October 12, 201015 yr Hi. I live in the Korat area. We have a small store with non load bearing cinderblock walls. We will be installing air-con inside the store next month so I want to get Q-Con walls up to improve thermal efficiency. We will use the 7cm Q-Con blocks. My question is this. For the best thermal effeciency, do I want to 1. tear down cinderblock wall and replace with Q-Con wall. Or 2. Install Q-Con wall inside cinderblock wall and leave old wall up. Or 3. Install Q-Con wall outside cinderblock wall and leave old wall up? If possible a simple explanation of the thermal dynamics would be helpful.
October 12, 201015 yr Which direction is existing wall facing (N,S,E or W)? Is the old wall cracking or water leaking in?
October 12, 201015 yr Author Which direction is existing wall facing (N,S,E or W)? Is the old wall cracking or water leaking in? The existing wall faces south and has some shade from a 1m overhang and an adjacent building. It is in excellent condition. Other than being an excellent thermal conductor and having high thermal mass it is okay.
October 12, 201015 yr Which direction is existing wall facing (N,S,E or W)? Is the old wall cracking or water leaking in? The existing wall faces south and has some shade from a 1m overhang and an adjacent building. It is in excellent condition. Other than being an excellent thermal conductor and having high thermal mass it is okay. best thermal insulation you get from insulation, 5 mm foam on roll. Cover up with interior gypsum sheets. save internal sqm with a thinner wall. paint exterior wall with heat reflecting paint (nanocoat) Q Con is lousy quality, if you want aereated concrete block, use Superblock or C lite.
October 12, 201015 yr Author Yeah, I think we were going to order something called D-lite. It has a groove around the block so you can use ordinary mortar. That is a good option since the existing wall is only a few years old, is painted, and my wife really doesn't like the idea of tearing down the existing wall down. Although....I've seen plenty of gypsum walls back home, but never here in the jungle. Would dampness be a problem?
October 12, 201015 yr Yeah, I think we were going to order something called D-lite. It has a groove around the block so you can use ordinary mortar. That is a good option since the existing wall is only a few years old, is painted, and my wife really doesn't like the idea of tearing down the existing wall down. Although....I've seen plenty of gypsum walls back home, but never here in the jungle. Would dampness be a problem? Gypsum is made from paper and white cement mix, and not suitable for damp conditions. Use Viva board instead, which is from compressed cement and wood fibre.
October 12, 201015 yr Which direction is existing wall facing (N,S,E or W)? Is the old wall cracking or water leaking in? The existing wall faces south and has some shade from a 1m overhang and an adjacent building. It is in excellent condition. Other than being an excellent thermal conductor and having high thermal mass it is okay. best thermal insulation you get from insulation, 5 mm foam on roll. Cover up with interior gypsum sheets. save internal sqm with a thinner wall. paint exterior wall with heat reflecting paint (nanocoat) Q Con is lousy quality, if you want aereated concrete block, use Superblock or C lite. I think that is a typo error. Should be 5 cm or 2 inches thick.
October 12, 201015 yr I'm with those suggesting a drywall solution. Gypsum or Viva board on 2" metal or treated wood laths with fibre insulation will take up less of your room and give at least as good insulation as the QCON solution. Additionally it will be far quicker to install and possibly cheaper. "I don't want to know why you can't. I want to know how you can!"
October 12, 201015 yr I'd go with Superblock on the inside of the cinder only b/c it's probably the least expensive option for the best insulation.. But, don't use regular mortar with that - you need the special mortar/glue (and very little is needed). Same for the plaster.
October 12, 201015 yr I would think you need to keep the heat out and the cold in. Best for that is to put some insulation on the outside and use the existing wall as a thermal mass to even out the cooling needs. And you keep all your interior space available, no need to make a mess in the store. like this: new outer wall, reflective foil, foam/fiber air barrier , existing wall. Some extra shade to prevent direct sunlight on the walls would be great.
October 13, 201015 yr Yeah, I think we were going to order something called D-lite. It has a groove around the block so you can use ordinary mortar. That is a good option since the existing wall is only a few years old, is painted, and my wife really doesn't like the idea of tearing down the existing wall down. Although....I've seen plenty of gypsum walls back home, but never here in the jungle. Would dampness be a problem? Gypsum is made from paper and white cement mix, and not suitable for damp conditions. Use Viva board instead, which is from compressed cement and wood fibre. Viva is good gypsum is still most commonly used in ceilings for bathrooms it should be "ganzum", a damp proof quality
October 13, 201015 yr Which direction is existing wall facing (N,S,E or W)? Is the old wall cracking or water leaking in? The existing wall faces south and has some shade from a 1m overhang and an adjacent building. It is in excellent condition. Other than being an excellent thermal conductor and having high thermal mass it is okay. best thermal insulation you get from insulation, 5 mm foam on roll. Cover up with interior gypsum sheets. save internal sqm with a thinner wall. paint exterior wall with heat reflecting paint (nanocoat) Q Con is lousy quality, if you want aereated concrete block, use Superblock or C lite. I think that is a typo error. Should be 5 cm or 2 inches thick. 5mm has the same thermal insulation as 75mm/3 inches of fiberwool I use it in all ceilings, substantial saving on energy for aircon check it out in homepro. several different products and makers
October 13, 201015 yr Definitely leave the existing wall in place. Place the Q-con block leaving a dead air space between both. Think Thermos bottle or ice chest. If you need the space, build it outside....if you don't, build it inside the existing wall. You will have to think of anchoring it to the existing wall though to help support it vertically. Perhaps drill into mortar joints and place small rebar to hold AAC block steady. Use at least two courses of red brick or equivalent on the bottom before AAC block. I used this on a newly completed house and can really tell the difference. The real test will come in May, though. Good luck with it. trex
October 13, 201015 yr The existing wall faces south and has some shade from a 1m overhang and an adjacent building. It is in excellent condition. Other than being an excellent thermal conductor and having high thermal mass it is okay. best thermal insulation you get from insulation, 5 mm foam on roll. Cover up with interior gypsum sheets. save internal sqm with a thinner wall. paint exterior wall with heat reflecting paint (nanocoat) Q Con is lousy quality, if you want aereated concrete block, use Superblock or C lite. I think that is a typo error. Should be 5 cm or 2 inches thick. 5mm has the same thermal insulation as 75mm/3 inches of fiberwool I use it in all ceilings, substantial saving on energy for aircon check it out in homepro. several different products and makers True. But fibrewool has an additional property - sound insulation.
October 13, 201015 yr True. But fibrewool has an additional property - sound insulation. True, and flame resistant, but sucks and hold water. Choises, choises;)
October 13, 201015 yr Definitely leave the existing wall in place. Place the Q-con block leaving a dead air space between both. Think Thermos bottle or ice chest. If you need the space, build it outside....if you don't, build it inside the existing wall. You will have to think of anchoring it to the existing wall though to help support it vertically. Perhaps drill into mortar joints and place small rebar to hold AAC block steady. Use at least two courses of red brick or equivalent on the bottom before AAC block. I used this on a newly completed house and can really tell the difference. The real test will come in May, though. Good luck with it. trex AAC wall must be build on a beam, so the choise of inside/outside depends on where/if there is any beam to be found. in addition, consider the extra weight double walls ad to buildings foundation. AAC blocks are lighter, but rendered still heavy 5mm foam on roll has thermal compared to 20 cm AAC, and weight with Viva or Gypsum boards is a fraction. So is buildingtime
October 14, 201015 yr Definitely leave the existing wall in place. Place the Q-con block leaving a dead air space between both. Think Thermos bottle or ice chest. If you need the space, build it outside....if you don't, build it inside the existing wall. You will have to think of anchoring it to the existing wall though to help support it vertically. Perhaps drill into mortar joints and place small rebar to hold AAC block steady. Use at least two courses of red brick or equivalent on the bottom before AAC block. I used this on a newly completed house and can really tell the difference. The real test will come in May, though. Good luck with it. trex AAC wall must be build on a beam, so the choise of inside/outside depends on where/if there is any beam to be found. in addition, consider the extra weight double walls ad to buildings foundation. AAC blocks are lighter, but rendered still heavy 5mm foam on roll has thermal compared to 20 cm AAC, and weight with Viva or Gypsum boards is a fraction. So is buildingtime If a wall is already in place, then there is probably a beam there as well. Putting AAC next to it would be plenty of support even with rendering. AAC blocks are incredibly light but would take additional time to construct. Choices....eh?
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