Saturday, July 14, 2007

[papercreters] Thank you all so much!

Last night we returned from a 3 day visit with our grandchildren.
When we headed up the driveway and saw the HUGE project that was
waiting for us, we both thought "ugh."

Then, we sat down to check the email, only to find all of these
wonderful, supportive and encouraging emails from the papercrete group!

Today is a BIG pour day so there is not much time to respond to every
question asked, but we give you our recipe and more detail about the
steps we are taking to make the pour.

We make the slurry in two parts -- first we mix the paper in the mixer
I described in our first post (a floor model drill press with a food
processor blade bolted to a 1/4 inch rod). We let the paper drain
into office-type wire baskets and leave that sit while we make another
batch. When the next batch is ready to pour into the baskets, we put
the first batch (after draining it fills a 5 gallon bucket) into the
cement mixer where we add another 5 gallon bucket of clay (which we
excavate from the hill side of the house where we are installing a
French drain) that is sifted through a 1/4 inch hardware cloth screen.

Next we add Borax, Portland Cement and water.

The recipe is 1 part paper, 1 part clay, 1/4 part Portland Cement, "a
couple shakes of Borax," and enough water to create a slurry that has
a pudding-like consistency -- in this case, thick chocolate pudding!

The walls we are pouring are a foot thick and yes, we've seen some
separation from the wood. It is minimal and rare and in places where
we used chicken wire (in the ceilings) it did not shrink at all.

If we were to do it again (which we probably will) we may make and dry
blocks to build with rather than do a pour. This will not only solve
the shrinkage issue, it will also save on wood.

As we find the gaps, we fill them using an industrial style bag (like
that of a cake decorator) to squeeze in more slurry.

So far, the gaps have been few and far between and seem to occur on
the wall that was finished just before winter set in. We think it
might be the result of freezing and thawing but we are not sure. This
year we will finish the papercreting early (no later than August) to
see if that makes a difference.

And as for the forms question, we are using and reusing plywood. When
we are finished pouring we will use it for the base of the floor above
the trailer where we plan to make an attic-like storage room. The
wood has been saturated with enough lime from the cement that no
self-respecting bug or rodent would consider it a home or a meal!

Again, we look forward to hearing back form you about ideas -- we
already received some for covering and sealing the walls!

And thanks for reminding us that we not alone and that others are
doing or thinking about doing a similar project. Sometimes, when we
are in the "thick of it" we forget to appreciate the process. You
have lifted our spirits today!

Take care!

Carrie & Elisia


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