In restoration and renovation works to old existing buildings, it is often necessary to intervene on brick, stone, or concrete vaults to:
- reduce and redistribute the loading
- reinstate fills, subfloors, screeds, and flooring
- provide structural strengthening
- provide thermal insulation (including for high temperature elements such as ovens)
In each of these cases, Laterlite Expanded Clay aggregates and concretes can be used as a lightweight fill, levelling, or screed (densities from 330 kg/m3) even in the case of large thicknesses to be filled.
Laterlite lightweight fill granular loose nature enables filling and compensating layers to easily adapt to the typically curved and irregular shapes of vaults (rib walls, strengthening elements, etc.), cupolas making it possible to reinstate any type of vaulted support (brick, stone, concretes, etc.) by providing a new flat, dry supporting layer to take a screed or concrete slab.
Fills based on expanded clay optimise the distribution of the loading on the vault. They are strong, stable, durable, completely incombustible (Euroclass A1) cannot be attacked by parasites and are suitable for incorporating service runs. They will not attract damp to the existing structure.
They are especially suitable for the renovation of monuments and historical heritage buildings, as they allow lightening, optimal load distribution and insulation without changing the original construction technique. This is often achieved by simply replacing existing sand or rubble fillings with Laterlite Expanded Clay.
Dry fill with Plus Expanded Clay is also suitable for vaults with decorated intrados, as they do not add water or moisture to the structure, which could damage the decorations.
Depending on the technical requirements, either Laterlite Expanded Clay or Laterlite Plus (granule size 8-20 or 3-8), can be used:
- dry and laid loose
- bound on the top surface with cement or lime slurry
- mixed with cement to obtain a no fine concrete. also available as a bagged premixed ultra-lightweight no fines concrete.
See expanded clay application methods for more Information.
Lime binder can also be used to make lightweight concrete (contact our technical support).
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