Hebel Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)

1. Hebel Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)

2. Hebel Construction Masonry construction is one of the oldest forms of construction used. Structures of stone, mud brick and clay brick built many thousands of years ago remain to bear witness to the durability of masonry. In some cases the masonry units were dry stacked, in others they were laid in a bed of bitumen or sand lime cement. Until the mid nineteenth century, all masonry units were solid and masonry was so designed and constructed that no tension was induced by the applied loads. Hence arch forms were commonly used. Solid masonry construction has long been regarded as the ‘pinnacle’ of home construction methods. Why?

3. By harnessing the advanced technology of CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems, and fully exploiting today’s wealth of design knowledge, you can extend or renovate an existing home, or build homes that easily surpass the traditional benchmarks for solid masonry construction. • Hebel Systems can substantially improve the comfort and living qualities of your home, take advantage of cost saving energy strategies, rest-easy with improved sound insulation properties, and maximise the value of the best investment you will ever own…your very own, ‘solid masonry’ home.

4. Hebel AAC • The Hebel story began over 50 years ago in West Germany when a building contractor, named Josef Hebel decided to develop a more cost effective building system. • The system uses AAC blocks which is a lightweight autoclaved aerated concrete that is manufactured from sand, cement, recycled material, lime, gypsum and a n aerating agent, aluminium paste. It is moulded, cut and steam pressure cured in an autoclave before being packed, ready for transport. • The Hebel production process is ecologically responsible with very little waste produced. CSR Hebel is non-toxic and the low bulk density means that fewer resources and raw materials are used than for other masonry products.

5. Production of CSR Hebel • The production of CSR Hebel uses only a fraction of the energy required produce alternative masonry materials, it creates virtuallyno waste substance and even the steam generated in the process is recycled! Each of these energy savings can help to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, and thereby save important resources for the future. • And due to the thousands of tiny air bubbles trapped within CSR Hebel, the consumption of raw materials is also dramatically less than is required to produce conventional masonry products. In fact there’s a saving of more than 70% when compared to standard concrete or solid clay brick products. That’s a huge saving of raw materials, and a big plus for the future of environmentally sustainable development.

6. Step 1: Cement and lime are stored in silos whilst the sand is ground to the required fineness in a ball mill and store (see Figure 1& 2 below).

7. Step 2: The raw materials are then automatically weighed and measured in the mixer. The water and alumina powder acted as the gas-forming agent are added to the mixture (see figure 3 mixer below).

8. Step 3: After mixing, the cement slurry is poured into a mould. The alumina powder reacts with alkaline elements in the cement and form gas (see figure 4 below). Figure 4: Casting

9. Step 4: The product will stay for 1 hour for expansion and 2 hours for hardening (see figures 5 & 6 below). Figure 5: Expansion Figure 6: Hardening

10. Step 5: The product is removed from moulds after a few hours and transported to a cutting machine. The cutting machine cuts the moulds using high tensile cutting wires, into the required size building elements (see figures 7 & 8 below). Figure 7: Cutting Figure 8: Cutting into pieces of Hebel blocks

11. Step 6: The final curing of the product takes up to 12 hours under high stem pressure in an autoclave (see figure 9 below). Figure 9: Autoclaving Step 7: The blocks panels and lintels are removed from the autoclaved and are packed, ready for transport to site

12. Hebel Products • Hebel PowerWall is anon-loading bearing wallsolution consisting of 75mm thick, steel reinforced Hebel • PowerPanels fixed vertically to horizontal battens ( typically Tor Hat section) attached to the loadbearing frame. PowerWall provides a solid masonry feel and delivers strong thermal benefits that translate into a lower heating and cooling energy requirement. The system also provides excellent acoustic insulation and the panels are a perfect substrate for a beautiful rendered finish. PowerWall is quick to install – each panel is equivalent in area to around 72 bricks – and wastage on site is minimal due to the modular nature of the system and standard panel sizes.

14. Hebel Power Floor • Hebel Power Floor is a flooring system utilising steel reinforcing _ AAC panels affixed to timber or steel joists and joined with Hebel Adhesive. • The composite action of the system delivers a solid floor with greater resistance to ‘bounce’ making PowerFloor an excellent stable basefor tile, slate, marble and other hard surface flooring including bathrooms, laundry and other wet area applications. • In the Real Green Home project, the sun filled areas were tiled for maximum solar gain and carpeted for all other areas. • Penetrations through Panels for services should be neatly drilled and the joint sealed with a polyurethane sealant.

16. Block Wall Systems • There’s a CSR Hebel Block to suit every wall in your home. • You can also eliminate those ugly steel bars over your window and door openings by using CSR Hebel Lintels. • You’ll need to discuss your options with your building designer, but generally the most popular system for external loadbearing walls (walls that support the roof and/or an upper storey weight) use a single skin of 200mm thickness CSR Hebel blocks. Internal walls are constructed using a single skin of 100mm or 125mm thickness blocks, or 150mm thickness blocks for internal loadbearing walls. The first course of blocks are laid level in a sand/cement mortar , then the following courses are bonded using a Hebel adhesive that comes in powder form in 20Kg bags to be mixed with water and trowelled on , to form the bed. • Blocks are easily cut using a special saw.

17. Block walls

19. Environmental Considerations The production of CSR Hebel requires : considerably less raw materials and resources than the production of other masonry products, it consumes a small fractionof the energy, produces no toxic gases and creates almost no waste substances By choosing CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems you can create a safe, comfortable and energy saving environment within your home, and be comfortable knowing that your choice has minimised the impact on our living environment. The unique thermal properties of CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems result in a more stable inside temperature, reducing the energy required to heat and cool your home, and thereby reducing your energy bills. Even in extreme climatic conditions, CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems help to maintain a comfortable temperature within your home. CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems provide a far higher level of thermal performance than standard brick veneer or even double brick construction.

20. Energy Savings • The unique thermal properties of CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems result in a more stable inside temperature, reducing the energy required to heat and cool your home, and thereby reducing your energy bills. Even in extreme climatic conditions, CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems help to maintain a comfortable temperature within your home. • CSR Hebel Block Wall Systems provide a far higher level of thermal performance than standard brick veneer or even double brick construction.

21. Solid Silence • You can significantly reduce the noise from room-to-room, and even cater for special facilities such as a ‘home theatre’. When installed in appropriately designed systems, CSR Hebel has proven to be a very effective noise barrier_

22. Fire & Pest Resistance • CSR Hebel Blocks are non-combustible and are not a food source for termites. Solid CSR Hebel Block Walls are very practical, even in high bushfire or termite prone areas as they eliminate the need for any timber wall framing, thereby eliminating much of the fuel for a fire and food for termites. Solid walls also eliminate any cavity, so there’s nowhere for pests, insects, dust or mould to hide.

23. A Solid Future • CSR Hebel Blocks are made from Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC), a strong, solid masonry building material with the advantage of being 25% the weight of conventional concrete. Your home will always provide the reassuring and quality feel of solid masonry walls. Hebel AAC products also provide long-term durability. • Structures which have been correctly installed, finished and maintained have proven their performance throughout Europe for more than 50 years. Hebel HighBuild render combined with a recommended finishing system also provides unique character, unlimited design freedom and long-term beauty.

24. HighBuild™ render • Hebel® HighBuild™ render levels irregularities and produces a high quality even, true surface on both internal and external surfaces. It can be applied at a thickness as low as 4 mm or up to 8 mm (in two successive coats) depending on the coverage and levelling required. Hebel® HighBuild™ can either be sponge finished or you may choose from an array of acrylic texture finishes, either way a high quality acrylic coating system is required for overall long term protection. Hebel® HighBuild™ render will also add to the Acoustic and Thermal properties of the Hebel® substrate. Equipment Hebel® HighBuild™ can be applied either by a mortar spray/pump or the conventional hawk and trowel method. It is ruled level with straight edges and finished with wood, polystyrene or soft foam finishing floats.

25. Patching • Fill any chipped and damaged blocks or panels with Hebel® Patch and allow to dry.

26. Sanding/Levelling • An advantage of Hebel’s® walling systems is that surface misalignment in both the block and panel systems can be levelled, using a levelling plane or Hebel® sanding float to achieve a truer flat surface.

27. Cleaning • Remove all adhesive runs by scraping as soon as possible – the longer the adhesive is left to cure the harder the material becomes, making it more difficult to remove. Remove all free dust, dirt, grease, oils, moss, fungi, mastic compounds and any other foreign matter that could affect the adhesion of the Hebel® coating system. Brush the surface with a stiff bristle broom to remove all loose particles. All surfaces must be clean, sound and free of powdery residue.

28. Corner Beading • Beading can be used on corners and edges to Increase impact / knock resistance and to provide a level edge. The beading used must be external grade and be securely fixed straight and true. • These are traditionally fixed using either 25mm coarse thread screws or flat head external grade nails with a small quantity of construction adhesive. Corner beads may need to be rebated into the corners of the Hebel® blocks or panels prior to the application of the coating.

29. Control Joints • Control joints are best treated before the coating system is applied. The use of a PU – Poly Urethane ‘paintable’ sealant incorporating backing rod in strict accordance with the manufacturers recommendation for use on AAC should be used in all cases. Select a colour that is complimentary to the final Texture colour. Apply sealant on completion of the panel installation to ensure adequate curing. At application stage, the coatings applicator shall apply a 4-6mm masking tape (matching the joint details) over the cured sealant and once processing of the base coat is completed at the joint, shall immediately remove masking to ensure basecoat does not bridge the sealant joint. Just prior to the application of the finishing coat, additional masking tape is applied to the recess formed at the joint and removed whilst the finishing coat is still wet. Alternatively no masking tape is applied and the Finishing coat is processed over the joint using a shallow expansion tool. • Coating applications over control jointing may__________________ due to inherent expansion and contraction and subsequent joint defamation.

30. Pre-wetting • Hebel’s® absorbent nature aids adhesion of the coating, however in warmer weather excessive absorption may make the coating difficult to work with. Generally the surface will have to be moistened with water prior to application to reduce surface suction . Alternatively the surface suction can be reduced by the application of a sealer/primer application of a mixture made of one (1) part 100% acrylic bonding agent such as Dulux® AcraTex® 500/4 AcraBond to six (6) parts water applied to the clean, dampened surface.

31. Climatic Conditions • Hebel® coating systems must not be applied below 5ºC or at elevated temperatures above 30º and in hot windy conditions. Hebel® coating systems should be protected from rain and frost for the first 24 hours. Application on large areas in full sun should be avoided (and/or the surface should be cooled and tempered with fresh water). Always work in shaded conditions If wet weather conditions are forecast, application should be stopped to give the coating sufficient time to set. Protect the finished work around down pipes, spouts or where water may continually splash or wet the surface. end 

32. Summary • CSR Hebel® is said to deliver many benefitsincluding productivity, flexibility, creativity and long-lasting quality to home builders, with European experience indicating a proven performance of over 50 years CSR Hebel products are made from a lightweight masonry called Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC). This technology produces extremely small finely dispersed air pockets within the material. • In comparison to traditional housing building materials, CSR Hebel blocks are said to deliver superior acoustic and thermal performance. Laying CSR blocks is also significantly faster than laying bricks, with 8.3 blocks per square metre, equivalent to 50 bricks per square metre. • Every home builder wants to complete every project as quickly as possible so both to satisfy the customers and so they can move onto their next project. With CSR Hebel these can both be achieved, with the added peace of mind that a Hebel construction will stand the test of time with its strength and durability.