Papercreters: Re: [papercreters] Re: PPB's

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Re: [papercreters] Re: PPB's

Hi Bob. You are right about the drying time. Far too long for a
conventional mold. That is why I have spent many hrs devising a system
that gets the excess water out and allows for easy faster drying while the
mold is in place. I wish I could buy cement as cheap as you. I pay $16
for a 40 pound bag.

Wayne

>
> I've experminted with cardboard in this way, when dry it does shrink
> away from the form and it becomes very hard, I think there must be a
> glue present in cardboard that does this, that is why cardboard is
> differnt than paper. The problem I have with using it is the drying
> time, you have to have the patients of Job, I can't remember how much
> time elasped from the time I poured my first mold and when I was finally
> able to remove it, I was using a latex mold. The final product was very
> hard once I was able to remove it, but I gave up the idea of using it to
> produce my product because of the looooooooooooong drying time. I first
> discoverd the possibility of using card board when I tried using a
> cement mixer to pulp cardboard boxes, the first batch I poured on the
> ground where grass was growing (it dryed fairly quickly I guess the
> earth sucked the water out) to see what would happen to it, well to my
> surprise when dry, it became very hard, so hard grass could not even
> grow through it the first year and it went through the winter covered
> with snow and was still somewhat hard next spring, the next year grass
> started to grow through it just a little, the next year the whole pour
> became like cow manure, it had the same texture and was not hard at all.
> This is when I decided to pour it in molds and use only inside, except
> when I decovered PC I gave up the idea due to the drying time
> difference, my PC dries overnight this time of year, I am at present
> making stones and boulders with it, the stones will be used for house
> siding (I am using a very rich mixture 3:1, and the cost of the stones
> is about .07 each, I pour them in a 2 ft sq mold and that amount cost
> about .63 for the 2x2 sq ft or 9 stones) the boulders will be used in my
> garden. I am paying $9.79 for a 94 lb bag of Portland Cement I can
> produce about 135 stones from this bag. I have bought Concrete stones
> and they cost about $7.00 per sq ft. that would be about $14.00 for one
> of my 2x2's that cost .63 cents.
> Why would anybody want to do it any other way?
> Bob
>
>
>
> --- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "Wayne" <huon@...> wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
>
>