Shell rock house: pros and cons, projects

A very attractive solution for self-development can be a shell rock house. It is imperative to take into account the main pros and cons of a shell house, its main projects. And you will also have to study the features of wall plastering and foundation construction, facade tiling.

It is generally accepted that building a house made of shell rock (differently made of shell rock) is the best solution for the Crimean peninsula and areas with similar conditions. It's really, unique and unrepeatable material, distinguished by impeccable environmental friendliness. All the art of modern engineers does not allow to reproduce it accurately. Moreover, during its development, the shell rock was saturated with salt and iodine from sea waters. Therefore, living in a house made of such blocks is not only safe, but also useful.

Some experts believe that the high concentration of iodine helps protect against radioactive radiation. It is not a fact that this is so, but it is much more important that rodents do not settle in the shell walls. A large number of pores also play an important role: thanks to them, the maintenance of an optimal microclimate is improved.

The excellent vapor permeability also testifies in favor of the shell rock. This allows you to ensure "breathing of the walls", that is, full-fledged gas exchange. In addition, this breed is easily processed with both gasoline and hand saws. Many bricklayers generally work with a light ax - and achieve excellent results. Since the shell rock is very heavy and dense, it easily dampens extraneous sounds from the outside; noise absorption inside the house is achieved due to the increased porosity.

Some builders claim that shell rock perfectly absorbs harmful substances passing through the air stream. This breed owes all the same numerous pores. It is also important that the shell does not catch fire. According to this parameter, it is far ahead of many ultra-modern materials, which are difficult even for professionals to understand the combustible properties of. As for frost resistance, this material is approximately equal to classical ceramic bricks, it is twice as high as that of aerated concrete.

It is also worth noting the comparative lightness of the shell rock. But it is important to understand that the density of the material can vary greatly. In any case, construction from it is easy and fast. An experienced team completes the installation of houses from scratch with an area of ​​up to 100 m2 in 45-60 days. In favor of the shell rock is also evidenced by its attractive appearance; the appearance of this breed combines both ultramodern and natural motives.

Mold and other fungi do not settle in the shell rock. Reliable protection against them is provided by iodine and salt inclusions. The adhesion of this material is quite high, and rinsing with clean water helps to further increase it.

But even on such a list, the advantages of shell dwellings do not end there. Their cost is relatively low, especially when compared with high-level capital structures.The most profitable use of shell rock is in the regions where it is mined (and in other places where delivery takes no more than 24 hours).

And yet, even this material has some pretty serious flaws. The most significant of these is the relatively low bearing capacity.

True, it directly depends on the brand of the breed. The bottom line is simple: if you are building a two-story, one-story mansard dwelling or a one-story house with a monolithic overlap, you will have to focus on at least the 25th brand. And it is better to use the 35th category of raw materials altogether. Subject to the basic rules and careful selection of materials, many buildings, even without the help of load-bearing columns, stand flawlessly for decades.

Modern shell structures have a much greater chance of resisting seismic vibrations. Already worked out solutions with reinforced concrete foundations and columns, with floor-by-floor reinforcing belts. Additionally, it is worth considering:

• insufficient strength of fixing fasteners in the shell rock of the 15th grade;
• probable geometry error during open pit mining (which is easily corrected);
• excessive water absorption (compensated by special treatment);
• slight crumbling and damage due to illiterate, careless handling.

It is not difficult to draw up a project of a shell rock house. Such projects are very diverse. Flexibility and ease of processing allow you to create an arbitrary contour. Shellfish is used in:

• one-story and two-story buildings;
• the design of the basement floors;
• construction of one-story mansard buildings.

Each constructive solution will require the selection of a stone grade. It is evaluated in terms of the ratio of mass and mechanical reliability. The weakness of the shell house is always the balconies with the take-out. They are created using a special base plate.

Rakushnyak is used in the design of "European" houses with a tiled roof. It will also be appropriate for buildings with imitation of Gothic. This material shows itself equally well both with year-round living in the house, and with its purely seasonal use.

It is undesirable to build a shell dwelling in half a stone. This rule applies even in one-story small buildings. The fact is that the thickness of the supporting structure is less than 25 cm when using piece blocks is unreliable... Especially great difficulties arise when trying to build on the attic in the future. And you don't even have to think about a full-size top floor; saving in this way is unreasonable.

Sawn shell walls are most often made with a seamless texture. Such a finish can significantly save money. Inside the building, the finish is most often used with sawn polished tiles.

For the basement and foundation of a shell house, regardless of its size, it is necessary to use raw materials of the M35 type. But sometimes it is made from completely different materials:

• monolithic reinforced concrete slab;
• concrete tape;
• strong wood;
• natural stone of other types.

In rare cases, a clay foundation is used. But you can finally choose the right solution if you take into account:

• construction features;
• composition and characteristics of the soil;
• the depth of freezing of the earth.

The most reliable solution is always tape or rubble concrete. To compensate for the saturation of the shell rock with water, the base must be made as high as possible. The minimum allowable level is 40 cm. Additionally, you will need to form a solid waterproofing in the horizontal plane.

Constructing the walls of a shell rock house takes no more time than traditional block construction. In order to better retain heat in the building, it is recommended to perform two-row masonry. In some cases, the blocks orient the wide face inward. Despite the improvement in the thermal properties of the building, this significantly increases the cost of the work. To make the two-layer structure more reliable, a metal mesh is laid out between its parts.

In addition to plastering, facade cladding is often done by laying out bricks. The resulting air cushion guarantees excellent thermal protection. Brick is sometimes replaced with ventilated type cladding siding, under which a slab or roll insulation is placed.

Important: only the most accurate building level should be used. Another recommendation from the "experienced" is to knead the masonry mortar in a steel bucket (plastic is too unreliable). Of particular importance is the smooth conclusion of the corner of the walls. This procedure is complicated, and it is undesirable to perform it without solid experience in stone work. It is worth placing the blocks correctly in the corners - and the further formation of the row is greatly simplified.

Block walls one stone wide are "tied up" every 4 rows. For this purpose, there are two methods: bonding of blocks and the use of a masonry mesh 5x5x0.4 cm. The use of a dressing will provide increased strength of the house wall and make it more monolithic.

The bandaging of small-block masonry is clearly regulated:

• each stone must overlap the other by at least ¼ of the minimum of them;
• masonry seams in all directions should have a width of 9-15 mm;
• the first row is certainly laid out with a jab;
• a butt row is also placed under the overlap;
• all the seams of the masonry are saturated with a solution.

The upper row of the wall is used as a base for the roof, and here it is necessary to especially carefully identify defects. A reinforcing belt is formed on top of the dry screed (concrete is poured into the formwork). The armature is made of steel mesh or rods. A concrete reinforcing belt is placed around the entire perimeter of the building. The roof itself is made in the same way as in other types of buildings.

However, the overhang is slightly different. For a brick dwelling, 30 cm is enough, and in a shell house it should be 70 cm. The facing roofing material is selected to your liking, but tiles are most often used. A more modern option is metal tiles. The upper part of the house is mostly painted in red.

Decorating the walls from the inside with plasterboard is not the most reasonable solution. Drilling will break the already unstable stone structure. Plastering is the undisputed classic. There is no need to even apply a reinforcing mesh under it.

The small thickness of the plaster makes mechanized plaster finishing expedient. With greater thickness, manual work is used. And you can also do:

• facade decoration with tiles;
• facing with brick;
• decoration with silicate bricks;
• siding trim.

Calculation of how much you need per 100 sq. m of shell rock, uncomplicated. A typical block is taken to be 38x18x18 cm.The secondary curtain walls are made in half a stone. Insulation with mineral wool is often practiced, its layer is at least 5 cm. And you can also insulate the house with expanded polystyrene; plaster is applied over it.

Plastering can be done by tyrsa. It is recommended to use the finest fractions. Best of all - "flour" with the domination of calcareous substances. A few more tips:

• under the insulating layer, organosilicon water repellents are needed;
• it is worth using a multi-colored stone for decoration;
• in the classical style, the bottom of the house is covered with large uneven stones, and the rest is decorated with light smooth coatings;
• it is worth using tiles of 30-60 mm.

For the pros and cons of shell rock, see the next video.