Styrofoam: characteristics, advantages, disadvantages

About sixty years ago there was a new building material, called styrofoam. Its characteristics far surpassed many of the heaters known at that time. The popularity of PPPs grew exponentially. Today, new excellent insulation materials have been discovered and created, but the PPP, better known to us as styrofoam (although styrofoam and expanded polystyrene are produced in different ways), still remains one of the best. What is so attractive about the construction of expanded polystyrene?

Material characteristics and advantages

The best way to save energy is to insulate houses. In order not to "drown the streets", it is necessary to warm the house well. The easiest way to do this is with an inexpensive, but very reliable PPP. Granules of plastic filled with gas, very poorly conduct heat. This helps to keep it inside the house in any weather swings. Warming with expanded polystyrene also allows you to protect the housing from excess moisture. PPP is not at all afraid of dampness: even being under water for a few days, it practically does not get wet. Styrofoam, whose characteristics can be compared to a natural tree, is able to "breathe". Its vapor-permeability is about the same as that of boards or bricks, so professionals advise to insulate houses from these materials with foam. PPP does not rot at all and does not lend itself to a fungus, it perfectly silences the sound, so it can be used not only as a heater, but also as a soundproofing device. What else is polystyrene interesting? His characteristics from the point of view of chemistry are very peculiar. He is not at all afraid of paints, salts, acids (except for acetic and nitric), so PPP is used in construction almost everywhere. Low material cost is perfectly combined with its eternity (PPP does not age, does not deform under any conditions). Once warming the house with the help of PPP, you can forget about it forever: you do not have to change the heater. PPP is available in different types, but the most popular is polystyrene tiles. It can have different sizes (for example 60х120, 50х100), therefore builders can choose a format with which it is convenient to work. Of course, the PPP, like everything in the world, has a number of shortcomings. However, they are so insignificant that among the many heaters, the most popular still is polystyrene foam.

Characteristics and disadvantages

• PPP is afraid of benzene, dichloroethane and some other solvents.
• In porous material, sometimes rodents make holes or courses: they also love heat very much. Scare animals can be with the help of chemicals for them.
• The foam itself is flammable. To reduce its fire hazard, manufacturers today add to the raw material fire retardants - substances that prevent combustion. The PPP obtained with their help is marked with a letter.
• PPP perfectly tolerates compression, but rather fragile. Modern technologies have helped to solve this problem. Extruded polystyrene foam is much stronger than usual, although the vapor is somewhat worse. But with a well-established system of ventilation, this defect is coming to naught.

Do you want to inexpensively, but qualitatively and for a long time to warm the house? Choose polystyrene foam. Do not lose.