ᐅ Survey: Which Building Material/Construction Method Did You Choose?

opalau schrieb:
Sand-lime brick. For us, it was one of the key criteria when choosing the general contractor.

But why?

(Since links are not allowed, here is a comparison):

Clay Brick – the versatile classic
Clay brick is the oldest building material and still the most common type of masonry. A major advantage is the air trapped within the brick’s structure, which provides excellent thermal insulation. Clay bricks allow for reliable single-layer construction, meaning no additional insulation layer is needed. Especially insulating and energy-efficient are bricks filled with perlite, a granular volcanic rock. Rule of thumb: the more perlite in the brick, the lower the heating costs.

While clay bricks keep heat inside, they also offer strong protection from external influences: pests and water cannot harm the robust masonry. Moisture is absorbed but quickly released in dry climates, helping maintain a comfortable indoor environment. Traditionally plastered clay brick walls are also free from cracks and gaps that could let wind in and heat escape.

Sand-lime Brick – the solid and quiet performer
Sand-lime brick is the second most commonly used building material after clay brick. It is highly environmentally friendly and, due to its relatively high density, provides excellent sound insulation. When it comes to load-bearing capacity, sand-lime brick is unbeatable: walls as thin as 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches) are highly load-bearing, allowing slimmer walls and thus more living space. The material also offers good fire protection. However, it has some shortcomings in thermal insulation: to provide optimal thermal protection, a sand-lime brick wall requires an additional insulation layer or a cavity wall construction.

My conclusion:
Clay brick > Sand-lime brick (unless you live next to a highway)

Best regards

Maybe he lives near the highway.
Calcium silicate bricks make sense if you want to use facing brick or another type of curtain wall facade.
Calcium silicate bricks plus external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) if you want to build as cheaply as possible.

We are building with Dennert solid construction house (precast concrete modules + external thermal insulation composite system). The U-value is 0.15, and whether it was the right decision will become clear by the end of 2019.

After visiting numerous show homes, construction sites, and other inspections, we are optimistic.

We were clear: plastered, not brick-faced, because of the costs.
My brother, who is a professional in this field, then said: plastered, but without ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System). Monolithic. You can do that with Ytong. Don’t do anything else. No mold, no holes, no algae, good fire protection. Solid wall. – I took this to the builder. He said we build it like that anyway by default. ETICS only on explicit customer request and reluctantly. So everything was clear. K.

For the typical single-family home builder, this is completely irrelevant, unless you are actually building next to a highway. The most important thing remains that the company is well experienced with the chosen system, because if installed incorrectly, all mentioned combinations can end badly. When installed correctly, nowadays all systems (whether prefabricated house, EIFS, or solid masonry) will last far longer without causing problems.

By the way, we have sand-lime brick plus facing bricks. Alternatively, we would have chosen sand-lime brick plus EIFS.

Solid wood + ETICS

Passive house, preferably with local companies, the chemistry with the general contractor (GC) must be right, no intermediaries, and then options became very limited.

Our GC builds passive houses or KfW 40, KfW 55 is already quite rare, and those houses are still affordable. We had comparative offers from prefab house manufacturers at KfW 55, and those were sometimes more expensive than our passive house – with similar features and size.