Hi Judith,
I had posted a simliar video to youtube earlier this month for my building inspector. I had a 1 part portland 1 part paper block that got torched for 5 minutes. I was impressed to see that the smoldering did not spread at all once the blow torch was turned off. I also dug into the block with a screw to see how much internal damage had been done. I had lost about 1" of papercrete at the point where the blowtorch was touching the block. Significantly more damage than a piece of wood, but nothing terrible.
On Sep 25, 2007, at 7:11 PM, JUDITH WILLIAMS wrote:
Thanks you for this valuable information. I shot a video today and didn't dwell too much on the flammability issue except to say that this is a material that is still being developed and no one should assume that it is fireproof or even fire retardant. At the end of the video I took one of my blocks and shot a torch at it from 1 inch away. I held it there for 5 minutes with the camera running. It glowed but didn't burn. No heat was transferred through the block. 5 minutes after the flame was turned off I was able to put my finger on the spot that had been glowing. Now 4 hours later the block is completely cold.
To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
From: recyclist@humboldt1.com
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:26:08 -0700
Subject: Re: [papercreters] fireproofing papercrete
I have tested a similar solution as described below and it worked great.
Papercrete surface must be soaked not sprayed! Similar formulas are
approved by local fire departments in major cities in the US.
I encourage all papercreters to never say papercrete is fireproof! Only
hucksters and the inexperienced say it is so. I have had papercrete that
was 1 part cement, 1 part clay, 1 part paper with sand also smolder in a
wall behind a wood stove.
I however do tell people that during a forest fire I would run into a
papercrete building but run out of a wood building. A 1 foot thick
papercrete wall has about an 8 to 12 hour burn/smolder time. This is much
longer than a drywall 1 hour fire wall. Of course one can soak a
papercrete wall before a fire and increase life expectancy.
Textile Fire Retardant Treatments
Many chemicals used as fire retardants can be toxic, difficult to apply,
or can significantly alter the quality of the fabric. The 1977 edition of
NFPA 701 include some uncomplicated sample formulas:
Formula 1: Borax - 6 parts, 6 lbs, Boric acid - 5 parts, 5 lbs, Water -
100 parts, 12 gallons. Steep fabric in cool solution until impregnated.
Heavy applications by spray or brush are usually reasonably effective.
Repeat if necessary. This is good for theater scenery fabric, and
recommended for rayon and natural fabrics. Yields a 8 - 12 % weighting.
Formula 2: Borax - 7 parts, 7 lbs, Boric acid - 3 parts, 3 lbs, Water -
100 parts, 12 gallons. Water can be varied according to the absorptive
capacity of the fabric. For rayon and sheer fabrics, these same amounts
of borax and boric acid can be used with 17 gallons of water. Hand-wring
for an 8 - 10% weighting on fabric.
Flexibility and softness will be retained without dustiness, and
microorganism growth is also prevented.
Art Hazard News, Volume 17, No. 2, 1994
>
> Hi, I hope you're checking email tonight. I'm giving a presentation
> tomorrow on papercrete and realize I have to say something about
> flammability so I've been going through old emails and came across one by
> you about borax. Here's the thing: I am totally non-scientific and can't
> seem to translate all the info about precentages and amounts of borax or
> boric acid to add to the mix. I don't want to give misinformation. I am
> convinced that papercrete is the best material to build with but if it's
> not safe then I'll have to find a way to change that. Can you give me a
> simple to understand way that I can add borax to my mix so it won't burn?
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