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LIGHTWEIGHT VERMICULITE CONCRETE

SERVICES > BUILDING

VERMECULITE is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat.
The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces.
Vermiculite is formed by hydration of certain basaltic minerals.
Large commercial vermiculite mines currently exist in South Africa, China, Brazil and several other countries.
Vermiculite concrete roof deck systems allow architects, engineers and contractors versatility in design,high performance and reasonable cost. These systems will use a lightweight concrete consisting of Portland cement, water and vermiculite concrete aggregate.


ADVANTAGES
Lightweight - When compared with structural grade concrete, vermiculite concrete is 15% of the weight.
This results in considerable savings from the footings thru the structural steel

FIREPROOF
The fireproofing characteristics of vermiculite concrete are recognized nationwide by insurance companies, state rating bureaus and local building officials. Underwriters' Laboratories have assigned up to 4-Hour ratings to system that employed vermiculite as one of the components.

INSULATION
Vermiculite concrete has excellent insulating properties. Three inches of vermiculite concrete is equivalent to 7.5 cm of rigid board insulation laid over steel decks. One 2.5cm of vermiculite concrete is equal in insulating value to 50 cm of regular concrete.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Reroofing - Slope to drain systems employing vermiculite concrete and polystyrene ventboard provide an economical solution to existing flat roofs with damage due to ponding of water.

VERSATILE
Vermiculite concrete can be applied over a variety of bases, allowing architects and engineers ample flexibility in their design criteria. The thickness of the concrete can be varied to permit necessary slope to drain.

SUBSTRATES
Vermiculite concrete is suitable for installation over most structurally sound roofing systems with structural decks of concrete, metal, or wood. Care must be taken to properly vent decks poured over impervious materials.

SPECIFICATIONS / SCOPE:

This specification covers vermiculite insulating concrete..
Thickness shall be as indicated on drawings.
A minimum of 5cm is recommended.



VERMECULITE

General

Category

Mineral

Chemical formula

(MgFe,Al)3(Al,Si)4O10(OH)2·4H2O

Identification

Color

Bronze-Yellow

Crystal habit

Clay, scaly, aggregate

Crystal system

Monoclinic

Cleavage

Perfect

Fracture

Uneven

Mohs Scale hardness

1.5-2

Luster

Vitreous

Streak

Pale yellow

Specific gravity

2.4-2.7

Refractive index

Translucent

Pleochroism

None

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