Hello dear forum community,
We are also about to make our dream of a lifetime come true.
The plot of land is already secured, and now we are looking for someone who can bring our ideas to life. Since we would like the walls of our townhouse to be made of POROTON, we keep noticing that in the northern regions, construction is often done with aerated concrete blocks (e.g., Ytong).
Now we are looking for builders who work with POROTON and are still located in the north – which is why I am reaching out to this forum, as it is very difficult to find out how companies actually build.
IN SHORT: Who builds with POROTON in the north and can provide us with a contact?
Thank you very much in advance,
Chrischan
We are also about to make our dream of a lifetime come true.
The plot of land is already secured, and now we are looking for someone who can bring our ideas to life. Since we would like the walls of our townhouse to be made of POROTON, we keep noticing that in the northern regions, construction is often done with aerated concrete blocks (e.g., Ytong).
Now we are looking for builders who work with POROTON and are still located in the north – which is why I am reaching out to this forum, as it is very difficult to find out how companies actually build.
IN SHORT: Who builds with POROTON in the north and can provide us with a contact?
Thank you very much in advance,
Chrischan
Yes, annoying municipal incorporations. I’ll never get used to them.
Now to the topic. The original poster is fixed on Poroton bricks. Last year, when I asked my builder whether to choose bricks or aerated concrete blocks like Ytong, he said it’s just tradition: bricks in the south, Ytong in the north. He doesn’t see any difference. Both absorb water readily because they are porous. However, Ytong is mostly bonded with almost no water in the adhesive, instead of using mortar. Our house was built up in March, sealed in April, and plastered between April and May. Inside, it is truly dry as dust. No moisture left in the Ytong. And when I touch the wall, it always feels warm. Now, some say it provides poorer sound insulation. That may be true. But where we’re building, it’s quiet outside anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
Soon a lot more water will enter through the screed and interior plaster. But that would be the same with Poroton.
I don’t know the stone prices, but I see the efficiency. Two skilled workers built the entire house up to the reinforced concrete ring beam within seven days. That’s about 110 man-hours at $40 per hour, totaling $4,400 plus tax for labor for the whole house.
Karsten
Now to the topic. The original poster is fixed on Poroton bricks. Last year, when I asked my builder whether to choose bricks or aerated concrete blocks like Ytong, he said it’s just tradition: bricks in the south, Ytong in the north. He doesn’t see any difference. Both absorb water readily because they are porous. However, Ytong is mostly bonded with almost no water in the adhesive, instead of using mortar. Our house was built up in March, sealed in April, and plastered between April and May. Inside, it is truly dry as dust. No moisture left in the Ytong. And when I touch the wall, it always feels warm. Now, some say it provides poorer sound insulation. That may be true. But where we’re building, it’s quiet outside anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
Soon a lot more water will enter through the screed and interior plaster. But that would be the same with Poroton.
I don’t know the stone prices, but I see the efficiency. Two skilled workers built the entire house up to the reinforced concrete ring beam within seven days. That’s about 110 man-hours at $40 per hour, totaling $4,400 plus tax for labor for the whole house.
Karsten
Hello,
A concrete slab with insulation underneath is nothing unusual; that’s standard.
However, if I understand correctly, they are embedding the underfloor heating directly into the slab, which would also serve as the floor base layer. This means, if that’s right, you won’t have a floating screed on the ground floor, and almost certainly a significant sound bridge from one room to the next.
At first glance, I would see that very critically.
Regarding the brick: Poroton is great, I was set on that myself and we built with bricks. I spent a lot of time considering which brick, which insulation, and so on.
From today’s perspective, that was probably all nonsense!
Moisture regulation is, at best, provided by the plaster (and only together with silicate paint!). If your house is so damp that the actual brick has to or can absorb moisture, you have a serious problem.
Nowadays, I would only build with a heavy solid brick and external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS). Definitely not with an unfilled T7/T8/T9 brick. With those, you might as well sleep in a tent as far as soundproofing goes.
We built using 24cm (10 inches) T14 bricks and an ETICS. The insulation values are of course excellent — in the passive house range. But sound insulation is somewhat less than what we were used to in our previous house. It’s not noisy, but you can definitely hear the party in the neighbor’s garden!
Hanging cabinets, etc. is still possible with T14 bricks, even with standard anchors. But you do have to be careful about what you’re doing.
My advice from today’s viewpoint:
Either go for the simple (and cheap!) hollow Poroton bricks at 24cm (10 inches) thickness or straight away use calcium silicate bricks. Then add 16cm (6 inches) insulation on the outside and you’re set.
Best regards,
Andreas
A concrete slab with insulation underneath is nothing unusual; that’s standard.
However, if I understand correctly, they are embedding the underfloor heating directly into the slab, which would also serve as the floor base layer. This means, if that’s right, you won’t have a floating screed on the ground floor, and almost certainly a significant sound bridge from one room to the next.
At first glance, I would see that very critically.
Regarding the brick: Poroton is great, I was set on that myself and we built with bricks. I spent a lot of time considering which brick, which insulation, and so on.
From today’s perspective, that was probably all nonsense!
Moisture regulation is, at best, provided by the plaster (and only together with silicate paint!). If your house is so damp that the actual brick has to or can absorb moisture, you have a serious problem.
Nowadays, I would only build with a heavy solid brick and external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS). Definitely not with an unfilled T7/T8/T9 brick. With those, you might as well sleep in a tent as far as soundproofing goes.
We built using 24cm (10 inches) T14 bricks and an ETICS. The insulation values are of course excellent — in the passive house range. But sound insulation is somewhat less than what we were used to in our previous house. It’s not noisy, but you can definitely hear the party in the neighbor’s garden!
Hanging cabinets, etc. is still possible with T14 bricks, even with standard anchors. But you do have to be careful about what you’re doing.
My advice from today’s viewpoint:
Either go for the simple (and cheap!) hollow Poroton bricks at 24cm (10 inches) thickness or straight away use calcium silicate bricks. Then add 16cm (6 inches) insulation on the outside and you’re set.
Best regards,
Andreas
Barossi schrieb:
Sand-lime brick would also be my first choice. salditos schrieb:
Since we would like the walls of our townhouse in POROTON, I was just about to ask that.
Does "we want Poroton" literally mean "we want Poroton" or actually "we don’t want Ytong"?
Each type of brick has its own reputation, partly based on facts, partly on myths. "Poroton" seems to hold first place in the hearts of all the artisanal bread bakers who romantically regard it as a symbol for "ecologically valuable building material," yet surprisingly often have hardly ever considered clay plaster as a finishing option. "Ytong" is currently often stigmatized as the big noise transmitter. The fact that poor sound insulation might actually be caused by slimming down the load-bearing wall material to a minimal thickness in favor of thicker external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) is overlooked. It’s the aerated concrete’s fault.
Sometimes I feel like standing at the supermarket fruit counter: if you want more variety than the usual same four apple varieties, you often search in vain. With bricks, it seems similar to me: you probably have to go "to the farm shop" to be quietly told that beyond the seven mountains and seven dwarfs, there is also sand-lime brick.
Apart from the fact that I don’t consider any brick generally unsuitable (but neither a messiah), and that I am simply surprised that everywhere you hear shouting about "Poroton" and "Ytong," but much less often "sand-lime brick," and hardly anyone seems to know, for example, "KLB" or "Bisotherm": I would advise not to become so fixed on one building material that you choose the builder based on that alone.
There are better criteria (financially healthy company, good regional reputation, etc.) for selecting a builder. The material and the craftsman who is familiar with it should be seen as a "system." And nobody risks a reputation as a shoddy property developer by saving fifty cents per cubic meter on materials during procurement.
And, importantly: with bricks "fully sealed" in chemical plaster, there’s not much "eco" left. I find the discussion hardest to understand, especially when it’s actually not about a load-bearing wall material, but strictly speaking only about the backup wall behind a petrochemical facade.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Similar topics