[papercreters] Re: EPIC dome reassembled near Paris TX

Thanks Jay!

The surprising part about that structure was how much of its strength is due to the dome shape. The thinnest parts were just over an inch thick, and once the sections were cut you could break them fairly easily. Just prior to that when they were part of the dome they were strong enough to safely hold up my weight! It's just like an egg.

Based on this experiment I think one could conceivably make the shell of a fairly large home and put the entire thing on a single trailer. This one has about 315 square feet floor area, and it weighs around 1.5 tons, but the bottom sections were far thicker and more dense than they needed to be. After the shell is up you should add more thickness of course, but with the shell in place that is rather easy.

Anyone who's interested might want to join my local work group, some builds are coming up soon. Go to http://www.meetup.com/Affordable-Green-Shelter/ for more on the classes and available resources in the DFW area.

Aquaponic Dave

--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "JayH" <slurryguy@...> wrote:
>
> I can't believe nobody has commented on this structure yet.
>
> If you haven't looked at the photos, I encourage you to do so.
> Keep in mind that you'll need to login with your YahooID that you registered on Papercreters to be able to view the photos.
>
> This is an amazing structure.
>
> Well done Dave.
>
> Humpty Dumpty says you're better than all the King's horses and all the King's men.
>
> --- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "aquaponic_dave" <aquaponicdave@> wrote:
> >
> > I have posted some photos
> > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/papercreters/photos/album/861895350/pic/l\
> > ist> 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
> >
>




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