ᐅ Ideal wall construction for Liapor solid elements?

Good day!

For my first house 20 years ago, I built the following wall structure: a 24cm (9.5 inches) interior shell made of Liapor solid wall elements (Lechner Massivhaus system), 6cm (2.5 inches) of mineral insulation, a 4cm (1.5 inches) air gap, and an 11.5cm (4.5 inches) brick veneer. The brick veneer is connected to the interior shell with many wire ties. After 20 years, I can say that this was probably a very good solution.

In case I build again, I am considering doing something very similar, but this time I might make the interior shell thicker. What would be the better overall solution? A 36cm (14 inches) interior shell, 6cm (2.5 inches) insulation, 4cm (1.5 inches) air gap, and then the brick veneer? Or would the 36cm (14 inches) Liapor shell alone be sufficient to just attach the brick veneer with an air gap?

Matthias

Pianist schrieb:

36 cm (14 inches) inner wall, 6 cm (2.5 inches) insulation, 4 cm (1.5 inches) air gap, and then the facing brick?

Why include the air gap at all? And why build 36 cm (14 inches) thick inner walls, when you could increase the insulation to 12 cm (5 inches) instead!?

I quite like thick walls because they provide good sound insulation and can help regulate temperature during transitional seasons. Also, I find it quite challenging to position windows properly with only 12 cm (5 inches) of insulation. How would you approach this?

Although I assume that no moisture gets into this cavity, I always thought that an air gap was standard practice.

Matthias

Pianist schrieb:

I quite like thick walls; they provide good sound insulation and can nicely buffer temperature changes during transitional seasons.

But sound mostly comes through the windows. Also, having a lot of mass helps keep heat inside the house longer during summer. Every option has its pros and cons.

Pianist schrieb:

Although I suspect no moisture gets into this cavity, I always assumed an air gap was standard.

An air gap is common, yes, but building without a ventilation gap is also standard practice.

Pianist schrieb:

I also find it quite difficult to properly position the windows with only 12cm (5 inches) of insulation. How would you approach this?

Ask your architect for the right solution. It’s a combination of the wall material and thickness, the type and thickness of insulation, and of course the type of brickwork, all affecting the wall construction — and you need to know the energy performance target you want to achieve.
That’s why I can’t tell you how I would do it. You can experiment with all these parameters and still end up with the same result.

I never received any clear statements from architects back then, so I designed my house myself and had an architect submit the plans. The architect didn’t have to do any actual work. We solved the window installation by positioning them quite far outward, after first screwing battens around the exterior. However, more than 50 percent of the window was still embedded in the interior wall layer. With 12cm (5 inches) of insulation, the window could potentially end up completely within the insulation, essentially hanging in mid-air. And then you’d still need to seal the gaps both inside and outside.

Maybe I’ll go with 42.5cm (17 inches) walls and place the facing brick directly in front. That way, the windows would be pushed from the inside right up to the slightly recessed brickwork and anchored into the interior wall layer.

Matthias

Pianist schrieb:

Besides, I find it quite challenging to properly position the windows with 12cm (5 inches) of insulation.

Try searching for "Hessenkralle"; it might be suitable for your project.

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