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Has anyone heard of this building technology? What is it? The one I saw appeared to be painted concrete on the exterior and drywall on the inside. Anyone have any idea what the wall section would look like?
Thanks in advance.
Gerry
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Has anyone heard of this building technology? What is it? The one I saw appeared to be painted concrete on the exterior and drywall on the inside. Anyone have any idea what the wall section would look like?
Thanks in advance.
Gerry
Listeners write in about insulating behind stucco and ask questions about basement finishing and a “leaky” chimney
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Replies
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It rings a bell (though I'm not quite that old). I think it's a massive poured structure of portland cement with vermiculite for aggregate.
The Portland Cement Association has a website. Do they have a discussion board?
Ron
*Thanks Ron,Gerry
*Gerry: 1940 is waaayy before my time, but I have read about some of the first insulating block and concrete systems. I would guess that the structure is a block structure. It is possible that a readymix operation was actively promoting a poured wall system, but for some reason I doubt it. You can run a quick search on a search engine and you will find several manufacturer's of "Insulite" concrete blocks.The term "Insulite" used in conjunction with building block or concrete is not the same as that applied to glass or plain insulation. "Insulite" is still used as a fireproof material. I believe it is cellulose mixture. Insulite blocks use light weight aggregates and in some cases, other ingredients. These systems are still used in Europe. Two companies that are popular in the U.K. are Sellite and Besblock. I am sure both companies have websites.The modern equivalent of these or rather a spin from them are the Autoclaved Airated Concrete blocks. (AAC) These are available in the U.S. with some economic restrictions due to freight. There have been a couple of ICF companies here in the U.S. that have used the "Insulite" name. I couldn't locate one through a quick search.I have heard that some of the early models of these blocks that were marketed in the U.S. incorporated asbestos in the mix. I am not sure of that claim, but if you are looking at buying the property etc., you may want to be sure you are not getting in a tight spot. This shouldn't be an issue unless you plan on exposing the block (ie. remodeling) For what it's worth, hope this helps out.
*Dry stack with applied covering mixture of cement and fiberglass?
*That seems to be a product name similar to the 1940's type siding too. Those panels of what appears to be Celotex with asphalt shingles glued to them.I've never heard of or seen anything similar to what you are describing. Sounds almost like an old stucco type setting.Pete
*I don't know if this adds anything of value, but there are a lot of houses in Ottawa that sound like what you are describing; my understanding was they were post-war, affordable housing for returning soldiers.
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Has anyone heard of this building technology? What is it? The one I saw appeared to be painted concrete on the exterior and drywall on the inside. Anyone have any idea what the wall section would look like?
Thanks in advance.
Gerry