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• Aerated, Foamed, Cellular Concrete

Cellular concrete is lightweight and has excellent thermal efficiency. A very cost effective, sustainable, green building material.
Not yet well known in North America, for home building, but used throughout the world.
Cellular concrete was developed in Sweden in 1914. It was used to rebuild much of Europe after WWII. NOT pie in the sky or over the rainbow technology.
Green Home Building.com has an excellent overview of all types of light weight concrete = see:  http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/pumicecrete.htm
Check out   http://www.litebuilt.com/

• Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)
This article is a good sketch of the technology:  http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=19776
Here the cellular concrete is poured into molds for either block or panels then cooked in an autoclave.
These products are then transported to the construction site and assembled.
Here is a good article on the structural behavior of AAC block:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5310/is_200711/ai_n21297886/

Here are some suppliers of AAC block, panels and other light weight concrete products:

Cresco Concrete Products   http://www.crescoconcrete.com/   866-491-6819, Houston, TX.
Cresco does a lot of different things with aerated concrete. Including LiteBlok AAC block.
AAC Structures of Arizona, LLC  http://www.aacstructures.com/default.html 480-517-1300
E-Crete http://www.e-crete.com/ 
Xella Hebel aerated concrete  http://www.xella-usa.com/html/us/en/index.php
SafeCrete AAC  http://www.safecrete.com/aac/aac.cfm
SafeCrete currently has a home going up in my area. I am keeping a close eye on the project and I will have more thoughts on what I think as it goes up.
1st Thought - don't hire masons to put this stuff in place. The factory recommends tile setters or GOOD carpenters.

• Poured In Place Cellular Concrete (PIPCC)
There is another method of building with cellular concrete using locally produced concrete and pouring the structure in place.
Concrete is ordered from your local batch plant or mixed on site and aerated in the mixer and then poured for walls, floors, roof, etc.
Poured in place offers the great advantage, over AAC construction, of limiting transportation costs. Another plus is you are getting a solid "poured in place" wall rather than a bunch of pieces glued together. I am thinking it should be quick to put up also.

LCM™ Lightweight Construction Technology
  http://www.casthome.com/home.php is in Malaysia is doing it. Take some time and look their site over. WOW!

Cellular Concrete LLC
  http://www.cellular-concrete.com/index.htm
Cellular Concrete LLC has lots of information on poured in place cellular concrete . They have a lot of information here on all that is cellular concrete.
Check out their data sheets page. They sell the foaming agents, foam generators and offer technical support.


As I said I can find very little information on this unique technology, aimed at Jimmy Homebuilder, but it is available.
I traveled to Watts Oklahoma to visit Eugene Sargent Creations  http://www.eugenesargent.com/   Eugene and Jesse Thomas with Ziacrete  http://blog.onevillage.tv/?p=380  479-445-8593  ziacrete@mac.com.
Eugene and Jesse are experimenting with poured in place cellular concrete on Eugene's very impressive new art studio.

I have also visited with the acknowledged poured in place cellular concrete guru Steve Brenna.
Steve is a wealth of knowledge about anything cellular concrete.
You can contact Steve at 505-603-5660 or neopoli@gmail.com

• Reinforcing Fiber For Concrete - Essential ingredient (to me) in almost any concrete mix
There are many different types of fibers sold to reinforce concrete. Here are two I have had experience with.
You should SEARCH - Basalt Fiber. Jesse and Eugene are mixing this with the cellular concrete for added strength. Completely natural.
HELIX stainless steel fibers are the most interesting addition to concrete I have seen. Putting HELIX fiber in concrete almost eliminates rebar. No joke. - See:  http://www.helixfiber.com/index.html

• Cementitious Foam Insulation - A VERY Interesting Product
Cellular concrete is not just used in new construction pouring walls, floors and roofs.
Check out AirKrete   http://www.airkrete.com/   315-237-2104

• Ceramic Concrete Board - Magnesium Oxide Board or MgO Board
This product replaces drywall, wall sheathing, roof sheathing, floor decking, etc. MgO board is also used for poured in place concrete forms. The MgO board is left in place after the forms are stripped. The MgO can then be finished. Water proof, mold proof, fire proof, insect proof. WOW!
SEARCH - MgO Board.
Jonathon Hampton with the Ceramic Research Institute comes highly recommended 479-899-7053.
Check out this Wikipedia article on MgO wallboard:  http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_oxide_wallboard

• Tools For Working With Aerated Concrete
Specialized building materials call out for specialized tools. I love tools.
AAC Tools  http://www.taylortradingco.com/  has a lot of interesting information and cool looking tools related to AAC.

For PIPCC equipment and supplies check out:  http://www.alibaba.com/product/in100008151-100693711-100542221/Cellular_Lightweight_Concrete_Technology_Foaming_Concentrate_Additives_Clc_Foam_Generator_Clc_Concrete_Mixers_Plant_Set_Up_.html

Ferrocement.net  http://www.ferrocement.net is a wonder land of everything cement. Check out the Tirolessa Mortar Sprayer. I am told it is the best option for applying cellular concrete to a surface. Hand troweling does not work.

The Arbortech AS 170 saw http://arbortechusa.com/view/allsaw-information/  is designed for brick and masonry work but is said to work great on cellular concrete.

I am continuing to research. I will keep this page updated.

If you have thoughts or ideas on this subject please call or email me!
Paul Wellman 970-734-6645  paul@greenearthstructures.com
So many new green products - so little time!
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