Pepper and I have a house design originally planned with 4X10X14" CEB (compressed earth block) blocks for the exterior walls. CEB blocks are made from a modified adobe clay mixture that is dry compressed in a 2 to 1 ratio. The CEB blocks have a natural insulating quality - R factor is enormous but the real interest is the 12 hour heat transfer. If the roof can also reflect or absorb the heat you will need little or no AC. I have seen walls for a CEB house built in 4 days by 5 unskilled workers. But walls comprise only 17% of the original cost of a contemporary home. The foundation is more expensive for CEB full load masonry walls. A roof that meets the wall R factor it is more expensive. The savings are over the long haul in utilities cost. CEB is a 3rd world DIY process supported by companies that sell CEB machines and designs, and the stand-alone "live in the woods" greenies. The cost factor was predicted to be $30/square foot. I am stuck at $50.
The CEB design construction problems are obvious.
1) You need 5000 blocks for our design (made by an onsite machine with a cost of $1/block or you by hand press 0-25 cents/block) one week to machine build and place blocks in wall. By hand - one month part time. 250 tons of dirt!
2) The blocks are susceptible to water damage and must be protected from direct rain during construction and stuccoed for weather resistant exterior finish. 2' to 4' roof over hang.
3) Each block weighs 50#, causing workforce and material handling problems.
4) Foundation weight load is excessive.
5) It is a labor of love, not today's common sense.
6) While hands-on is possible, the house needs to be built quickly because of the CEB block dissolve factor. (Although a palletful of unused blocks had survived for several years under a tarp....except one uncovered corner had dissolved.)
7) Subcontractors will do the work only if there is nothing else to do.
8) CEB contractor specialists charge ridiculous rates based not on skill and knowledge, but possession of a CEB machine.
The financial issues are being sorted out. Building codes now accept the process but local county engineers reject because "what the hell is CEB". Insurance inspectors recognize the fire safety in such walls. Utility companies recognize the power savings and offer financial incentives. Financing is available - both construction and long term. But where to build? Real estate industry does not want CEB. Subdivisions boards refuse to accept the stucco surface as masonry. Two Houston individuals did sneak CEB into subdivisions as full load masonry construction but the battle to occupy was intense - "IT'S A MUD HUT" was the neighborhood cry.
In her hunt for materials for art, Pepper found papercrete. I took an architecture construction class in 1966 that studied adobe, rammed earth, straw bale, sod, log cabins, cord wood, sprayed concrete, stone - available materials resources. The course closed with a concrete and foam pebble interior - papercrete was never mentioned. This course was part of a series on community and how we are structured to live in them. All of this was very exciting but died when white flight made subdivisions the standard. Are we back?
Papercrete has caught my interest. I have used my small CEB hand press to build some papercrete blocks: 7X10X4. Instead of compressing for strength as in CEB I am pressing for uniformity. The chamber is designed to compress dry loose adobe clay/dirt 2 to 1 - 8X7X10 chamber is filled and a lever piston compresses (20 foot lever). 1 minute to fill, form and stack a block in the wall. I was able to build a very solid papercrete block 7X10X4 in less than a minute. Pressing the mixture forces the water out and the block holds it shape.
An engineer in Pakistan recommended that we use pine resin in the process. This he claims will make the blocks more water proof. Resin is very successful in CEB blocks but retards the block to block adhesion.
I am now building a press out of 13 gauge steel for paving stones 24X24X4. Because we are artists we can add a design plate for the surface.
Our first goal is to perfect the block construction. Then check building codes. Then check financing. I have seen too many people build CEB or adobe houses that could not be financed - thus sold - and could not be insured. One could not be occupied until the building inspector sorted through the CEB factors. The nightmare of coordinating alternative construction methods with the subdivision world is always amusing.
I will post the designs in CEB and after I learn about papercrete, post the modifications. My only real concern is the compression/shear strength of the blocks. But I have a 30 ton press! We will see. This is all very interesting!
Anthony Hume
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