I think I may have an answer to my own question here. As to how/why a cubic foot of
papercrete composed of paper, portland and sand can weigh less than a cubic foot of
tissue paper, here's my answer:
A cubic foot of tissue paper is not a loosely stacked pile of tissue paper, but instead a
dense block of the stuff with no air gap between sheets. Think King James Bible, only a
foot wide, a foot long, and a foot thick. Those tissue-thin sheets would likely weigh in at
17.28 pounds or more without difficulty, kind of like holding a couple pieces of cord
wood.
One sack of portland (60 pounds) and one sack of sand (94 pounds) along with 60 pounds
of paper = 214 pounds. That and perhaps a hundred or more gallons of water will fill a
200 gallon stock tank. Each 200 gallon batch creates 25-30 blocks which are 1 foot x 2
feet x 5 inches, or 2 square feet at five inches thick per block. 25 x 2 square feet equals
50 square feet of coverage at 5 inches thick when dry. That entire volume weighs a total of
214 pounds. Divide 214 by 50 and you have 4.28 pounds per square foot (at five
inches thick). Off the top of my head, I think that would be closer to 10 pounds per cubic
foot than six pounds, but the aforementioned is how I think that a bunch of paper,
portland, and sand can end up weighing less than a cubic foot of tissue paper. It's much
less dense than a solid block of tissue paper.
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