Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

Does anyone live in a home that uses this material? I'm already thinking of way down the road, when I have a house designed and built (yeah, big dream at this point). I'm just curious to hear from people with direct experience with it. It's supposed to be economical, with decent thermal and sound insulation. I remember seeing it mentioned on a TV show. It sounded promising.

Is this the same stuff as aerosol cheese ?

I don't know if it's quite THAT miraculous of a substance.

I looked into it ' very slightly' when I built my home last summer. Seems like a good choice if you live in a climate with large temperature changes, as I do. It's not that it's that much better of an insulator, just that it takes much longer to heat up or cool down, making sudden changes in temperature less severe on your heating/cooling system.

However, I could only find web info from vendor sites so I took it all with a grain of salt. Also, when I asked the different contractors I was considering about it, none of them had even heard of it. I'd rather have them work with construction techniques they are experienced in.

In the end, I wasn't really looking that hard at it and I probably would not have chosen it in any case. Call me old fashioned, but I like a wood house. I even opted for cedar shingles. ( I know I'll regret it in 5 years when I have to redo the bleaching oil.)

In contrast, another house just down the bay went up at the same time. There house is way down a long lane and they keep funny hours so I have not met them yet but I'm pretty sure I saw them pouring the walls so it's not Autoclaved Aerated Concrete .

As a California architect I have looked into Autoclaved Aerated Concrete a few times over the years. Last time I checked it was manufactured in the US in, if I remember correctly, South Carolina and Florida and would pretty much be found only in those markets.

It was developed in Europe and began to be used fairly commonly there after WWW II. I have personally seen it used in Israel as infill for reinforced concrete post and beam construction. I think it is a good building material--but like all building materials/systems it will be most successfully used in an enviornment suited to its use and in the hands of skilled and experienced designers and builders.

Anytime you try an unfamiliar building system there is a fairly steep learning curve and a cost premium. I recommend that only those who can afford to be guinea pigs and are motivated with moving building technology forward build a home with an unfamiliar material. Over the years I have had the opportunity to try out or look at a number of different systems: insulated concrete forms, structural insulated panels, rammed earth, light straw/clay and cobb walls, straw bale construction and a some others. I did my house additions with Faswal blocks which are a commercial system of insulating concrete forms(blocks filled in place with rebar & concrete) made of wood chips, clays and portland cement also developed in post war Europe. I was fairly happy with it but as with all new materials there was learning curve and I would do some things differently the next time and, I'm sure, the time after that.

Generally the best candidate for unfamiliar construction methods are skilled contractors building their own house. If you get to the point of actually being in the position to build, I recommend you find an builder and architect in your area who has used whatever system you use on several successful projects in your area.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

I found a page that seems to sum up the advantages of AAC rather nicely, and it's not by a maker of the stuff:

http://www.sungardenhouses.com/tech-aac.html

Besides the states you listed, they had suppliers listed in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and Rhode Island. None of those are states I live in, but at least it's in a few more than before. In the end, I imagine I'll simply bring all of my ideas to a local architect, tell him what I'd like to accomplish, and see what he can do for me. I think it would be cool to have a house unique to this area, as long as it makes sense.

Hey, thanks! I'd seen the "passive solar" term. I'll have to read more in-depth on that and geothermal.

My condolences on your hard drive.