6" thermalite pros and cons

[Juan D]

I am new to this building material and i have a question i have been looking in to making my house as much energy efficient as possible and i was looking into building my hole house out of 6" thermalite bricks but i have been reading defferent forums and don't really now if i should go foword and use thermalite or regular bricks.

 

[BraxtlyTools]

I am new to this building material and i have a question i have been looking in to making my house as much energy efficient as possible and i was looking into building my hole house out of 6" thermalite bricks but i have been reading defferent forums and don't really now if i should go foword and use thermalite or regular bricks.

I was just looking into this myself. Has anyone gotten back to you?

 

[Juan D]

No one has yet replied im hopeing they do soon

 

[stuart45]

What's going to be your type of wall? eg cavity or solid. Where are you located?

 

[Juan D]

Location is south texas and im looking a solid the house plans im looking at is about 45,x65 about 9 windows and two doors

 

[stuart45]

Generally Thermalite or other AAC blocks are used in the UK as the inner wythe of a brick/block cavity wall with some insulation in the cavity. When used as a solid wall the blocks would normally be at least 9inch wide.
The pros are that they are light and easy to cut and are thermally better than concrete.
Cons are that they are more likely to suffer from shrinkage cracking and have a higher suction when render or plaster is applied.
In the USA I have heard that they are harder to source and are more expensive.
In mainland Europe the thin joint system is the most common method.