Papercreters: [papercreters] Re: Cardboard vs newspaper, flame resistance

Friday, July 17, 2009

[papercreters] Re: Cardboard vs newspaper, flame resistance

In my personal experience, the cement mixer will do a very poor job, even if you presoak the cardboard. Maybe if you were careful and only used non-corrugated thin stuff it might be better. Have not tried it with that material.

The pressure washer will make short work of cardboard, especially with a turbo nozzle on it. I use this method for 90% of my pulping and it doesn't even stumble on full phone books or heavy duty cardboard. It is more work than a tow mixer, for sure, but for those of is in more urban / regulated areas it is a good alternative.

- Ernie

--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Laura <lauranfriends@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for this thread of cardboard vs newspaper...
> Getting started I found out this spring that in my area, the "easy free paper" and newsprint (with local papers circulation dying) was collected by the big recycle companies....
> so was disappointed to not have a "within reach source"...
> then this thread of cardboard is the only source that I see available in mass quantities to actually build a small house...
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> Vincecrete had pics up on his three blade mixer, which I have not learned yet how to cut the blades or how to attach to a pole to a motor... another learning curve... I weld but do not have a cutting torch...
> so my question would be if one had access to a chipper/shredder and shredded the cardboard first, then soaked it, then threw it into a cement mixer with pumice, portland and a bit of sand... do you think that or the pressure washer method of pulverizing the cardboard then adding the mix to it...
>
> any ideas welcomed... as for me to accomplish something this fall will have to be cardboard...
> thanks
> Laura
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> --- On Mon, 7/13/09, JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@...> wrote:
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> From: JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@...>
> Subject: [papercreters] Cardboard vs newspaper, flame resistance
> To: "papercreters papercreters" <papercreters@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Monday, July 13, 2009, 8:33 PM
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> I made my first batch of papercrete with cardboard the other day. Looks like it will be a good substitute for the newspaper (now that the SF New Mexican has locked me out of their bins). I put a bunch of cardboard in a 55 gal drum and left it to soak for a few days. Mixed up my usual formula except that I hadn't put enough cardboard so I was a little short on that. But I doubled the amount of pumice and halved the amount of cement. The mix came out very wet so I siphoned off some water before I poured it into the form.
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> So I guess I did actually alter my original formula. The result was that the blocks came out good, strong (so far) and light. My "bucket of papercrete" project was sort of a failure but that's OK. There's still time to tweak the mix and method.
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> Just thought I would offer this info because I think the addition of the extra pumice adds to the fire retardance while preserving the integrity of the final product. This is just anecdotal, no tests have been performed. I'm trying to adjust my mix to adapt to what I have available. So far so good.
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> Sincerely, Judith
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> Check out my new Squidoo Lens at http://www.squidoo. com/papercreteby judith
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