How Do You Cool A Concrete House?

How Do You Cool A Concrete House?

How Do You Cool A Concrete House?

Concrete is a prominent building material for home foundations. However, while being one of the most durable and sound-proof construction materials, concrete is also an effective thermal buffer, meaning that concrete dwellings may be fairly chilly and quite hot in the summer.

Fortunately, even on the hottest days, several methods keep a concrete house cool.

Concrete is an excellent building material for long-lasting structures, but it may also mean that summers in your home are rather hot.

If you need to chill your concrete home, you may do it by either blocking the sunlight or directly insulating the roof. You can use one of the following strategies to protect your roof from the sun:

Gravel or bituminous sheets are the finest materials for insulating your roof and preventing heat transmission.

It is up to you to determine which of these approaches is the most practical and cost-effective for you and your concrete house.

How Do You Install Siding On A Concrete House?

Because you must put wooden furring strips under the siding, installing vinyl siding over concrete is comparable to installing it over wood.

Vinyl siding may give an average concrete home a more attractive, polished appearance while also updating its appearance.

Although installing vinyl siding is very straightforward, assistance is beneficial. Check with your local building department to determine whether the job requires permission.

Step 1

Concrete nails secure 1 1/2-inch-thick hardwood furring strips to the concrete wall at 4-foot intervals. The length of the wall determines the amount of strips required.

Step 2

Attach a strip of bug netting to the furring strips along the bottom border of the concrete wall.

The netting should extend about 1 foot up the wall and slightly overlap to create a barrier between the ground and the concrete. This will keep insects from building nests between the siding and the concrete.

Step 3

Place the first piece of vinyl siding against the top of the wall’s furring strips.

Use tiny nails to secure the siding strip, leaving 1/8 inch of the nail shank visible. This will allow the vinyl to contract and extend as the weather changes.

Step 4

Slide the next piece of siding into position, using the built-in locking mechanism to secure the two pieces together.

Assemble the two strips of siding by aligning the nail holes so you can nail the second piece of siding into position.

Step 5

Continue this manner until all vinyl siding strips are in place. To finish the process, slide the vertical trim pieces around the corners of the vinyl siding.

How Do You Make A Concrete Apron In The House?

The area of a driveway that extends from the street and 8 to 10 feet into the driveway space or in front of a garage to transition from the road to the garage surface is known as a concrete apron. Here’s how to construct a concrete apron:

• Check all local construction codes for the proper apron size.
• Mark the apron with wooden pegs driven into the ground.
• Dig down 6 inches inside the boundaries of the stakes.
• Compact the earth securely by tamping the excavation’s base using a hand tamper or renting a gas-powered tamper.
• Lay 2-by-8-inch boards around the perimeter of the trench, standing up on the 2-inch side of the board, to make a mold that will keep wet concrete in place.
• Fill the excavation with 2 inches of crushed stone.
• Sweep a large board over the stone to smooth it out.
• If the apron is longer or wider than 8 feet, lay a 1-by-2-inch board perpendicular to the 2-by-8-inch form resting over the stone to create an expansion joint. An expansion joint allows for modest concrete displacement owing to ground movement and freeze-thaw cycles, preventing cracking.
• Cover the crushed stone with wire mesh. Shear the wire-reinforcing mesh to fit the forms and the expansion joints.
• Contact a concrete company and arrange a least 4,000 PSI concrete pour. The amount of weight that concrete can resist is determined by PSI (pounds per inch).
• Spread a 4-inch thick layer of concrete over the wire mesh.
• Using a shovel, move concrete up to the borders of the forms and expansion joints.
• Use a long board to level high points and fill low locations on the wet concrete.
• Smooth the concrete surface with a bull-float, a trowel-like instrument at the end of a long pole.
• Allow the concrete to set before prying the forms away with a pry bar, leaving the expansion joints in place.

Is It Good To Buy A Concrete House?

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to purchase a concrete house. The first is the cost. Concrete houses are typically more expensive than houses made of other materials, so you’ll need to be sure you can afford the upfront cost.

The second is the climate. If you live in an area with severe weather conditions, a concrete house may be a good choice because it will be better able to withstand high winds, heavy rains, and other severe weather.

The third is maintenance. Concrete houses require less maintenance than houses made of other materials, so you’ll need to be prepared to do some upkeep yourself.

Because concrete buildings save more energy, HUD estimates that homeowners may save 20 to 25% on yearly heating and cooling expenditures compared to homes built with other typical materials.

This cost savings might be considerable for homeowners who choose to remain in a concrete home long term.

When building a concrete home, homeowners may choose to install smaller heating and cooling equipment, which might save them hundreds or even thousands of dollars upfront.