[papercreters] EPIC dome reassembled near Paris TX

I have posted some photos  to show the progress on my second domes in north Texas, this dome was built last year near Poetry TX and subsequently cut apart, moved and reassembled near Paris. The wall thickness is around 2" and will be increased to 6" for completion. The thinner sections are easier to work with during assembly but I think the next one may well be made full thickness and then assembled. It is not necessary to have curved parts to make a good dome if the radius is large enough.

The formula I am using is a fairly stout papercrete with EPS beads mixed in. The EPS greatly shortens the curing time and decreases the weight of the material, typical density is about 35 lbs/cu ft.

The method which has worked best has been to blend the papercrete and then add the beads into the mix until you get a fairly smooth mixture without the beads showing too much. I usually mix 2 five gallon buckets of wet paper slurry with one bag of portland, mix that up fairly well, then slowly pour in between two and six buckets of EPS beads depending on the strength of the mix that I want. I have also added synthetic fibers and have seen good increases in strength with additional waterproof aspects.

A paddle type mortar mixer is handy for large jobs, but for mortaring work and smaller jobs I just use a hand held mortar mixer. I haven't got a paper shredding setup going yet so I just use the bagged cellulose fiber available at the big box stores. The annoying ammonia smell from that (and the cost) is driving the need for a better source of fiber but the sheer number of other tasks has held that back so far!

Enjoy,
Dave

__._,_.___

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___