another 'building' question ... using some sort of a 'cement' looking solid brick

So far we have covered sheetrock (gym....whatever for the Canadians), and what mortar really is and more ...
One new builder states he uses the solid block that looks like cement.  I don't know the name of this stuff ... but the builder says it is lighter weight than regular red ladrio, and less chance of salitre (could it be true)?  It's good for insulation and noise reduction between rooms.

Comments, information, and/or experience with this stuff ... ??  Good, bad, otherwise?

As always, thanks for your expertise (skip the wisecracks)!

S.

Sherman wrote:So far we have covered sheetrock (gym....whatever for the Canadians), and what mortar really is and more ...
One new builder states he uses the solid block that looks like cement.  I don't know the name of this stuff ... but the builder says it is lighter weight than regular red ladrio, and less chance of salitre (could it be true)?  It's good for insulation and noise reduction between rooms.

Comments, information, and/or experience with this stuff ... ??  Good, bad, otherwise?

As always, thanks for your expertise (skip the wisecracks)!

S.

I can't look at and feel what you're talking about, but I'm familiar with a light weight building material which uses perlite in the mixture along with cement.  This substance is created by heating certain volcanic sands in a furnace to over 2000 degrees F, at which time it "explodes" like popcorn. It's frequently used for insulation.  It's used in soil mixtures as well as other applications. This response is guaranteed to be wisecrack-free. (Tempting, though.)

That sounds like the building material ... now I'm interested in it's performance .... and if the performance is good, then why is it not used here more often? I'm guessing it may be more expensive than the red 'low fire' bricks?

Sherman wrote:That sounds like the building material  ...  now I'm interested in it's performance .... and if the performance is good, then why is it not used here more often?  I'm guessing it may be more expensive than the red 'low fire' bricks?

My information is not up to date, but yes, it probably is more expensive since the process of making it is more costly.  That furnace to make perlite eats money.  Performance? Senor Google has several articles on the subject. Here is one:
http://www.perlitecrete.com/

ferret wrote:Fascinating material! Thanks for the link Gringal. And here I thought hempcrete was the next great thing but only as an insulating material. Perlitecrete does it all. And, considering its lack of weight may make second floor additions a possibility where traditional construction fails.

That might work for some of these older houses...like mine, which is traditional foundation-free.

Further interesting uses perlite has been put to:  animal feed and cake mix.  Fools critters into thinking they're getting more, but they might as well be eating air.  Cake mix:  Be an ingredient reader.  However, it's harmless enough...like eating puffy sand.  

so far, thanks ..... my guess is eventually someone will post who has used it in a house here. The contractor with whom I'm speaking has built several houses in the Chapala and Ajijic area using this materials.

Thanks Gringal ...

Sherman wrote:so far, thanks .....  my guess is eventually someone will post who has used it in a house here.  The contractor with whom I'm speaking has built several houses in the Chapala and Ajijic area using this materials.

Thanks Gringal ...

Can you arrange with your contractor to see the houses he's built and possibly check out the satisfaction level with the owners themselves?

My guess is he is talking about tabicón de jal or block de jal. Solid cement bricks or blocks made using volcanic rock called jal (pumice). It is a very common material used here.

I think that you are looking for Contec block (Contec building system).

Here is a link. They have a manufacturing plant in Monterrey Mexico.

http://www.concretocelular.com.mx/Concreto%20Celular%20de%20Occidente/Technical%20Manual%20-%20English/Chapter%201%20-%20Contec%20is%20AAC.pdf

There are several homes built with this system in the Lakeside area.

The architect using this system is Alain Signoret Martinez Guadalajara.

This sounds more like what he's describing than the perlite product.

I'll run this info past the architect and builder ... thanks.
There's always more to learn in life than the number of years of have!!

S.

ferret wrote:No kidding. Life is a never ending opportunity for learning. Wish I had a delete button though because some of it is now obsolete.
Live, love, laugh, learn.

If anyone develops a "delete" button, I'll line up for one, for more than one reason!

The building product .... is Hebel. It used to be marketed under another name, but was bought out by Xella out of Australia. One manufacturing spot is Monterrey. On-line information is available. There's two offices in Guadalajara (same owner, Alejandro - if you want his telephone #, you can send me a PM). Also an office in Mexico City. Lots of on-line building information for Texas and surrounding southern states. I understand it's also available in Ontario. We thought we found someone locally with experience, and it turned out he was more (or all) talk rather than experience with the product or building. 6 months into the building, we separated him from the project and will not be using again, Arq. Ignacio (Nacho) Osuna Eskenazi.