Lightweight insulating semi-dry mortars (Latermix Facile, Latermix Fast) can be used to level and regularise steeply pitched or irregularly shaped surfaces.
The compact, closed structure of all these products makes them suitable to take directly applied waterproofing membranes, finishes, tiles, or insulated panels.
They can be used on any type of pitched roof (of timber, steel, concrete, etc.) and can reduce loading by approximately 50% as compared to traditional methods.
For pitches of under 15%, ultra-lightweight semi-fluid Latermix Cem Mini concrete can be used, weighting only 600 kg/m3.
For high Depth application, the ultra-light no fine concretes (Latermix Cem Classic and Cem Maxi) reduce self-weight even more and have extra insulating capacity.
For structural needs, the Latermix Beton range of premixed bagged lightweight insulating structural concretes can be used to construct the entire load-bearing part of a lightweight pitched slab (in concrete, or composite construction) or to strengthen an existing slab. This reduces structural loading by up to 40% as compared to traditional concrete (which is particularly useful in seismic zones to avoid overloading the building at the top) and reduces thermal bridging.
Latermix Beton concretes are especially appropriate, and often essential, in building extension projects when upper storeys are added to buildings and in general for any work of change of use or building renovation (see also the page Structural roof elements, composite slabs and flat roofs).
Because of their reduced conductivity (lambda value) and because they are denser than traditional insulating materials, lightweight mortars and concretes based on Laterlite expanded clay increase the thermal mass and the thermal inertia of a roof and attenuate summer overheating in the spaces below (better thermal lag, temperature damping, and periodic thermal transmittance). This is particularly beneficial in the case of lightweight roofs of timber or steel construction. They can also be used in association with other insulating materials for complete high-performance technical solutions.
