The samples I’ve made so far I’ve been impressed with….they’re just sawdust/chips, lime, & clay. I want to experiment some more and add some latex paint to make the color of the mix a little lighter. The clay I have is almost black and it makes the blocks very dark…kindof an icky gray. It probably won’t matter what color the mix is because I’m going to plaster over it with a lime-base plaster anyway but I’m thinking the paint will make it a little smoother and easier to pump into the slip forms.
I keep thinking of the TONS of mix I’ll have to make and the time it’ll take for each mix…I’m wondering if a cement company would rent a cement truck out by the day or the week. Have the forms ready on *everything* you want to build and pour one lift at a time on everything…wait until the next weekend and pour another lift. Hmmm….maybe I’ll call around and see if I can rent a cement truck. It’d save time mixing batches and it seems from what little bit I’ve been playing with papercrete and sawcrete that it takes the sawcrete a little longer to set up and dry out. Maybe it would set up faster if I put some
I got the same result you did when I used just
I’m really kindf thinking “out loud” and if anybody has to add, chime in! ;)
A half bucket of pulped paper huh? Hmmm….probably could pulp a bucket of paper with an old saw blade attached to a long drill bit on a heavy-duty drill? I’ll have to go back into the archives to see what-all is used to make a small mixer.
I’ll let cha’ know when what happens…but it won’t be anytime soon…it doesn’t usually cool off here until sometime in the middle of October or November…but then, I’m usually still picking tomatoes out of the garden at Christmas. ;) That reminds me… I’ve been meaning to post the plans for the aviary/greenhouse/guest cottage and get some feedback from folks. I’ll try to do that this afternoon.
If you’ve made it this far through this ramble, you patience is amazing and greatly appreciated. ;)
Pat
From:
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 6:47 PM
To:
Subject: [papercreters] Sawcrete -was- Re: What are you building with Papercrete?
Subtle? Subtle? Where's my dictionary. I gotta look that one up!
hehehe
It makes sense to use what you've got.
In the multitudes of experiments I've run with sawdust (TWO WHOLE
MINI SAMPLES! hehe), My preliminary discoveries indicated it's not as
strong as papercrete. Crumbly. That sample size is hardly
conclusive on anything. I may not have had the ideal mix ratio for
sawcrete. I'd guess that the sawdust particle size can make a
difference too. I did it so long ago I don't even remember what I
did. It was an off the cuff experiment and I didn't write down the
details. The second sample was a mix of sawdust and paper and it
performed drastically better.
My very subjective guess tells me that adding even a half bucket of
pulped paper to a concrete mixer full of sawdust could make a
dramatic difference. Food for thought.
You almost certainly have way more experience working with sawcrete
than I do. You probably have a much better idea what mix to use and
where to use it. Please educate all of us!
--- In papercreters@
>
> SG, you're so subtle with your hints ;)
>
>
>
> Ok, I have to admit that I'm going to cheat a bit...I'm not going
to use
> paper..but the methods of papercrete and the recipes are basically
the same.
> I have an endless, FREE, source of wood chips/sawdust. Using the
wood
> chips/sawdust I won't have to have a fancy mixer..just a good HF
cement
> mixer. So maybe it's not what I'm building with papercrete, it's
what I'm
> building with fibercrete.
>
>
>
> In order, plans are for:
>
>
>
> 1) Build a 6' x 6' x 6' high dog house (I have BIG dogs) ;)
using
> slip-form with rock facing so it looks like a rock dog house.
>
> 2) Encasing my husband's work shop (it's a 40' shipping
container)
> using slip forms
>
> 3) Build a new aviary and greenhouse
>
> 4) Build an extra bedroom & new kitchen onto the mobile home
>
> 5) Encase the whole MH with the mix, using the Larsen-truss
system
> (Thank you Charmaine!!) and slip-form with rock facing
>
> 6) Build raised beds using slip form & rock facing
>
>
>
> There's SO much more I want to do..but all of it has to wait until
it cools
> off!! This area has really been lucky this year..the temps haven't
gone
> over 100 once this year.for the first time since I moved here from
West
>
woman to
> get out in the heat & humidity and work with lime and cement. ;)
>
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