Hello everyone , I am new to this forum although I have been living here quite a while.. I just wanted to ask anyone if they have had any experience building here using  (Expanded polystyrene sheets ) EPS Foam .. I see so much on youtube from Thai builders and Facebook has so many suppliers.. 

My question is Does the rendered walls hold up for years to come without it cracking ?? and what product would be best for it, pure White Cement,  a Sika or Lanko cement?? In Australia its used allot with a Polymer / acrylic type render .. I want to add a room to my house upstairs. My house was origanly designed for 1 level but in the middle of it I have a flat roof which im sure will eventually leak so want to add a small room up there.. It will be 6.5 m x 6.3 m .. My engineer said no problem and will hold the weight of Light weight brick but to be safe I would rather use EPS foam.. I only need it on 2 walls and its a small area.. But in brick would be a fair bit of weight at 90/100 kg per SQM .. Thank you all in advance for any help would be much appreciated .. Regards Vince

Use AAC block, expanded polystyrene is loved by wildlife and has no strength.

 

your figure of a weight per square meter doesn't make sense.

 

the cubic meter density of AAC is between 550 and 650 kg or about ½ that of brick.

He is saying the m2 of bricks is 100kg, which is about right for the 100x200 standardbricks.

 

But yes go for aac.

In 1m2 theres about 80 bricks inc mortar. Those bricks will cost 240bt and the mortar about 30bt.

 

In 1m2 of aac there are 8 blocks costing 16bt for 75mm and 20-22bt for 100mm. The mortar glue costs a very lean 2bt per block.

 

So 270bt v 170bt 

 

Labour...aac would take 30minutes to do, mixing mortar and laying bricks would take half a day.

 

No brainer isnt it.

Interlocking plastic EPS sandwich panels are available here and widely used in the food process and refrigeration industry but I have not seen the EPS cement sandwich panel or render system.

 
Its an interesting lightweight fill method that I imagine is quite strong after rendering with mesh.

Gyproc has since a few year gypsum panels with insulation attached, ideal for ceilings and wall coverings, but I think it's EPE foam

7 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

Gyproc has since a few year gypsum panels with insulation attached, ideal for ceilings and wall coverings, but I think it's EPE foam

Assuming the panels are these Then I think they are expanded polystyrene.

Those I looked at had blue colored insulation. Can be the same, as i didn't examine them thoroughly.

Hi guys thanks for reply there is this website check it out http://changrukubaan.com/blog-inside.asp?blogid=12. Sorry its in Thai but you can see pictures of them using EPS in Houses now.. 

My cousin is a builder in OZ and he said they are using it more in construction now for lightweight second story extensions.. 

This house with roof garden is made using EPS

source

If you can get a contractor who can use the stuff it's quick (which is why it's gaining ground in the west) and light. Go for it.

 

3 hours ago, STMx said:

This house with roof garden is made using EPS

source

Thanks for that , is it in Thailand?? I would love to know if the render is still sticking to it after a few years of weather.. I heard that once water gets behind it , it starts to crack and become drummy. I was going to use wire mesh first then finish it with fibreglass sheeting then use a waterproof coat before painting it.. Its only a small room so don't mind going overkill on it to be safe pay a little extra now and save in the long run ..