Do you need to reinforce the walls of aerated concrete? Sooner or later, any person mastering the construction path will ask such a question.
Why reinforce aerated concrete?
In order to avoid cracking the walls from external influences. The fact is that gas silicate copes well with compressive loads, but it does not tolerate the impact on stretching and twisting.
There can be many such influences:
- Uneven subsidence of the foundation (one end of the house wall hangs in the air).
- Freezing of the soil under the house and the foundation (frost heaving).
- Window and door openings weaken the structure of the house unevenly. There is a high likelihood of cracking at the junction with a solid wall
- High wind and snow loads
- Uneven drying of blocks
There are several options for reinforcement:
Reinforce each row of gas silicate."You can't spoil porridge with butter". But this option is very inexpedient, both in terms of time and financial costs. Especially with current metal prices.
Reinforce every third row starting from the first.
The most common choice, in terms of load distribution and financial costs.Reinforce partially. Only under windows and doors. Or lay the reinforcement in one row only.As I did, but if it was possible to rewind time back, then I would reinforce every third. There is already a bitter experience.
Do not reinforce at all. Honestly, don't do that. If you are building a house with gas silicate, then reinforce your buildings. It will not be superfluous, and in the case of force majeure, which often occurs in self-construction, it will help to avoid more expenses than the cost of reinforcement.
Even with a very good foundation that has been erected for your home, there are forces that can act on the masonry from aerated blocks. the resulting crack in the house, built at their own expense, but with their own hands. For a long time "unsettled". I think that saving at this stage will be a rash step.
This is the twenty-second article in this series. In this series, information awaits you: what material for construction I stopped on, how the shallow foundation was poured, why the wall cracked and how the roof rose and many others solutions. Not entirely correct. Learn from my mistakes. Don't let your own. Subscribe . Articles are published every day at 8 am Moscow time. You can also click on the tag below "Timofey's bathhouse".