Hi Kristi, welcome to the group.
A lot depends on where you live and which inspector you talk to. Since papercrete is not listed in any codes as an approved building product or material, the majority of inspectors would have no basis to approve it. If an engineer submits calculations and plans then the inspector is relieved of liability and can approve it. An engineer would probably want to do tests on papercrete as a starting point for her calculations and design recommendations.
Call it fiber reinforced insulative concrete. Hand the inspector (or engineer) a few cured pc blocks, a sledge hammer, and a torch. Demonstrate the strength and safety of papercrete. Show her all the websites featuring successful strong buildings made from papercrete. New Mexico's state code includes adobe as an approved building method but does not give a specific formula, instead specifying crush strength and number/size of cracks in the blocks. I have read that if you throw some clay into your papercrete then you can easily meet the criteria for adobe.
There have been a few inspector approved papercrete projects but I don't have a list of them. Other projects like mine are in areas that inspectors don't yet care about. If I ever finish maybe I can get grandfathered when someone finally decides they can wring some money out of this area.
spaceman All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information. http://Starship-Enterprises.Net blog at http://Starship-Enterprises.Net/wordpress/
On 6/15/2011 7:14 PM, kristi wrote:
Hi folks I'm new to papercrete and wondering about how building inspectors view this product. If I'm just using it for infill in walls do they care? Am I better off just saying its going to be a masonry wall? I know I'll need to pull permits and get work inspected. Any thoughts are appreciated.
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