I had these same thought when I first saw this awhile ago. Since our suburban house is still for sale (2.5 years and counting) I really can't set up a messy construction area in the yard to do this, but I think it has tremendous possibilities. The end product would conceivably look something like Gernot Minke's house, which he built with cotton tubing and a somewhat soupier loam mix. Same idea - the laters squish and bond together through he gaps in the fabric. An article about his house is here: http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/Homes/2004-03-01/Mud-Master.aspx I am definitely going to try this.
On Sun, Mar 11, 2012 at 9:29 AM, JayH <slurryguy@yahoo.com> wrote:
What about filling knit raschel bags or tubes with papercrete? (Manufacurers of the knit raschel material make big long tubes that are rolled up so that the company purchasing the tube can cut it to whatever length of bag they want and sew the ends shut.The netting bags would be the formwork. The netting would remain in place and become part of the structure permanently. Think of it as a very light weight reinforcing mesh, ready for interior and exterior plaster, stucco, shingles, clapboards, or whatever you choose.The netting would allow the papercrete to drain out the excess water easily and quickly. The netting would allow the papercrete to dry in place in the wall after it has been built. The drained but damp papercrete could easily be tamped into place as the wall is built providing for some compression of the damp slurry which greatly enhances papercrete's strength as well as insulation qualities. It would also help the layers of bags glue themselves together to become one big block of papercrete.
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