--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Pat B Parham <texasweldinginspector@...> wrote:
>
> Hey group I have been in DEAD area for months, when i went back and read over 450 new emails. Boy did I miss you guys and girls, one question that I did not see answered was about roofs or siding using burlap. Check out (Google) �'Dr. Albert W. Knott. P.E.', might not be as light as you are looking for but sure is strong. And as he is a PE code boys will have a hard time arguing with this design. Well keep up the good work and smile, makes them wonder if their fly is open.
> �
>
Lowes has a better idea IMHO. They sell corrugated Ferro-Cement roofing in approx 3 x 4 foot sections. It is very light , is far less labor intensive, and requires no decking underneath . For re-roofs it will illuminate the need for tear off in most cases , As far as the code , they sell it at Lowes,enough said.
It would be fairly easy to reproduce , and if you add up the cost of all that window screening and the labor to add all those layers one at a time and then "paint' them with the Portland,Latex,Sand mixture it would probably be cheaper even if you bought the roofing from Lowes. Last time I checked it was $100.00 a square but compared to say fiberglass shingles it is super competitive as it needs no deck , tap paper and drastically fewer fasteners to apply.
The easiest way to make it yourself would be to use a piece of corrugated metal as a mold and lay burlap, Muslim {preferred over burlap save the cost} , or chicken wire , old tents from govliquidators etc. . The important thing is to have enough of the same material to do the whole job if possible to maintain uniform thickness.
Then wax the metal or use petroleum jelly etc. to keep the material from bonding to the metal. Use a proper hole cutter and make holes for the fasteners {I would screw it down} and then insert a piece of dowel, or a twig or coffee stir stick, anything to prevent the hole from closing when you apply the cement/latex.sand mixture and give you something to tie to when you hang it up to dry. .
The first coat should be rich in Portland and a little runny as all you are trying to do is stiffen it enough to hang it up . Once the cement hardens enough to maintain the shape hang it up and GENTLY mist it so it does not harden too fast. Once you get all you have room to hang up to that point you will need a shallow container a little wider and longer than the pieces. Mix up some of the mixture the good Doctor Knott recommends and dip the section and hang it back up . With a fairly heavy material like Muslim or burlap, old army tents etc. 2 to 3 coats should be plenty.
If you use window screening or a light fabric go ahead and finish one layer and then lay them flat and on the first coat for the second layer go a little heavy on the Elmers {waterproof of course] and just build layers until it seems strong enough to you.
Try and find the metal for the mold with as deep corrugations as possible but they don't have to be as deep as those at Lowes unless you make them the same width, in that case you could duplicate the size by building a wooden mold. The other way to do it would be to increase the overlap but make sure the structure will support the extra weight. I made a few shingles , 12" x 24" this way and they were plenty strong . I used lime green paint that was rejected at the local Dupont plant I got for free. If you don;t happen to have that option paint stores end up with lots of paint that is custom blended and then rejected and you can get it cheap. If looks is important you can use rejected paint {or uncolored latex} for the base layers and then the one you want to show on the last coat . If it was my house I would paint the whole roof with the finish color as well .
The best paint I know of for cement or asbestos roofs is Devoe with their special oil based additive for water base latex just for these kinds of roofs. I am sure their are others as the last time I painted a roof was 30 years ago.
The genius of this simple design is the corrugation which greatly increases the strength . If you made flat shingles like I did you have to lay them on a wooden deck instead of spanning the rafters with it. Some will not like the look is the greatest drawback I can see. In that case you will need a wooden deck and make flat shingles,
One of these days I am going to make a mold with 4" PVC pipe to give it a somewhat Spanish Tile look. The triangle is the strongest design in nature but the circle is not far behind so I am confident strength will not be an issue. The worst I see happening is it might limit the width to 16" .
If anyone has any design ideas or better, more economical glue etc. please post them. The price of Hardy plank roofing and siding is frightening , this method is the best bang for the buck I know of.
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