Expanded Vermiculite for Construction Use
In the construction industry, exfoliated vermiculite is used to manufacture building boards, specialist plasters, loose-fill insulation, and lightweight concrete floors and roofs. Possessing the advantages of non-combustible, insulation, non-flammable, odorless, and economical low, vermiculite is extremely valuable to the construction industry. What’s more, it does not decompose or deteriorate like other materials, and also does not attract rodents or pests.
When used in homes and commercial buildings, it helps improve fire resistance and provides insulation against heat, cold, moisture and sound.
Wide Applications Vermiculite Used in Construction Industry
Since exfoliated vermiculite is a fully oxidised and non-combustible product that can withstand temperatures of up to 1250 ˚C, building boards incorporate exfoliated vermiculite are often used as
as a ‘core’ in firedoors, to build fire barriers, to encase or construct ductwork and protect steel building elements from the effects of cellulosic fires.
Binding systems such as sodium silicate, potassium silicates or calcium silicate are used to produce boards containing exfoliated vermiculite. Other materials used to bind vermiculite in the manufacture of building boards include resins, portland cement and other proprietary inorganic binders.
Exfoliated vermiculite is used in both hands and spray-applied general building plasters to improve coverage, ease of handling, adhesion to a wide variety of substrates, fire resistance, and resistance to chipping/cracking/shrinkage. Vermiculite can also be combined with other aggregates such as perlite to produce plasters.
Vermiculite based plasters used in the building industry can be batched on-site by adding exfoliated vermiculite and water to a suitable gypsum material, or they can be proprietary mixes that only require the addition of water. Both sites mixed and proprietary plasters that contain vermiculite can be applied (generally by hand with a hawk and trowel, rather than by machine) to a variety of substrates including concrete, blockwork, expanded metal lath and other plasters or renders.
Vermiculite-based plasters used in the construction industry can be batched on site by adding the exfoliated vermiculite and water to a suitable hemi-hydrate gypsum material, or more commonly factory-made pre-mixes are simply mixed with water on site and applied. These can be applied using either more traditional hand tools such as “hawk and trowel” or by the use of pumping and spraying machinery. These plasters can be applied to a variety of substrates including: concrete, blockwork, cement renders, other plasters and expanded metal laths.
Acoustic and fire protection products often use vermiculite combined with a binder such as gypsum, portland cement or more rarely an air setting clay, plus fillers and rheological aids.
Structural steel fire protection products use exfoliated vermiculite to improve the application (which is generally by low pressure spray) and to impart a high degree of fire resistance. Exfoliated vermiculite is very efficient at retaining moisture, and in the event of a fire this turns to steam which has a cooling effect on the steel substrate and thus delays its temperature rise.
Acoustic plasters provide reverberation (echo) control by the mechanism of absorbing sound energy and changing it into heat.
Exfoliated vermiculite (typically the finer grades) can be added at site to portland cement and other aggregates, rheological aids and water to produce roof and floor concrete screeds or lightweight concrete which have the benefit of being lightweight and insulating. In many cases vermiculite based roof screeds are often used in conjunction with other insulation materials such as polystyrene board to form a total roofing system.
Similarly finer grades of exfoliated vermiculite plus portland cement may be combined either on site or a factory premix to provide a base for swimming pool vinyl liners. These mixes are either pumped into place using a rotor stator pump or hand poured.
A bituminous binder can also be used with exfoliated vermiculite can to produce a dry, lightweight roof screed that has the advantages of low thermal conductivity, low moisture content, and ease of placement by pouring from the bag and then tamping.
Exfoliated vermiculite treated with a water repellent is used to fill the cavities and pores of masonry construction and hollow blockwork of buildings to enhance fire ratings, insulation, and acoustic performance.
Coarse grades of exfoliated vermiculite can be used to insulate lofts and attics. Exfoliated vermiculite has the benefit of being easy to use with application consisting of pouring the vermiculite between the joists and then leveling.
Vermiculite also known as micafil is an excellent insulating material capable of withstanding temperatures in excess of 1000℃. Efficient Vermiculite Backfill Insulation is an efficient heat insulator that can be used to pour back down the chimney filling the void between the brick chimney and the flexible flue liner. This will improve the performance of your stove by ensuring the flue gases stay warm enough to escape quickly therefore ensuring the draw of the chimney stays strong.
Chimney backfill insulation also massively reduces the condensation of the flue gases ensuring your flue liner has a much longer life.
Vermiculite can also be used to backfill the void behind cast iron fireplaces and clay firebacks. Construction grade in small particles can easily be poured back down the chimney.
Backfilling your liner is not essential but it definitely helps. Moreover, as the Vermiculite aids the performance and efficiency of your stove, you will be using less fuel.
Features:
- Lightweight
- High Insulation Properties
- Aids Draw
- Reduces Condensation
- Prolongs Life of Liner
- Saves Fuel
- Non-Combustible
- Improves Stove Performance
The finer grades of exfoliated vermiculite plus Portland cement may be combined either on-site or as a factory premix to provide a base for swimming pool vinyl liners. These mixes are either pumped into place using a rotor-stator pump or hand-poured. It helps to create a smoother surface for the finished liner and has high insulation properties in comparison to the rougher ground bottom finish.
Key Benefits:
- Long-lasting material that is easier to install than most other floor materials
- Softer than full grout concrete
- Great insulation
Sizes Comparison
Exfoliated vermiculite grade size can be measured between 0.1mm up to 4mm, depending of which grade you choose.
Usually, the coarse grade expanded/exfoliated vermiculite is commonly used in construction as loose-fill insulation, lightweight concrete, and refractories.
Professional Vermiculite Manufacturer
As vermiculite is used in various industries so we have technical professionals and mining associates who can easily and efficiently carry out this service. Having been dedicated to manufacturing vermiculite products for over 12 years, MiningValleys has installed all the sophisticated production mechanisms to provide our clients with the best quality construction exfoliated vermiculite.
In many cases you need the certifications, we can supply them like MSDS, TDS, Test Report, Place of Original (Form A, Form E,etc.), SGS test, etc., such certifications.
Under our strictly Quality Control Dept., will inspect each batch of goods before loading, only after the goods qualified, it can be allowed to out of the factory.
