Papercreters: Re: [papercreters] PPB's

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Re: [papercreters] PPB's

Could be worth doing a cost annalasys. As best I know you use less volume
of borax. I went with borax because that is what is used by the
insulation manufacturers in their pump in insulation. What type of lime
would you suggest? Slaked lime? Builders lime?

Wayne

> Borax is expensive. Lime is cheap. Don't you think lime would do the same,
> fire
> and isect proof?
>
> Joy
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> ________________________________
> From: Wayne <huon@intas.net.au>
> To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sun, June 5, 2011 1:28:11 AM
> Subject: [papercreters] PPB's
>
> Â
> PPB's or Pure Paper Blocks are the most lightweight building product I
> have come across. In simple form you just mix paper to a pulp with water,
> pour into moulds and let dry. Sounds easy but as with many things the
> devil is in the detail, so prctice and experimatation is the key.
>
> 1. The Pulp.
>
> I use a horizontal style cement mixer and a thin soupy mix. This allolws
> the wood fibers to be teased apart gently. Toss any paper/cardboard whole
> into the water, but cardboard will benefit the most from pre soaking. I
> piock out the stickytape/plastic from the mix after it has separated.
> Once the pulp has no chunks of paper left visible it can be poured into an
> old bath or similar vessel for thickening. Thickening is simply a matter
> of letting the pulp settle and the excess water run off. A large bucket
> works well for smaller amounts. As each batch settles the next one can
> gently be poured in to push the excess water out.
>
> 2. The Mould.
>
> This is where it gets a little bit harder. A simple brick muold can be
> made by building a square from timber and sitting this on a mesh base.
> Line the mould with a piece of cloth. More complex designs require more
> complex moulds, but the main thing to remember are that you have to allow
> water to escape and you have to allow alot of settling room. For example
> I use a 4" thick flat mould to make a 1" thick flat panel. A 10" tall
> mould will make about a 4" tall brick but it does depend on the thickness
> of your pulp.
>
> 3. Drying.
>
> Allow the poured mould to drain (over the thicknesser if you want to
> recycle the water) for 24hrs. Then set it aside out of the rain to dry.
> This can take months for a larger pour, or can be sat near the wood heater
> over winter to speed up smaller pours to a few days drying time. As the
> block dries it will shrink away from the mould. Once dry to a firm touch
> the cloth liner can be peeled off for use in the next mould.
>
> 4. Imagination.
>
> This is the key ingredient. As an example of product I have a square
> timber mould 24" x 24" x 4". I sit this on a piece of galvanized mesh
> with 4" squares. Lay a piece of old bed sheet over the whole thing and
> pouir in the pulp. When dry I peel of the cloth to reveal a smooth panel
> with a soft squared pattern that makes an intersting wall board panel with
> fantastic insulating qualities. It can be nailed, screwed or glued. It
> will hold a plaster screw better than plaster. It can be screwed or glued
> to a beam made from pulp. It can be sawn (the sawdust from this is a
> light fluffy cotton wool like product that is a great fill insulation).
> It has good soundproof ability. If you add borax powder it can be made
> insect proof, rodent proof and FIRE PROOF!!!!
>
> This may be a little of topic but this is the closest group I have been
> able to find for learning and building with pulp.
>
>
>