Could this LEGO Plastic Brick replace Concrete Masonry Units?

a portion of this video is sponsored by skillshare from towering skyscrapers to single-family homes concrete masonry units are cmus have played an integral role in shaping our built environment however concrete bricks contain Portland cement a carbon and energy intensive material that contributes to the massive footprint of the construction sector at the same time plastic pollution has become a significant environmental crisis plaguing our planet plastic waste has infiltrated our oceans rivers and land posing a severe threat to marine life wildlife and ecosystems what if we could deal with these two problems at the same time could we lower the carbon and energy footprint of concrete blocks by replacing cement and concrete with recycled plastic that's exactly what the lock-in block system can achieve in this video we're going to discover How It's Made its advantages disadvantages and the incredible story behind its creation foreign block is an Innovative easy to install motorless interlocking building block system its design enables quicker and easier installation than other building materials as it's installed in fewer steps and doesn't require specialized equipment lock and block is made of a proprietary mix of 49 recycled polypropylene virgin polypropylene and fiberglass reinforcement it also contains UV protection adhesives so it doesn't become brittle in the presence of sunlight it is smaller than a typical 8 inch by 8 inch by 16 inch CMU block it is 12 inches long 6 inches wide and 8 inches tall one lock and block weighs just 6.2 pounds much lighter than a 28 pound CMU block they can reduce fatigue among construction workers and also reduce the risk of injuries another advantage of the system is that there is only one type of lock-in block there are no Corner blocks no bond beams stretcher units lintel units or half blocks lock-in blocks design is so intricate and versatile that it can handle every condition the block has tapered female dovetails on the ends and Main faces the slots measure 0.82 inches on the top and 0.53 inches on the bottom tapered male dovetails slide into these slots to create secure and strong connections they can form flattens corners and even openings up to six feet in length with no additional header or reinforcement to maintain structural integrity Square posts on the top surface of the block fit into the square voids on the bottom surface of another block this allows them to be stacked either directly on top of each other or offset by a quarter of a block or even half a block there is no motor or adhesive needed between the layers the plastic webs in the middle have several purposes they reduce the weight of the block create room for additional insulation and allow utilities to run vertically another cool feature is this circular void created when the blocks stack which allows conduit and wires to run horizontally this system doesn't require any reinforcement or concrete however you need to use a 5 8 inch threaded rod from the concrete slab of footer through the entire wall at the top of the wall a compression spring nut holds the entire assembly down all these features especially the lack of motor allows for quicker construction it's about 50 to 60 percent faster than traditional construction methods this time lapse shows just how fast a lock and buck wall can be built you can see a wood framing wall on the bottom left locking Block in the middle and CMU construction on the right the lock-in block system took half the time of a comparable wood framed wall and less than 20 percent of the time it took to build a concrete block wall its Simplicity reduces or eliminates the need for skilled Masons which is a huge Advantage right now when skill labor is in short supply there isn't a lot of information about this product available online so I reached out to their CEO Gregory Cena all of you send me excellent questions on our community page and I was able to get answers for most of them luck and block is mainly made of polypropylene a byproduct of the oil and gas industry there is no off casting produced from the material given that the block has almost no absorptive qualities it is resistant to mold mildew and insects the addition of glass fibers in the block makes it even harder for insects to penetrate the material lock and block can be used below grade for retaining walls with a standard waterproofing membrane it is also heat resistant and has a high melting point of 327 degrees Fahrenheit if burned it only emits water vapor and carbon dioxide and no toxic gases or dangerous emissions oh and we're not done with the advantages of polypropylene and locking block yet polypropylene is not known to cause cancer in humans it has good chemical resistance over a wide range of bases and acids and it's a good electrical insulator it is rigid and durable and has good impact strength it is combined to the building and residential codes in earthquake prone regions it can actually Bend and release energy without failing almost five times better than concrete this video shows how well locking block performs when it's dropped from a considerable height compared to a lightweight concrete block it's obvious that this product is truly Innovative but can it really help us build better how does lock and block address the problems with concrete masonry units and plastic concrete blocks are generally made of just two materials Aggregates and cement Aggregates such as sand and crushed stone form the main structure of the block cement acts as the binder that holds the Aggregates together and solidifies the block when it's mixed with water when proper compression and consolidation are achieved the block is pushed out of the mold and onto a pallet the pallets are moved into a low pressure steam Kiln where they are heated and cured for over 15 hours cement is one of the most energy intensive products on the planet it is made by baking Limestone at a thousand five hundred degrees Celsius or 2700 degrees Fahrenheit making just one kilogram of cement sends one kilogram of CO2 into the atmosphere that being said cement and concrete are incredible human inventions they have allowed us to tame nature push the limits of design and sustain the growth of civilizations but it's time for us to rethink how they are made and find more sustainable alternatives another incredible human invention is plastic almost all aspects of daily life involve Plastics whether it's construction Transportation clothing packaging and even safety and hygiene while plastic has numerous advantages the improper use and disposal of short-term and one-time use Plastics have significant negative impacts on our environment most Plastics are designed to be durable and have a long life span they do not biodegrade easily instead they break down into smaller fragments known as microplastics these microplastics can accumulate in water soil and even the air posing risks to every organism lock in Block is not a single-use plastic and it's not a health risk the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA considers polypropylene to be one of the safest and greenest choices of plastics it's also a hundred percent recyclable any scraps from the production and job site can be ground down and reused to make new blocks at the end of the life of the building the blocks can be deconstructed and reused however like every building material it has some disadvantages before we move on to them I'd like to introduce the sponsor this portion of the video skillshare whether you're looking to learn new skills improve existing ones or even find new career paths skillshare can assist you in your journey I have found skillshare's classes on mastering productivity by Thomas Frank particularly helpful it's given me tips on efficiency and Effectiveness developing a professional mindset and even templates skillshare's online learning community has thousands of inspiring classes to help you find your creative voice and style create passive income and even Be Your Own Boss if you'd like to check this out the first thousand people to use the link in the description will get a one month free trial of skillshare let's end this video by recapping the many advantages of Lock and block and then discuss the disadvantages lock and block is water resistant chemical resistant UV resistant sound absorbing bacteria resistant easy to use efficient and eco-friendly it also has a high compressive strength it's lightweight has high tensile strength and its fire resistant that being said it is a new product so it costs more than traditional construction methods right now it's more expensive than steel stud walls and wood stud walls but it is eight percent lower in cost compared to ICF walls regulatory hurdles are probably the biggest barrier to mass adoption of Lock and block Gregory Cena and his team created this product in 1996 almost 30 years ago they are on their 27th design iteration and it took 10 years to patent the design and attorneys are also Engineers he kept telling us there wasn't room for rebar and concrete inside the block and we kept responding to him that we're not using rebar and concrete it took a physical trip to the patent office with my patent attorney to sit down across the desk from our reviewer and said you know your your objective here is to tell us whether it's Unique not whether it's usable that that's our job and you know is it unique and he said oh it certainly is and he said great then then let's let's walk out of here with Patton company and the and are a labor of love and I'm in awe of what they have created during my podcast with Greg I liken this product to Historic European churches that took generations to complete this can revolutionize the construction industry but it might not happen in our generation lock and block hasn't been approved as a structure material in the U.S yet but it has been approved in 11 other countries for a very interesting reason Central and South America have embraced what we're doing Peru Brazil Dominican Republic Guatemala Honduras Venezuela Peru in particular but this applies to many other countries around the world waters are precious commodity for them their typical construction process is either poured concrete or concrete block uses a lot of water ours uses none and it was something that we never designed into it and we never sat back and said you know we're going to remove water out of the construction process I obviously find this product very inspiring but I'm equally inspired by Greg's resilience and determination it could not have been easy to stick with this idea for 30 years despite all the hurdles he's faced if you'd like to check out our entire conversation I'll link the podcast up here also let me know what you think about locking Block in the comments I'll link my patreon page in the description too I'm now offering Early Access to ad-free videos on patreon as a thank you to everyone supporting me don't forget to hit the like button subscribe button and the notification bell too thanks for watching see ya thank you [Music]

Channel: Belinda Carr

Views: 1,405,448

Keywords: construction, carbon, carbon emissions, greenwashing, architecture, design, scam, stem, zero carbon, automation, robotics, plastic, recycling, repurpose, footprint, building

Id: XRg-KD82zLY

Length: 12min 24sec (744 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 08 2023