Jan has made a great one page article on building custom walls.

Check it out here

Thanks Jan!

As usual if you have comments or feedback please leave it here.

Cheers,
Jim

I have never heard of the product YTong... what is it normally used for? In what section of a store like Home Depot would I find this material?

Keith

Keith,

in our countries (Belgium and The Netherlands) we build our homes almost entirely with bricks and concrete.... for the inner walls we use big plaster blocks etc. Ytong is a material that is stronger than plasterblocks and is more easy to handle (saw). It is a plasterlike product that can be compared a bit with something you know as dental plaster.

those blocks, that we use for building inner walls, are sold in our DIY stores. For more information you could check out the international Ytong webpages... I added the link below.

YTONG WEBPAGE

Keith
In doing research on the article it appears that YTong is only available overseas (currently).
:(

When it does arrive it looks like it would be in the 'concrete' or cinder block section.

The material is pretty light. I suspect the manufacturer succeeds in mixing air bubbles into the plaster, making it lighter and easier to cut. The small air bubbles are what makes it look like scale version concrete, too...
But i'm sure you could find comparable (alternative, even better ?) materials if you check Home Depot or other DIY stores in the US...

Actually Jan, it's not plaster, but real concrete. It just is made in a special way and yes, it has a lot of air in it. Hence it's synonym : foam / cellular concrete.

Kris

In Ireland and England they are called "Breeze blocks". Ideal for solid walls on upstairs floors. They must be pretty common as they are available here in Sweden as well. Just dont know what they are called here!
Working with them is pretty simple as they can be sawed by a normal rip-saw!