Can I build interior walls in new construction from concrete?
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| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
We are building a new home and we want to use stamped concrete for ALL the flooring throughout the home. We also want to use concrete for ALL the interior walls so we can use stamping on the walls as well.
We will not be using any drywall in the entire home. If possible we would love to build our entire home without any vertical wood walls. I would appreciate any advice, thoughts, or questions you may have. You may contact me via our email @ [email protected] or you can call me 708-257-9801 and discuss any part of this process you may have experience or knowledge in.
I thank you and appreiate any help anyone can lend us.
Sincerely,
Kevin
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Replies
Kevin,
Sure, you can build your interior walls of concrete if you want, as long as your foundations includes footings under the location of each partition wall. Most builders would use concrete blocks, but it's certainly possible to use poured concrete if you want.
I once did some remodeling work for a architect in Connecticut who had finished the interior of his walls with thick cement-based stucco over wire lath. Installing an interior door in a new location required a gasoline-powered concrete saw.
In other words, any remodeling will be complicated if you ever change your mind about where your partitions should be located.
Kevin: Since you're doing decorative flooring, are you thinking of putting any patterns into the walls (if poured)?
Also, I would think you'd want to mitigate the echo effect with tapestries or some sort of sound dampening technique. What are you considering for that?
Interesting, why all concrete?
Unless you like the "coarse textured" look with bits of wood veneer mixed in, make sure to have a look at the forms your contractor wants to use for the pour.
"Can I build interior walls in new construction from concrete?"
Sure you can, but why would you? You'll drop a bundle on formwork setup and breakdown, and the concrete will have a miserably high carbon footprint, and you won't have anywhere to run electrical and plumbing other than in chases you set ahead of time and won't be able to change the location of later, and you'll end up with an interior that has thermal mass of a dungeon.
If you're determined to avoid wood/drywall I'd suggest AAC block with a lime plaster finish you can model any way you want. Non-bearing walls won't need any special footing support, and you can chase your electrical into the lightweight block however you like - you can even cut and shape the stuff with ordinary hand tools.
James Morgan, super post.