In response to a previous post, it's been suggested that I try pouring PC between the open wall studs in my garage rather than molding blocks.
I think that would save me a lot of work.But since I have no experience with slip forming PC, my question is how long should I leave the temporary forms up, and how do I know they're ready to be removed?
From My experience in slip forming stone you are trying something that I would not call slip-forming. . A slip form is 2 to 4 feet high and made of steel with bracing to force it upright and plum during the drying process. Rocks or short logs , or a mixture of both are laid up in a way they carry their own weight and the mortar is poured and vibrated around them . Care is taken to arrange the stones or logs so they will have an attractive facade when the forms are removed. .Rebar is placed into the wet mortar and protruded into the next course to tie them together.
Papercrete is much lighter than what would be used in a traditional slip-form , my main concern would be that it would pull away from the forms as it dried and that it might take forever and a day to dry. Unless you find someone who has done this already I would either try testing the theory by trying it between 2 or three studs and see how it dried or abandoning the idea for another.
One alternative that is very beautiful in my opinion is to use fairly flat rocks on the outside of the studs to give the appearance of large heavy stones and tie the walls together with fairly small "1/2 to 3 1/2 inch" hardwood branches long enough to span from the outside of the rocks on both sides, to tie the wall together. If you burn the end grain with a torch and then use rough steel wool to rough it up and then seal it with exterior grade polyurethane it is gorgeous. Oil base is prettier but water base is harder, try both and see which one floats your boat. Use a fairly dry , high Portland content mortar and chicken wire to build strong outer walls. After the mortar dries pack the infill in the void and that will give you lots of strength to add the second course. Even the 2 to 3 inch plaster applied to the the outside of 150 year old straw bale houses is structurally sound to this day and these walls will be much stronger than they are.You will have to "point" the exterior of the walls after the forms are removed for water proofing and appearance . It is a good idea to cover the exposed "log" ends with plastic stapled on before mortaring the walls.
http://www.appropedia.org/CCAT_greenshed_west_wall
I would use Rice Hulls to infill because it requires no prep and is totally fireproof , does not settle much at all , varmints don't eat it and it is a little better insulation. If I was set up for papercrete and/or Rice Hulls were too hard to get in my area I would use clay instead of Portland with little if any Portland added. There is no real need to use Portland here and it will reduce the r factor and increase the cost with little if any benefit in strength.
This system could also be called a modified cordwood/slipform . There are lots of cordwood / stone combination slip form houses but this one is a facade packed with insulation . It will be much stronger than a strawbale house and they last for centuries.
There are all kinds of really cool additions like cutting and joining glass bottles to extend through the wall and let in clear of coloured light.
I would read up on all these techniques such as cordwood and stone slipforming . This posts has some info on slip forming papercrete but I like to stick to long proven methods when possible , to have a building fail is a nightmare.
http://papercretenm.com/papercrete-faqs.htm
http://www.nbne.org/natbuild/owalls.php\
http://www.appropedia.org/CCAT_greenshed_west_wall
--
Forrest Charnock
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "thelandyachtaustin" <thelandyacht@...> wrote:
>
> Anyone ever thought of using the debris from demolitions (old concrete, etc) when pouring slipforms? Think it would be worth the time/effort?
>
> Set up the slipforms.
> Drop in big chunks of concrete where they'll fit.
> Pour the 'crete around 'em, locking them in place.
>
> Could conceivably cut the amount of 'crete needed by a fairly sizable amount...and at least in some places, the "demo" junk is just waiting to be hauled off.
>
> Thoughts?
>
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