I suggest trying a little hydrated lime in your mix. That will tend to make it more clingy. Extra cement will make your cured/dried papercrete stiffer and stronger, but it doesn't help it cling to surfaces.
Since the tires are providing the structure of your wall, the stiffness and strength of the papercrete may not be as big a deal in this application. It depends on what kind of abuse the wall is going to be exposed to. Since the papercrete will not be supporting weight, I suggest you could cut back on cement if the final stiffness of the papercrete is not a big deal.
Start with small amounts in some bucket test batches using a very small amount of lime and work your way up till you find a consistency you like that sticks well on your wall.
The final coat should be a protective layer. It can be very thin and high in lime. Adding fine sand will make the surface more durable. Adding some old latex paint to this final thin layer would help seal it. You might also consider an earthen plaster, especially if you have the right kind of clay for that right under your feet.
And of course please take photos to share with everyone.
I would love to learn more about the Havasu Donkey Acres house. Is there a blog? If you go see it, please take photos there as well.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "TerryW" <blazingsaddles@...> wrote:
>
> Yes I’m close to Kingman, I’m in Havasu (actually just north of Havasu in Crystal Beach). Also I’ve found online that there is a completed papercrete house here (Havasu â€" outside city limits I’m sure, either Donkey Acres or the Heights), I have the owner/builder’s name and plan on contacting him soon to see how he got through the building permit process etc.
>
> The wall - I’m starting with a small section, in case it doesn’t work out. I have newspapers soaking in my mixer and am trying to figure out the best mix for this. Seems like it should be heavier on the cement side. What about the mix used to spray onto the big metal containers? That seems to stick pretty well.
>
> I originally was looking into building with tires â€" earthships â€" but quickly found that pounding dirt into all those tires was a bit much physically for me! So I still have these tires and thought this might be something I can use them for.
>
> Also, I didn’t stagger them like you would for building, I’m setting them one on top of the other and then filling with alpaca manure/old hay from the alpaca pens, soaking it, then topping off with compost. I board about 17 of alpacas and needed a place (besides the compost pile) to get rid of this stuff so the plan, if it works, is to also use the wall for plants by leaving the top holes uncovered where I can put plants â€" maybe veggies, maybe cactus (natural security), or whatever.
>
> I was also thinking about the possibility of using a slipform to pour papercrete between the form and the outside of the tires.
>
> Terry in AZ
>
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/papercreters/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/papercreters/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
papercreters-digest@yahoogroups.com
papercreters-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
papercreters-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
