What is AAC

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is an amazing discovery that came from Germany in the early part of the twentieth century. AAC was developed and patented by Swedish architect Johan Axel Eriksson in 1924. Mr. Eriksson was looking for a building material, with the positive properties of wood and its inherently good thermal insulation, solid structure and ease of use, but without the disadvantages of woods’ combustibility and ultimate decay. Eventually he succeeded in producing a highly cellular, lightweight material made from quartzite (finely crushed sand), lime and water, that’s AAC.

        These materials, found in nearly unlimited quantities all over the world, are processed to obtain a building material with a large number of air pores (aerated concrete). It is precisely these pores plus the solid structure of calcium silicate hydrates, which gives AAC its exceptional product properties: excellent thermal insulation against high and low temperatures, universal applications and efficient construction properties, that save labor, time and energy. 

        Environmentally friendly and energy-conserving, AAC meets all the requirements of our modern age. Absolutely no pollutants or hazardous waste are generated in the process and there is no wastage of precious raw materials. The low temperature steam curing process also saves energy and the thermal energy is recovered during the process for maximum efficiency. Production trimmings are recycled back into the next batch creating an ideal environmentally safe production process. 

        Today, scores of companies manufacture AAC type material worldwide, while enjoying the seemingly endless supply and abundant availability. AAC, which provides buildings with multifarious contributions, and which is the first preference of contemporary world as a bricking material.

• It is a porous and light building material.
• In terms of volume, 70-80% of it consists of pores. 
• AAC is a massive material with low density. 
• Furthermore, it is the masonry wall material with the lowest heat conductivity.

     Being used commonly across the whole world thanks to its high performance, AAC is being produced in many countries from the USA to Japan. It is used in the most popular buildings of the most prestigious cities around the world, and meets a significant market demand on account of improving fire and earthquake safety of buildings with its high heat insulation properties. These properties yield significant benefit when being used in the Omnicrete process.

     AAC's superior properties, is used in any kind of residences, social and touristic facilities as well as commercial and industrial buildings thanks to its economic nature and to quality, comfort, and speed it provides.

     The large part of heat loss occurring in buildings takes place on exterior walls. The practical and economic solution for ensuring heat insulation on exterior walls of buildings is using AAC. Walls consisting of materials such as bricks, stones, and briquettes are able to attain the insulation power AAC solely provides, only through additional materials and costs.

     With heat resistance up to 1200 C, AAC, which is classified as "A1 Class non-combustible" material according to the regulations on the protection of buildings from fire, is an indispensable choice for the construction of buildings with fire safety as well as for "firewall" and "fire safety corridor" solutions, being able to endure fire more than 240 minutes.

• Porous structure allows for superior fire resistance.
• Improved thermal efficiency reduces the heating and cooling load in buildings.
• AAC cuts, nails, and drills like wood but does not rot, decay, warp, prone to attract wood destroying insects and burn like wood. AAC has ALL of the positive attributes of wood with NONE of the negative attributes of wood plus it is far more Eco-friendly than wood
• Resource efficiency gives it lower environmental impact in all phases of its life cycle, from processing of raw materials to the disposal of waste.
• Light weight saves cost & energy in transportation.
• Light weight saves labor expenses.
• Light weight increases chances of survival during seismic activity.

• Low compressive strength – Should not be used as a wall system but is excellent when used in conjunction with the Omnicrete system. When AAC is used as a wall system, steel is typically placed either in manufacturing or on the job site. Either way steel reduces the work ability and hence increases the cost of labor.
• Due to its tiny air pockets (breath ability), the product “weeps” moisture and has a tendency to mold behind drywall inside the home when weather conditions are right. When used in the Omnicrete system moisture penetration if any is blocked on the back side of the exterior AAC forming wall. Therefore, we take advantage of the weeping to allow the outward AAC portion of the Omnicrete wall to dry out in the event of moisture penetration. We took a negative attribute of the AAC product and turned it into a positive to enhance the performance of the tri-wall Omnicrete system.
• Since the large block (cake) of AAC is cut with tiny wires on large machines when the product is still soft (see above) the thickness of each piece varies slightly. This inconsistency in the thickness shows up as a very rough and wavy finish on the interior and exterior walls when building only with AAC as a building system. To correct this wavy and roughness, the interior of the wall must be furred-out (furring strips) and drywall applied. Omnicrete puts all of the imperfect width sizes facing in toward the core so as to keep the interior wall and outside wall perfectly smooth. In fact, smooth enough we just plaster the interior wall saving money on drywall and drywall labor and eliminating Gypsum (in drywall) thereby yielding cleaner air quality in the interior of the home. If you’re now thinking this is a genius system, you would be correct! There is much more you need to discover as you study the answers to the many questions we receive. If fact, by the time you completely understand this system you will think that a person would be down-right stupid for building any other way. Absent of any political, personal and business agendas, everyone will eventually build with Omnicrete once we find a way to deliver this message to a population that has been blinded by builder’s expert designers and their fancy paint, tile, moldings, trim, furnishings and eye candy. Quality of buildings lay far from what you see with your eyes.

     The Omnicrete wall system contains all the positive attributes as AAC plus it is massively more structural and resists wind pressure far beyond any other system due to its solid 5-inch concrete steel reinforced core. The “protective blanket” of AAC surrounding the center core yields massive superiority of fire protection and energy efficient than any other system worldwide.

     Routing-out the Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (inside or outside the home) for adding additional plugs and switches after construction is completed is as easy as “cutting butter with a hot knife”; with the proper tools, of course. Once the AAC is routed-out and electrical box and conduit is placed, the wall area is plastered, sanded and painted. However, on a wood, block, ICF or other systems, the drywall must be taken out (on outside walls insulation and fire brakes prohibits “fishing” wires) and replaced which is by far more difficult than our system. So even though on the surface it appears that a “concrete” built home could never have outlets and plugs added after the home is complete it is not only far from the truth it is in fact easier than conventional methods and far easier than ICF, Formed concrete structures and Tilt Wall Structures.

     Knowing what we know now, it almost seems like the question itself was not an intelligent one. However, we know that our system is easy to install but could appear complicated from a novice and some building professionals view without knowing all the facts. Keep in mind, that the only stupid question is one not asked.

     Through knowing relevant questions and answers you will become well-grounded in the most sophisticated and protective system ever created with its beginnings outside of human experience and intellect.