory nowadays because buildings must be airtight. No one manages to ventilate sufficiently (unless they are unemployed). Secondly, it greatly increases living comfort. Who just mentioned "pub talk"? 😉
We only have a condensing boiler and built according to the 2014 Energy Saving Ordinance (roughly equivalent to KfW 70 standard). I have a hygrometer in every room.
We moved in during May, and after half a year, the rooms reach 48-52% humidity when we are away all weekend. On a normal workday, we do not even get above 45% humidity...
Well, the roof window was basically always open from May to October, a dehumidifier was running inside the house (which has not been on since August), and the windows were either tilted open or fully open whenever we were at home.
As a rough reference at the end: we have a plaster facade, and our construction water meter showed about 9,000 liters (2,378 gallons) at final billing, in addition to water from the foundation and ceiling.
@C.Grothe
Regarding drilling behavior: in my opinion, the more porous the stone, the easier it is to drill.
Sand-lime brick is solid and the hardest to drill, Poroton is red and leaves red dust. If you drill into mortar joints, it is very tedious.
When a non-professional drills aerated concrete (Ytong), no craters are formed, provided the correct drill bit is used. But as an unskilled amateur, people tend to make mistakes like that.
Each type of stone requires its own type of anchor.
As a woman, I personally found aerated concrete to be an ideal material, though we did not build with it.
In my opinion, a controlled mechanical ventilation system should be installed in houses nowadays. This ensures proper air exchange without wasting heating energy through open windows, which would be the case in winter or the heating period. However, windows that are tilted open all year round can attract burglars spontaneously—the damage would then not be covered under new insurance policies (at least as far as I know).
Regards
Regarding drilling behavior: in my opinion, the more porous the stone, the easier it is to drill.
Sand-lime brick is solid and the hardest to drill, Poroton is red and leaves red dust. If you drill into mortar joints, it is very tedious.
When a non-professional drills aerated concrete (Ytong), no craters are formed, provided the correct drill bit is used. But as an unskilled amateur, people tend to make mistakes like that.
Each type of stone requires its own type of anchor.
As a woman, I personally found aerated concrete to be an ideal material, though we did not build with it.
In my opinion, a controlled mechanical ventilation system should be installed in houses nowadays. This ensures proper air exchange without wasting heating energy through open windows, which would be the case in winter or the heating period. However, windows that are tilted open all year round can attract burglars spontaneously—the damage would then not be covered under new insurance policies (at least as far as I know).
Regards
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