Hi everyone,
Been lurking awhile trying to learn what I can, thanks to all. I've
been messing with papercrete off and on since 1998, after I saw it at
the MREA show in Wisconsin. I took the Monolithic Dome course a couple
years ago. I've been collecting all the necessary equipment, testing
the components and the process. And now, finally, I am putting it all
together to build a 27' diameter (570 sq ft) dome near Quinlan TX,
which is about 30 miles east of Dallas.
I have everything I need, a site, airform, inflators, huge air
compressor, several PC pumps (diaphragm, piston, pneumatic) and a
supplier for an excellent PC mix (Mason Greenstar) so I don't have to
reinvent my own version of PC (although that will happen eventually).
I have built a custom spray-gun that works reasonably well, will post
pictures soon. I have not built a mixer yet, since the Blox mix can be
made with a standard cement mixer.
My prototype dome will be built with a portland-heavy mix at the
lowest level, setting on a gravel drainage trench. The idea is to keep
costs as low as possible, should be around $5/sq. ft for the raw
materials (12" thick). The method of construction should keep labor
costs way down, once perfected the goal is to be able to profitably
build shells for $10/sq. ft. If I can do that then we're looking at a
revolution in the field of construction. Of course the first ones will
have to be out in the country where code enforcement isn't an issue.
If anyone on the list would like to talk about the project or come see
it after it's underway, feel free to contact me although email
response may be slow because I am very busy of late. If things go well
I will be hiring a crew soon to make more domes. I will post pictures
of the construction and equipment in the coming days, and the rollout
of papercretedomes.com should be happening soon after.
Viva la revolution,
Dave Pennington
Richardson, TX
------------------------------------
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:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
