Cellular Concrete/Aircrete Home for an Advocate of Green Building?

Cellular Concrete Building for an Advocate of Green Building

I was recently informed that what I am actually using is best described as cellular concrete, because AirCrete is a commercial name.  This mixture could just as well be named foamcrete.

I am a lover of green building techniques, and have considered many types of alternative building materials from earth to strawbale.  I was such a gatherer and sharer, in my research, that when IU founded its Green Building program, they requested permission to use my gathered resources in developing their resource databanks.  I stopped updating those resources after that.

Image from Pixabay.com

I have been asked time and again (because there are a lot of people in my community who are interested in the subject), “Why do you consider cellular concrete (aircrete) to be a green building material when the cement industry is one of the primary producers of carbon dioxide, a potent  greenhouse gas?^[1]  Add  to that, many builders include harmful substances into their concrete, such as plasticizers, which when affected by the environment are released as dust that becomes serous cause for health concerns.

Cellular concrete (aircrete) is my healthiest building option and it is a great improvement over traditional cement recipes as these foam mixtures really extend cement (a bag of cement produces 40 - 50 gals of cellular concrete) depending on your recipe(they vary for different uses).   At this point, I think that I will be utilizing less than half of the concrete I would use were I doing a traditional concrete build, and it has the properties listed below.

I repeat, I choose this building medium because it is the most non-toxic material that I can find to support my health. 

A short time ago, Aircrete Europe participated in this year’s World of Concrete in Las Vegas.  Europe, in its move toward reducing global warming, seems to have embraced aerated varieties of concrete with the designs of new block forms, mixtures and building systems.

Public Domain Images.net

 

I think this is why.

• Cellular Concrete (Aircrete) is mold resistant, even in high humidity.
• It does not easily transmit water, making it excellent for pond, lake and marine environments.
• It maintains a high insulation value and useful in retrofitting.
• It doesn’t burn or transmit heat
• Rodents and insects do not want to eat it or burrow in it.
• It is an excellent insulation, in walls, ceilings and roofs.
• It is much lighter than concrete so workers can build at a faster pace, and people of many different abilities can easily build with it.
• Aircrete has soundproofing qualities in walls and has been used to incase plumbing to reduce water sounds (this also give a slight bit of insulative value.
• It is easy to clean up.
• It is easy to repair.
• It does not contain components that can contribute to “Sick House Syndrone”.

I am choosing to build a dome, but aircrete can be poured into forms to make traditional looking houses.  There are a number of pre-fabrication home companies using this medium for their home building kits.  In my build, I will use the Domegaia recipe for my aircrete/cellular concrete mixture with the inclusion of one natural and non-toxic

inclusion of one natural and non-toxic substance.  I will speak more on it later.

1. The Cement Sustainability Initiative: Our agenda for action, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, page 20, published 1 June 2002
2. Aircrete/Foamcrete  on Wikipedia

May much be well with you!

Patricia

#turtledome #aircrete #aircretebuilder #dome #aircretedome #foamcrete