In regards to the lady inquiring about papercrete for insulation in a RV bus, perhaps the cost factor of using papercrete could have been a determining factor. Spray foam is a great insulator but it is very expensive and very labor intensive in the smoothing down process. And you never know how some of the installers are going to the job. If they're having a bad day you might get a lot of foam all over places you don't want it or thick and thin spots. I have had varying degrees of results with so called "pros" in many different fields, which is why I prefer to do as many things as possible for myself.
Papercrete could be sprayed on like foam as a do it yourself project. It would require several layers and could be done with a drywall texture sprayer which is a cheap and readily available tool. As far as a bus flexing enough to cause the papercrete to work loose, I'm not sure what kind of a bus we're talking about but I have driven and lived in a 40' 1980 Seattle Metro bus for ten years and I haven't noticed nearly as much flex as the 22' Winnebago that I drove before I got the bus. I would think that if the bus were to flex enough to dislodge sprayed papercrete, it would also break up foam. Even though foam sticks well to metal, you can take a piece of it and cumble it easily in your hands much as you can papercrete. Part of the allure and beauty of papercrete is that it is a cheap and readily available product which a person of limited means and resources who is willing to work and sweat a bit can use to make many useful and lasting products with.
repapercreters@yahoogroups.com, Vincent Pawlowski <pawlowski@...> wrote:
>a
> Hi,
>
> I've been busy for a while. Glad to see things papercrete heating up!
>
> Papercrete might be a choice for the bus, especially if small sections
> were done at a time, with some kind of flex joints between them.
>
> > ... As much as we are prone to not consider a manmade material such as foam in order to be "green", it really
> > seems to be the time-tested medium for what you're doing.
>
> I agree with Perry's suggestion of foam. That can also be greener if
> SoyFoam.com or other BioBased.net insulation is used. (Hi Perry - sorry
> we didn't get LinkedIn)
>
> I am not experienced with their use, but some friends down by the border
> are registered SoyFoam installer. They have made a 350 gallon tractor
> PTO-driven papercrete mixer, because they are looking for a more
> affordable solution, as other bio-based insulation is proprietary and
> therefore more expensive.
>
> L8r,
>
> Vince
>
> > Re: PC inside a bus turned RV?
> > Posted by: "Perry Way" perryway@... neolympus
> > Date: Sun May 17, 2009 11:47 am ((PDT))
> >
> > ... The sort of accepted
> > norm when it comes to insulation is that spray foam. It sticks to
> > everything, can be shaped by a rasp file and/or disc sander, adds extra
> > strength, but still flexes along with the body of the bus. From what I'm
> > reading about papercrete, the two are not equal. The foam has excellent
> > insulation properties, but papercrete needs more thickness to accomplish the
> > same amount of insulation. You might find it would be more heavy than the
> > foam insulation. And you might find it cracking and crumbling to dust where
> > the flexing occurs, thus adding a level of complexity over time to keeping
> > your bus free of dust and irritants. As much as we are prone to not
> > consider a manmade material such as foam in order to be "green", it really
> > seems to be the time-tested medium for what you're doing. If I were
> > converting a bus again, I would use spray foam in a heartbeat. Just my two
> > cents.
> >
> > Perry
>
__._,_.___
