All about the Crimean shell rock

In our review, we will tell you about the Crimean shell rock. It is an environmentally friendly material with high sound and heat insulation characteristics. It is actively used in the construction of frames for residential buildings, the construction of fences, roads, as well as when laying the foundation.

As you know, most of the building materials go through several stages of processing from natural raw materials. So, red brick goes through firing, aerated concrete undergoes autoclave hardening, and cinder blocks are obtained by mixing cement mortar and mineral filler.

It is an accumulation of shell fragments and ancient molluscs. Over millions of years, they accumulated at the bottom of ancient oceans and transformed into solid rock. All that remains for people is only to dig it up and cut it into separate blocks.

Separate crushed and whole parts of mollusk shells are fastened together with lime cement, due to this chemical composition, this stone acquires a number of useful characteristics:

• porous structure provides high diffusion parameters;
• the presence of iodine and salt in the chemical composition of the rock saturates the air with compounds beneficial to health, exhibits pronounced antibacterial properties;
• shell rock has zero background radiation;
• has an increased filtering ability;
• does not corrode and rot.

The material has the following physical characteristics:

• thermal conductivity - 0.3-0.8 W / m2;
• frost resistance - 25 cycles;
• material density - about 2 100 kg / m3, water absorption - 15%.

The most famous deposits of the Crimean shell rock are located in Sake. It is mined using open technology without special energy costs, which is why the selling price of such blocks at the field is quite low. However, with distance from the quarry, the price of shell rock increases many times over, since the cost of transportation is added to the cost of the material.

The advantages of using the Crimean shell limestone are undeniable:

• under the influence of oxygen, the shell rock does not oxidize and does not react with any other substances, it belongs to inert substances;
• does not melt, does not ignite under the influence of elevated temperatures, does not emit toxic fumes;
• due to the presence of useful elements in the chemical structure, it creates a healing microclimate, saturates the air with ionic particles and disinfects it;
• is processed with the most standard tools, thanks to which the blocks can be given various shapes;
• it is highly resistant to adverse natural factors;
• characterized by high strength;
• the pores provide high heat and sound insulation, and in addition, they release condensate from the room to the outside;
• the material does not transmit radiation;
• has a unique texture, presented in more than 10 natural colors.

Due to its high operational characteristics, shell from the Saki quarry is often used for the construction of buildings; it is widely used for finishing all kinds of structures.

Nevertheless, there are subtleties here and some limitations that you need to be aware of.

• Shell rock has a relatively low bearing capacity, therefore, it is most often used in low-rise construction.
• The material does not hold firmly enough fasteners, especially blocks of the M15 brand. To cope with this problem, you need to use only the most modern fasteners.
• There is no geometry standard in the shell rock blocks, since when the stone is mined, even forms and exact dimensions are not always obtained - here deviations of a couple of centimeters are allowed.
• High water absorption. To get rid of this drawback, the material of the shell walls must be properly protected from the outside, treated with special water-repellent impregnations, insulated and plastered. Before moving on to the interior decoration of the shell building, it is necessary to carry out insulation and complete finishing of the facade. If this step is neglected, homeowners will have to deal with dampness in the room and increased heating costs during the winter.

• The lightest is considered a stone marked M10. Its calculated load on each stone is many times higher than that which is needed to create the laying of the lower row of the building in two floors. This means that even building modules with the lowest density parameters have at least a 10-fold safety factor.

On practice stones M10 and M15 are used in housing construction, because shell rock falls off during transportation and loading. This makes the work economically impractical, since the consumption of goods and the time for assembling the structure increases many times over. However, for the construction of fences, baths, outbuildings and attic floors, such a solution may be optimal.

• Shellfish brand M25 weighs 15 kg. This material has average parameters of strength, porosity and endurance. In the event of a fall, the stone can break into 2 components. Easily withstands reinforced concrete floors. It is commonly used for the construction of buildings with 2-3 floors. It is widely demanded for the formation of partitions in multi-storey residential buildings from a monolith.

• The most dense and heavy shell is M35 brand, the mass of one block is 23-26 kg. This is a dense and rather heavy material, it does not crack even when dropped. It is widely used in the arrangement of foundations and basements, it is in demand for the construction of the first floors of multi-storey buildings. However, M35 has a rather high cost, so it is not often used.

Rakushnyak from Crimea has found application in the construction industry, while calculating the required material consumption is not difficult.

A standard block has dimensions of approximately 18x18x38, each square meter of surface will require 30 typical modules when performing building masonry in one brick, when laying in half a brick, only 18 blocks are needed. For the construction of low houses in the middle climatic zone, the width of the walls in one block will be sufficient. When installing the wall in a half-brick, the building will need additional insulation.

Shell rock walls are able to withstand all types of floors - steel, reinforced concrete, as well as wood. But if you want to live in an environmentally friendly home, then preference should be given to wooden beams. But in seismically unfavorable areas, it is worth using monolithic reinforced concrete structures.

In the process of performing construction work, there is often a need for additional processing of limestone, making lintels, laying beams or bandaging elements. Limestone processing is quite simple, so all the necessary elements can be cut out with the most ordinary household saw.

Some homeowners leave clam shell interior walls unfinished. This stylistic solution allows you to emphasize the concept of an eco-house and the connection between the home and nature.

For the benefits of shell rock and the construction of houses from it, see the video.