Re: [papercreters] Re: Volunteer Wanted: Papercrete Recipe Testing Coordinator

I agree! That position definitely needs someone with clear eyes, unclouded by pc fanaticism. With Bob's experience and expertise, he should do very well as testing coordinator. Thank you for being willing to take on this daunting task, Bob.

        Spaceman  All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new facts.  

slurryguy wrote:

Thank You Bob!  Excellent!  Welcome to the team!  I see a lot to like about Bob's offer to coordinate our testing  efforts.  1.  He's somewhat skeptical.  Even though he believes in papercrete  and what can be accomplished with it.  He expresses some skepticizm.   He's not ready to automatically assume that every recipe is ideal.   He wants to see proof about what something can do.  I LIKE THAT.  2.  Experience.  He's made plenty of papercrete.  He's also made  associated hardware.  3.  Wide Vision.  He recognizes that materials and methods that work  fine in desert climates may not work in humid climates.    4.  Construction methods.  He appears to be interested in more than  just the mix recipe.  While the recipe is important, how it is  installed in a structure is just as important as what material is  used.  5.  Location.  Being located in one of the primary current epicenters  of papercrete construction has many benefits.  He may be able to  perform some tests on some existing structures and help develop  baseline comparisons about how various materials and constuction  techniques perform over time.  6.  It appears he's a lot smarter than me.  THANK GOODNESS!  If he  only had my intelligence we'd be in big trouble.  (I wouldn't wish my  mental ineptness on anyone.)  Finally, I'd like to pass alone my best wishes and congratulations  that your health has improved, Bob.  While I've never smoked myself,  I've had friends that have.  I've witnessed how difficult it can be  to kick that habit.  Well done!  Keep the faith when you get those  gittery moments from time to time for years to come.  Lean on your  frinds to help you ride them out.  (Hint: One of my friends swears by  Habanero salsa as a gitter remedy.  I guess he likes the smoke to  come out of his ears instead of his lungs.  hehehe.  Ever since he  told me that, I keep a jar in my fridge just in case he gets the yips  while visiting my place.  We've shared a few chips and salsa more  than once.  YEEOZAH!!! Misery loves company.)  --- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Bob Cook <lifewithbob101@...>  wrote:   

I would like to offer my services to the group to help do      

methodical testing.  I live at COS (City of the Sun) in Columbus NM  which as I'm sure most of you know was one of the mini-epic centers  when the process of PC was getting started.  My house and several of  my out-buildings are largely made with PC. I have made mixers and  experimented with various formulas using vermiculite, asphalt  emulsion, and concrete bonding adhesive,  etc. I had largely given up  building due to health reasons and even though I was still interested  in PC, I felt like it needed a lot more research  to become a viable  structural product beyond a cheap insulation material.  Thankfully,  due to quiting smoking and improving my diet, my health seems to be  consistently improving. My environment is probably ideal to carry out  testing of PC.  If you look real close at the center of any of the  roads in COS you will no doubt find a thin line of PC tailing's.   Sadly, I have to say that many (most) of the   

 buildings that you probably are familiar with that were      

constructed in the early days are not fairing too well due to a lapse  in maintenance and inadequate coverings. It is probably a good thing  that they are now in the process of returning to the earth. This is  not exclusively characteristic of PC.  I have spent all my adult life  obsessed with alternative architecture and have found almost all of  it fails to a greater or lesser degree in practical terms over long  periods of time. The modern suburban house has evolved over many  centuries and while it may be ugly as sin to many of us, it generally  does work as designed.     Mike McCain is still active, constructing  several more houses here and and I understand one additional house in  Silver City.  Externally I can't say that I'm too impressed with the  looks of the structures as the problems with cracking seems to be all  too prevalent. An impressive recent start-up to set up a local  factory to produce PC blocks seems to have   

 dissolved into yet another failed fantasy.   My personal opinion      

is that PC needs to be well drained prior to placement either in  forms for blocks or on a matrix in place.  Plus there needs to be  additional research to  improve the bonding of any coverings that  come into contact with PC and I am still convinced that one of the  best design factors is a goodly amount of overhang on any structure  but especially ones made with PC. Here in Southern New Mexico where  we often get only 3-4 inches of rain per year and can get away with a  lot of building techniques that would be disastrous in any other part  of the country.  I think any experimentation conducted in this type  of environment would have to be carefully tested and duplicated in  more humid areas to be assessed as generally viable. If what you are  looking for is affirmation for your dreams then you probably need to  find someone less jaded by time and someone more willing to overlook  those pesky little aberrations that tend   

 to show up with any experimentation.  I do think your efforts in      

this group are evolving into a long overdue methodology and wish you  the best of luck.         

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