Kelly Hart reports on his site that he has left his papercrete roof unsealed and that it acts
like a sponge and returns the water to the air via evaporation and has never leaked in
roughly seven years. Here's his experience with unsealed papercrete: http://
www.greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm
In my own experience, I've covered earth bags with it, so I used no portland and instead
used paper, sandy clay soil from my site, and lime so that the walls WILL breathe- plus,
using the clay soil was closer to free than using portland. Completely sealing earth bags or
adobe creates a vapor barrier, which tends to errode earthen walls behind the sealant
where you can't see it until you have a big problem. I read about that in "Building With
Earth", the author suggests not using portland in papercrete where its applied over earth
bags or adobe or cobb, etc. and using clay and or lime in the mix instead because both
breathe and are 'self healing'- meaning if the final layer gets a crack in it, the crack will
self-seal if water gets into it, plus lime and clay are more flexible than portland and allow
shifting and settling of the building without cracking in the first place. That book also
desribes how to make lime plasters, renders, white wash, lime based paints and other
home-made, time tested paints and finishes.
Of course this isn't necessarily applicable to your situation as you may be building entirely
from papercrete. If you're building with paper adobe, I'd be just as hesitant to use a
sealant that completely keeps the walls from breathing, as I suspect paper adobe would
act ultimately much like adobe or earthbag in its need to breathe.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Joyce E <yz0ld0wl@...> wrote:
>
> It grows here in SE Ohio too. I'm trying to get some going (seen it in
> other places around here, and liberated a few paddles) but the d____d
> weeds keep overwhelming it...
>
> Joyce
>
> ken bolin wrote:
> > Sorry you do not have any near you it is great stuff. ...
>
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:
mailto:papercreters-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto: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:
