[papercreters] Re: Walk in cooler

Would it be fair to say you should see better insulation value if you mix a limited amount of papercrete into the rice hulls. The idea being to fill the gaps between them with something insulating, plus of course it gives the hulls rigidity.


--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Forrest Charnock <fpcharnock@...> wrote:
>
> Depending on what your priorities are papercrete or Rice Hulls should
> be considered.
> Because Austin is close enough to the giant rice farms of the
> coastal areas of Texas that the shipping would not be a deal killer
> rice hulls would be hands down cheaper! Sometimes they are free !
>
> Katy Texas is only 130 miles from Austin and there are rice fields
> closer. Would have to study a map but there are probably place closer
> . Texas is full of farmers with the twin axle dump trucks with the
> huge volumes needed to transport rice hulls. For a small job like that
> you could have it bagged and move it with a conventional flat bed and
> unload w/ forklifts.
>
> Rice Hulls are as good , perhaps a little better, insulation as
> papercrete and only weigh 10 lbs. per cubic foot. They have a class A
> fire rating without modification and vermin won't eat it. The big
> advantage is labor. A strong young man can carry 9 cubic yards up a
> ladder with no problem and the foundation can be much lighter.
>
> I would use porous (volcanic rock) under a slab. The walls can be just
> about any masonry including papercrete , either blocks or stucco. The
> easy way is to build the slab and then put up pilasters on the corners
> and every 4 to 6 feet. Stack the rice hull bags parallel to the wall
> or at a right angle depending on how much of an r factor you want.
> Rice hulls give you a little over 3 per foot so a 3 cubic yard bag
> will give you an r factor of around 45 laid parallell to the wall and
> 90 at a right angle, overkill I would say. The you would add the r
> factor of the masonry. The cheapest was is to stretch wire mesh
> between the pilasters so the bags will fit snug between them and then
> and then using a tool made for the purpose spray papercrete , stucco
> or ferro cement . You end up with a structure very similar to a straw
> bale house with non load bearing straw bales where the stucco is
> actually load bearing. Use a good over hang on the roof and it should
> last 200 years or more in Austins climate.
>
> The insulation on the roof is much more critical than that on the
> walls or the slab. There are several ways to do this . One is to build
> a flat roof with a solid deck that will support the weight and not let
> dust through, the red felt used under wood floors works well here.
> Build a frame 18 inches high and fill it with rice hulls giving you an
> r 56. Then build a truss roof on top of that and use a lightweight
> concrete roof over a light weight deck (1/4 inch is fine) with
> aluminum foil to reflect Austin's radiant solar energy. . They sell
> the concrete roof in 4' x 5' tiles at Lowe's fot $1.00 a square foot.
> or you can use old metal roofing as a form and make your own with
> burlap coated with latex, Elmer's glue , Portland and sand. It's nice
> to work with because the sections only weigh about 20 lbs and go up
> fast.
>
> An alternate method is to build it with a modified stick frame but you
> would have to use composite wood or one of the tropical hardwoods like
> Ipe [False Ironwood) ir Etonge etc, to withstand the high moisture
> expected in a cooler.
>
> To see what a modified stick frame and all about rice hull
> construction. is go to these places:
>
> www.thelaststraw.org/backissues/articles/Rice%20Hull%20House.pdf
> www.thelaststraw.org/backissues/articles/Rice%20Hull%20House.pdf
>
> http://www.realmagick.com/rice-hull-bagwall-construction/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/15/12, prrr.t21@... <prrr@...> wrote:
> > Papercrete is a good insulator, very cheap, and rotproof.
> >
> > Zeroing sand content maximises insulation. It does also reduce strength
> > some, but given youre using thick walls this should be a nonissue.
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "brightsideatx" <farump@> wrote:
> >>
> >> Howdy!
> >> I'm designing a new walk in cooler to be built via a workshop format for
> >> an urban farming non profit here in Austin, TX. I want to keep this thing
> >> at or below 50F year round but never frozen. It gets up to 110 here some
> >> days, and can be over 90 every day for six months at a time, sometimes
> >> humid, sometimes dry, sometimes thunder storms, and freezing maybe ten
> >> days a year. I started out thinking of using straw bale, but I'm
> >> concerned it would rot due to constant condensation in the bale wall.
> >> Then I thought earthbag, but apparently it's not very insulative unless
> >> you can fill it with volcanic scoria gravel which we do not have here.
> >> I'm going for a more eco friendly and cheaper option than shed with foam
> >> panels, so what do you think, is papercrete the thing to use? What is the
> >> optimal mix for insulating / structural walls?
> >> Is it feasible to pour a papercrete floor over some gravel and sand bags
> >> to insulate from the earth as well? Do you think it would be a moldy
> >> mess?
> >> This thing needs to be as cheap and easy to build as possible, any
> >> thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Forrest Charnock
>




------------------------------------

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/