𓉩 AIRCRETE 101
Aircrete 101:
The Ultimate
Guide.
Dive deeper into what Aircrete is, how strong it is and how to build with it. Don't forget to get your copy of a FREE download of our Aircrete 101: Ebook.
You're about to learn how to build with Aircrete, step-by-step, even if you've never built with a material like it before. Building anything from nothing, can be totally confusing, but we are going to make it easy and doable for you so that you can build a structure and even go-on to permit it. We've helped hundreds of people build with aircrete, and we know that you can do this, too.
Get Started Building with Aircrete
Table of Contents
The #1 Reason Why People Work with Aircrete
Hundreds of people with little to no building experience, have joined a building workshop and have gained the confidence they needed to start their own project.
As a someone who was once a beginner too, you're going to develop a skill to build, maybe even your own dome home. But right now, it's just about taking it one step at a time. You will find out for yourself that:
Aircrete is easy to work with.
downloadable & Free e-book
The Aircrete 101: Guidebook
Download our best DIY guide on:
Detailed instructions on: How to make Aircrete, pour Aircrete blocks and much more to get you dreaming big.
1. What is Aircrete
Domegaia coined the term Aircrete in 2014 but it is also known in the mark as Aerated concrete, cellular concrete, foamed concrete, or lightweight concrete..
Aircrete is a lightweight, non-toxic masonry and inexpensive material that is made by infusing tiny air bubbles in the form of foam into a Portland cement slurry. The foam expands the volume of the cement many times.
Simply put, Aircrete is a mixture of water, cement powder and a water-based foam.
Aircrete is fireproof, insect proof and unharmed by moisture - it will not rot or decay. It offers good thermal and acoustic insulation. Unlike concrete which is hard, heavy, cold and difficult to work with; Aircrete is easy to work with. It hardens overnight and can be cut, carved, drilled and shaped with wood-working tools. It accepts nails, screws and is easily repaired. It continues to harden over time and makes excellent foundations, subfloors, building blocks, walls, domes arches or whatever. It can be molded or formed into practically any shape.
The Key is the Foam
Aircrete foam is produced by agitating a foaming agent with compressed air. A good quality degreasing dish detergent can be used as a foaming agent.
Not just any foam works for aircrete, it is a high-quality, specialized formula with a specific density.
For years, aircrete was only created commercially with the use of heavy-duty equipment. However, when Domegaia founder, Hajjar Gibran, discovered the properties of aircrete, he invented special foam generators called the Little Dragon and the DragonXL to make it available to everyone.
Now, anyone wanting to build with aircrete can produce the foam required for Aircrete by combining high pressure air and a soap solution.
2. Benefits of Aircrete
There are so many benefits to using Aircrete, but it depends on your application. While aircrete
Top Favorite Benefits are:
Low Cost
Customizable
Lightweight
Easy to Find Ingredients
Temperature Control
To read a comprehensive article on 'Why Aircrete is Irresistible to DIYers'.
3. Ways to Use Aircrete
Aircrete is a DIY dream material. But what exactly can you do with Aircrete?
It is versatile as it takes the shape of anything you form it into. Even after aircrete becomes solid, it's easy to chisel, saw, cut holes into, craft into irregular shapes and so much more.
To give you an idea of what you use Aircrete for, we've come up with a fun list here.
Aircrete Uses:
Dome Glamping Unit
Fencing
Spa Grotto
Sidewalk Pavers
Raised Garden Bed
Wall Panels
For a comprehensive list of over Over 75 Ways to Use Aircrete read more here.
4. The Domegaia Aircrete Building System
To get a better idea of how everything works together. Let's start by taking a look at the entire Aircrete Building System. When everything is setup, this system produces as many batches of aircrete at you need for your building project.
Bringing it all together...
1. THE AIR COMPRESSOR
Creates the air needed to create the bubble in the foam
2. FOAMING AGENT BUCKET
This contains the soap and water to supply the foam with foaming agent.
THESE BOTH CONNECT TO…
3. THE FOAM GENERATOR - Dragon XL
This allows the air pressure to regulated to allow the right amount of into the
foaming agent, and pumps this foam into the mixer.
CONNECTS TO…
As the foam is pumped into the mixer, the wand attachment will allow you to at first measure your foam weight. Then after you have the perfect weight of foam you will attach the wand and begin mixing.
BLENDS…
5. MIXING BUCKET
The mixer will now mix and inject foam into the mixing bucket that contains the 94 lb bag of cement and water.
POURS INTO…
6. FORMS
These forms can be adjusted to 4”, 6” or 12” blocks.
The blocks will cure for 24 hours at a minimum.
5 . How to Make Aircrete
Aircrete is inexpensive, easy to make, and easy to work with. It requires only basic skills.
This article gives you a brief overview of how to make Aircrete.
For more detailed instructions, download our free Aircrete Guide with step-by-step instructions
Let's Get Started...
GETTING THE PERFECT WEIGHT OF FOAM
Aircrete is easy to make but much like baking a cake, you have to get the recipe right. The quality and density of the foam is important. Use an accurate postal or kitchen scale to check the weight of your foam. It should be between 90 - 100 grams/liter (about 3 ounces/quart).
You can use good quality dish detergent to make the foam with Little Dragon, our continuous foam generator. Look for a high foaming degreaser detergent. We tested Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid, Dawn Ultra and Safeway Home concentrate. They all produced adequate foam diluted 40/1 with water. (5 gals water / 2 cups foaming agent). Add the detergent to the water and mix thoroughly.
You can also use commercial foaming agents designed for making Cellular Concrete. For more information and a list of sources check out this link.
AIR COMPRESSOR
You need an air-compressor rated for at least 2.5cfm@90psi, which is a relatively small compressor. You can also use a bigger compressor if you have one.
MIXING STEP
Mix one 94lb bag of cement with 6 gallons (US) water. Put all the water in your container first and add the cement while you are mixing to avoid clumping. When the cement and water are well mixed, turn on the Little Dragon and add foam to the mixture. Add enough foam to make a total of 45 gallons of Aircrete. That's about 30" high in a standard 55 gallon drum.
The foam is very light weight and so it will want to float on top of the cement mixture. Our foam injection mixer, works to inject the foam directly into the mixing paddles at the bottom of the barrel where it is mixed into the cement before it can float to the top.
You can also use a strong drill with a mixing paddle like this one from Home Depot. Just be sure to work the foam down into the mixture until it is mixed thoroughly.
POURING A FRESH BATCH OF AIRCRETE
Aircrete needs to be poured into a form and allowed to harden over night. It makes good foundation footings, slabs and sub-floors. Lay plastic down to keep the water from evaporating so it cures thoroughly. In dry climates sprinkle it with water to keep it wet for a few days to help the curing process.
6. How to Make Aircrete Blocks
Aircrete can be used with "cookie cutter" method to make building blocks. Make rectangular wooden Aircrete forms by joining the corners with door hinges that have removable pins for easy assembly and disassembly.
Put a plastic sheet under and around the frames so the Aircrete won't leak out. Apply veggie oil or other release agent to the frames. Fill the forms with Aircrete. After the Aircrete has set overnight slice it into blocks with a knife or a long blade made of 16 gauge steel. For full instructions on how to make DIY Aircrete forms, you'll find this in our free downloadable Aircrete E-book guide here.
If you don't want to make DIY forms we have reusable prefab forms in our store.
Finish the outer surface with a thin layer of latex cement and reinforcing fabric. This works very well to produce a crack proof surface and very strong structure. Here's a link to one type of fabric that works well. You can also reinforce Aircrete by adding fiber to the mixture.
There's a lot of stuccos, sealers and coatings available that have good qualities that are worth looking into. Or use a 2/1 mixture of fine sand/cement.
Watch a Aircrete Brick Making...
7. How Strong is Aircrete?
A structure must withstand both tension and compression forces - these are the two omnipresent gods pushing and pulling on all physical forms.
Aircrete has good compression strength but poor tensile strength. When fiber-reinforced cement is bonded to Aircrete’s surface a composite material (Surface-bonded Aircrete) is formed that has both compressive and tensile strength. Surface-bonded Aircrete can be shaped into elegant architecture that will withstand the forces of nature and the test of time.
In the case of a dome structure, it is a self-supporting compression shell that requires little or no tensile reinforcement above it’s equator. The structural integrity of a Surface-bonded Aircrete dome is formed by the relationship between the composite material and the inherent rigidity produced by a domes double curvature.
All other factors being equal, the more the curvature, the stronger the form. Conversely, flatter surfaces create weaker forms.
When the forces acting upon a compression shell are understood and followed, we can build elegant structures of magnificent integrity. The art of designing equilibrium into a structure can create poetic forms, composed of harmonic geometry, expressing a graceful dance with the forces of nature.
A great analogy, we like to use when it comes to building strength into Aircrete is to compare Aircrete to a surf board.
The inside of the surfboard is light and breakable, however when you layer a surfboard with tensile strength and coating, it becomes a durable, strong object. Well, the same goes for Aircrete. On its own, Aircrete is breakable however when you surround it by layers, you'll have yourself a strong structure.
Making an Aircrete structure is is much like the way a surf board is made by bonding fiberglass fabric over a foam core, or the way drywall is made by bonding paper over gypsum. The layer of paper, fiberglass or strong fabric creates a tensile membrane on the surface that won't crack or break. Surface Bonded AirCrete can cut costs of conventional methods of construction by a factor of 10.
We have developed a Strength Building Tensile System to create strength you can rely on.
We all remember what we learned in childhood from the 3 Little Pigs. If you build your house out of sticks the Big Bad wolf will huff and puff and blow your house down. A Surface Bonded Aircrete dome home is aerodynamic and super strong against the Big Bad Wolf.
8. How Much Does Aircrete Cost?
The big question, you are probably asking yourself is...
Does building with Aircrete really save you money?
Yes, it really does. This can be very difficult to calculate outright because of thickness, dimensions, type of home and material used but here is a basic idea.
Cinder block cost for 1000 sq ft build.
Average of $11 per sq ft x 1000 sq ft = $11,000 Total
Aircrete block cost for 1000 sq ft build.
Average of $4 per sq ft x 1000 sq ft = $4,000 Total
This can really change greatly, where you get your materials, do you buy or make the blocks yourself and so many other aspects. So take this as a grain of salt and research your own projects cost accordingly.
The cost of labor and materials needed can be the real savings. Given the weight of an Aircrete block is about 80% lighter, a child can easily carry one. Meaning moving one block up higher on a building wouldn't take lifts or machinery. A simple rope could pull one up easily, or even carrying it up a ramp with ease.
Also for DIY blocks, your investment in tools to make the Aircrete blocks vs. Cinderblocks is a big difference as well.
9. How Much Does Aircrete Weigh?
When we speak about Aircrete weight, we speak in terms of the weight per Aircrete building block.
Our typical size of Aircrete Block is 3.7" - 4" thick and 12 in. x 12 in.
Each block weighs on average: 6 lbs. 11 oz.
To compare this to a cinder blocks that measures 8 in. x 8 in. x 16 in. and it weighs 38 lb. / 17 kg
Aircrete Density:
22 lbs. / cubic foot.
10. What is the Insulation Value of Aircrete?
When we speak in terms of simplicity, Aircrete acts as both a structural material and insulator. Unlike a traditional wood framed house, that needs multiple layers to give structure and insulation, Aircrete is both.
WHAT IS R-VALUE: R-value refers to the ability of a material to resist heat flow.
This is measured by applying a heat source to one side of the material and measuring how much heat is lost on the opposite side of the material. For example 70 degrees is applied to one side of a wall and 50 degrees is measured on the other side of the wall. This is a 20 degree loss in heat.
The higher the R-value the less heat is transferred to the other side and therefore providing a higher insulation value or thermal performance.
Generally speaking the R-Value of Aircrete is 1.8-2.2. This is based on many cited research studies on Aircrete.
However, when we speak about Aircrete, it's far more useful to think about R-Value in conjunction with thermal mass.
For a deeper look into R-Value, read our 'R-Value: Uncovering the Story' article.
THERMAL MASS: Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and store heat energy and then release it gradually. Insulating materials, on the other hand, prevent heat from passing through them.
Let’s look at some examples of the interplay between thermal mass and R-value.
A solid concrete wall has a high thermal mass but a very low R-value. If you apply heat to one side for a short time it will not be felt on the other for a long time. Once the heat is transferred the majority of the heat will be felt because the low R-value will not reduce the amount being transferred.
This means that it will take time for the heat to transfer from one side to the other but once it does transfer there will not be much of a temperature loss.
In contrast, a thin steel wall has both low thermal mass and R-value. In this case, heat applied to the surface will be instantly experienced on the other side and will also rapidly cool once the heat is removed.
AIRCRETE HAS BOTH R-VALUE AND THERMAL MASS
Aircrete has both R-value and thermal mass, which is a unique property for a building material. Consider the fact that most insulation products have no thermal mass but have a high R-value and building materials such as concrete, adobe and rammed earth have thermal mass but have a very low R-value.
For a deeper dive into R-Value, read our article "The Myth of R-Values".
Remember, if you haven't already, we put our love and energy into making you a convenient, free pdf E-Book: Aircrete 101. It covers everything from the Aircrete Formula, step-by-step instructions for mixing and pouring.
Free e-book
The Aircrete 101:
Guidebook
Download our best DIY guide on:
Detailed instructions on: How to make Aircrete, pour Aircrete blocks and much more to get you dreaming big.
