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Breezeblock construction


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I've just been surfing a few property sites in anticipation of our next house-hunting trip next month, and have come across a couple of possibilities which are constructed from breezeblock.

Does anybody have experience of this?  Are they as good as brick-built, or do they have any inherent problems?

Grateful for any advice.

 

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Just for your information it is quite unusual to find properties in France built form traditional bricks as we from the UK would know them..

Stone is of course very common but there are also a lot of houses built from concrete blocks of various description although I'd hesitate to actually call any of them breeze blocks.

Red, terracotta like hollow blocks seem to be the favourite for newer builds and if you've been over already and seen any new builds going up you'll know what I mean.

I don't think any method neccessarily need have inherent problems if built properly.

The biggest problem seems to be that a great many houses were built either without foundations or a damp proof courses, or both, so damp is what you need to look out for.

Others more expert than I may wish to comment or disagree [:)]

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Just adding to what Ernie says, the blocks in use here are not breeze blocks but are concrete blocks ("parpaing"). They are used in many modern constructions, typically the bungalow style homes now being built seemingly everywhere. They are usually rendered with a monodecor type finsh (enduit de parement) to give a waterproof  and decorative finish. Seems to work OK.

Sid

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Yes parpaings and about 95% of all new houses here in Brittany are built with them. English style bricks only seem to be used in the very far north of France such as the Pas de Calais region. Concrete panels are becoming more popular here too but wooden houses although springing up discolour very fast with the seaside climate and damp.
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Same here, block construction houses going up all opver the place.  Another angle to consider is the climate.  In Angleterre, the damp drizzly rain must be a major reason why brick / cavity walls are used, whereas in France yes it rains (boy can it rain !) but then it dries up very quickly.  Just a thought.

The French new builds dont seem to have DPCs as normal practice I've noticed, just from from a casual look mind. 

Any builders / Surveyors / Structural Engineers  like to comment  ?

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Also what may appear to be a brick built house being constructed will almost certainly be using brick faced alveoliare blocks to make a "solid" wall, and I use the term advisedly as it may be as strong as a parpaing wall (as is papier maché) but has nowhere near the strength and durability of a traditional two brick thick wall.

All of the 90 year old brick houses in my region, as well as the few older ones that survived the WW1 bombardment are still in rock solid condition, even those that have had no rooves for many years; the few older parpaing buildings are already in a terrible state.

PS can someone help me with my diminsihing English please? Is "rooves" the correct plural for roof? - Neither looks right when I type it!

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Yes rooves is plural of roof. You can't beat stone, ours is 430 years old and in excellent shape whereas some of the concrete blocks which we recently removed from our old mairie from the inside walls were like breadcrumbs when touched with a tool.
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When we started looking, we were warned that older 'block' houses were only single thickness with no cavity, and were really bad news in terms of winter heating costs in an era of spiralling fuel prices and concern for the environment.
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Don't believe eyerything you're told.

Single block could be a problem but labelling all 'older 'block' houses' as single thickness is definately unjust and wrong and by believing that without actually viewing and confirming the construction you may be unfairly excluding propeties which might otherwise be just what you're looking for. [;-)]

 

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Chris

On that basis you would also have to rule out all of the new build "block" houses as they are not cavity wall construction either.

Leaving you with a choice from, in France, - I dont know what exactly!

Pierre

Thank you, that explains my confusion, my instinct to spell "roofs" correctly was swayed by my thinking it doesnt look (sound) right.

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I don't think you can compare UK and French construction methods they are just entirely different. The blocks used in France are much wider than UK bricks and have inbuilt cavities. Additional insulation/cavity comes from the polystyrene on the back of the plasterboard which is glued to the walls internally. Recently insulation blocks have been added to the range, they just have more holes in them. [:D]
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Lets face it, 2 countries separated by a strip of water that neither can agree a common name for , there are bound to be differnces in building techniques.  Just'cos its done like that in Angleterre, doesnt mean its better.  Taking advice from an English "expert" on "foreign" building techniques is like asking a Frenchman does he drink Austrailian wine or drive a german car !

I have yet to see any reason why a concrete block constucted house is inferior to brick.  Its just different.  There is many a brick cavity filled with insulation material of one sort or another, negating the main reason for the cavity in search of better insulation.

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Hi Anton - Thanks for your reply to my post. I have found loads of new info on the blocks using both names.

I'm still looking at all the possibilities for new builds, for cost, speed/ease of build, insulation, enviromental impact etc etc

Again many thanks

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I don't think these properties you are looking at are actually breeze blocks, rather concrete blocks and are traditionally laid in a simple stretcher bond.  The main advantages over common brickwork are that they are labour saving with higher thermal properties.  However, they are less resistance to rain penetration which maybe fine in some areas.  These are commonly used for bungalows because they have a lower load bearing strength than a brick cavity or a solid brick construction.

One point of caution is that you should find out the density level of the block used.  The greater the density, the stronger the block and the greater the aucoustic and thermal properties.  You can then do a bit of research to ensure that the density of the block suits the type of build and the location.

 

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[quote user="tracteurtom"]Lets face it, 2 countries separated by a strip of water that neither can agree a common name for , there are bound to be differnces in building techniques.  Just'cos its done like that in Angleterre, doesnt mean its better.  Taking advice from an English "expert" on "foreign" building techniques is like asking a Frenchman does he drink Austrailian wine or drive a german car !

[/quote]

Of course UK construction techniques are the best [;-)].

Actually, one of the harshest climates to buildings is the UK climate, especially on the unsheltered western edge.  Buildings like to breath and move with the seasons however, in the UK, you could say they dont know wheather they are coming or going.

 

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[quote user="tracteurtom"]Same here, block construction houses going up all opver the place.  Another angle to consider is the climate.  In Angleterre, the damp drizzly rain must be a major reason why brick / cavity walls are used, whereas in France yes it rains (boy can it rain !) but then it dries up very quickly.  Just a thought.

The French new builds dont seem to have DPCs as normal practice I've noticed, just from from a casual look mind. 

Any builders / Surveyors / Structural Engineers  like to comment  ?
[/quote]

I really dont understand why no DPC or DPM is laid in these houses but then, I have never worked on residential construction in France and would not really like to comment. 

Then again, how many stone properties in UK have these?  We have only started to see problems with damp since the introduction of  UPVC double glazing and radiators.  My stone house in UK has never even been injected.  It doesnt need it.  A draughty house is a healthy house. [:)]

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