I have a villa with a basement built in 1963, the joists between are of what I believe is siporex. Beams h17cm x w10cm, 60cm cc with 5cm thick reinforced siporex layer in between. The span is about 3.5 meters.
My plan is to fill up with ground insulation and then integrate underfloor heating.
My question is, how much can the floor be loaded per sqm?
My plan is to fill up with ground insulation and then integrate underfloor heating.
My question is, how much can the floor be loaded per sqm?
How long is a piece of string...?
You don't have a Siporex floor. Siporex is lightweight concrete blocks that were used to build walls and it has no load-bearing capacity in floors.
A picture would be good, but there's no one who can answer the question of how much you can load the floor other than a structural engineer who comes and measures it.
Since you mention ground insulation, I assume it is the basement floor you are planning to address, not the intermediate floor...
You don't have a Siporex floor. Siporex is lightweight concrete blocks that were used to build walls and it has no load-bearing capacity in floors.
A picture would be good, but there's no one who can answer the question of how much you can load the floor other than a structural engineer who comes and measures it.
Since you mention ground insulation, I assume it is the basement floor you are planning to address, not the intermediate floor...
I also don't believe it is a siporex floor slab, more like a concrete floor slab.
But generally, a floor slab is dimensioned for 400kg/sqm,
so if you insulate and use self-leveling compound for underfloor heating, it shouldn't be a problem.
But generally, a floor slab is dimensioned for 400kg/sqm,
so if you insulate and use self-leveling compound for underfloor heating, it shouldn't be a problem.
I also have Siporex in the joist layer. It's unclear to me how the elements are constructed; externally they look the same as the wall elements.
I don't understand what the ground insulation is supposed to do? If you want underfloor heating, you seal the joints between the elements and then lay pipes and pour leveling compound on top, right?
I don't understand what the ground insulation is supposed to do? If you want underfloor heating, you seal the joints between the elements and then lay pipes and pour leveling compound on top, right?
Well, Siporek manufactured a lot of floor elements, but the dimensions given by TS probably don't quite match the normal dimensions of floor elements. My previous house was entirely built with Siporex, the floor had a span of 4 m, and without remembering the exact measurements, the dimension was about 200 mm thick and about 300 mm wide. There were probably more dimensions to choose from. At that time (1977), the walls were set with standing elements with a full height of 2400 mm and about 500 mm wide and about 100 mm thick. Thus, construction wasn't done with blocks as it is nowadays, but I guess the elements were much quicker to build with.
When, after a number of years, I wanted tiles in the kitchen and hall as well as water-based underfloor heating, it was not an option to just groove into the Siporex for heating loops since Siporex insulates too well. I chose to mill down the surface about 30-40 mm just before reaching the reinforcement to then lay the heating pipe and thereafter self-leveling compound up to the original height minus the tile thickness. That way, I maintained the floor height relative to the other rooms.
When, after a number of years, I wanted tiles in the kitchen and hall as well as water-based underfloor heating, it was not an option to just groove into the Siporex for heating loops since Siporex insulates too well. I chose to mill down the surface about 30-40 mm just before reaching the reinforcement to then lay the heating pipe and thereafter self-leveling compound up to the original height minus the tile thickness. That way, I maintained the floor height relative to the other rooms.
Yes, it probably kicked up quite a bit of dust, it was a few years ago, but it was done in conjunction with a complete kitchen renovation, so the area was largely evacuated. As mentioned, no reinforcement was removed, but honestly, no one calculated the structural strength; the siporex itself doesn't have much load-bearing capacity—it's the combination of siporex and reinforcement that provides the strength. The removed siporex was replaced with self-leveling compound, which wasn't completely without some strength.MathiasS said:Removing 40mm from the height of the joist, how did that affect the strength? It's not something I would dare to do... and it must have created a terrible amount of dust...
In any case, I can only state that the house is still standing.
roland53 said:Yes, Siporek manufactured plenty of floor elements, but the dimensions given by TS probably don't quite match the normal dimensions of floor elements.
My previous house was built entirely of Siporex, the floor had a span of 4 m and without remembering the exact measurements, the dimension was about 200 mm thick and about 300 mm wide.
There were certainly more dimensions to choose from.
At that time (1977), the walls were set with standing elements with full height 2400 mm and about 500 mm wide and thickness about 100 mm.
Thus, one did not build with blocks as is done nowadays, but I guess the elements were much faster to build with.
When, after a number of years, I wanted tiles in the kitchen and hall as well as waterborne underfloor heating, it was not an option to just groove in the siporex for heating coils because the siporex insulates too well.
I chose to mill down the surface about 30-40 mm just before reaching the reinforcement to then lay the heating pipe and thereafter self-leveling compound up to the original height minus the tile thickness.
In this way, I kept the floor height in relation to other rooms.
I wonder if it is then possible to dismantle and reuse ceiling and/or wall elements of siporex?
Anyone know?
Yes, it should not be a hindrance as long as you disassemble/assemble with care so it doesn't get damaged.
It's an advantage if you know what strength they had during manufacturing so you can ensure it matches what you intend to build.
It's an advantage if you know what strength they had during manufacturing so you can ensure it matches what you intend to build.
Yes, probably the mortar is harder, but when we talk about slightly wider elements, there aren't as many joints.
You might have to add a bit of extra mortar if a piece breaks off.
It might not look pretty, but it's rare but it works ......
You might have to add a bit of extra mortar if a piece breaks off.
It might not look pretty, but it's rare
but it works ......