Thanks so much for your post. I for one really appreciate the time you took to describe what you are doing. I would say you will be able to pull the forms off pretty soon. Most of us wait only about 30 minutes but it really depends on the weather and how wet your mix was among other things.
I have also considered mixing things into the papercrete. My roommate was complaining about the stack of styrofoam insulation littering the yard and wanted to take it to the dump, but I told him I would add it to the next batch. It's that 8" thick stuff, very expensive if you can find it, but I have no use for the small amount I have so in it goes. I think I will break it up and put it in the mixer before adding anything else then drive it around and hope the blade chops it up. If that doesn't work I may try some things that were suggested somewhere. One is to put whatever you want chopped into a trash barrel then go at it with a weed whacker or chainsaw. Sounds chaotic to me. Another thing is that I have about 2000 polypropylene bags I bought for earthbag construction. They have deteriorated and are no good for filling but maybe they would be OK cut up and added to the mix.
I am one who doesn't list amounts in a user friendly way and for that I apologize. When I was getting started I also noticed that some recipes were written in weight and others in volume. I have never had a scale handy so used the volume approach. My ingredients are measured in how many 5 gallon buckets are used and how many inches of newspapers. Now that I have switched to cardboard I have been saying it takes 2) 55 gallon barrels of soaked cardboard.
Keep up the experimentation and post your results. I traveled through SW Missouri last summer and was ready to pack up and move there. It's very beautiful.
Sincerely, Judith
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To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
From: starwalkentertainment@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:15:29 +0000
Subject: [papercreters] Experiment with EPS & drywall Papercrete
I've been lurking for a long time now. I haven't had a reason to post but I did some experimenting yesterday and ready to post what I did for the group's scrutiny. Sorry for the long post but here goes.
We had a balmy day yesterday and will for the next week or so (so the weatherman says?). So I decided to make some slurry. I have been collecting and saving recipes when folks in our group posts them, into a file that I pulled out yesterday.
I couldn't find what I was looking for. Plus some of the recipes at first seemed OK but when you want to duplicate them…whew! Some use weight, some use volume, some use measurements like inches of paper and some use all of them. So I was a little confused as to the right ratios. Plus…
I've been thinking (for a long time) "what if" you added…. Drywall scraps (new or from a remodel) and/or EPS (expanded polystyrene) aka Styrofoam like the packing peanuts, cups etc. Both have been mentioned but I haven't heard anyone from this group actually trying/testing/
Judith recently got some gypsum, but most of us don't have that kind of resource. I also seen the video of the guy in Illinois who is making fake rocks with EPS but he buys it from a garden center or home center which to me defeats the bigger picture to RECYCLE. However we ALL could get scrap drywall and Styrofoam packing!!!!
I did some research and found that gypsum is used in Plaster of Paris and drywall. It also is added to some cement/concrete to prevent "flash setting" (delaying curing time). So to me it would seem Ok to add it, because Papercrete seems from what I've read, to take forever to cure anyway. Since drywall is mostly gypsum and paper/cardboard it appears a perfect match! It (drywall) breaks down in water but does leave some small "stones" which I don't think will hurt (just my opinion).
The problem with the EPS is grinding it up easy & cheap (any ideas would be great) I looked at several chipper/shredders but until I can see some real world results I don't want to invest in one. I don't have a tow mixer (yet) either so I'm experimenting with 5 gallon buckets and a drill.
I wanted to try a couple of Papercrete recipes that included EPS & drywall but didn't see any. So I decided to experiment myself. Be it known that I'm a novice and have NO experience with ANY Papercrete so this is my first shot at it. (go ahead and laugh, I did too)
I made 2 bricks one with foam and the other without; however both had sand and drywall
Here is my "test recipe" for 2 bricks…
2 lbs of newspaper
2 lbs of drywall
4 gal of water
15 lbs sand
Appx. a 2 quart container full of ground up EPS
2 lbs type I Portland cement
I soaked the newspaper and drywall in a 5 gallon bucket (about 16 hours) in 2 gallons of water. Using a Makita 1/2 drill and a large paint stirrer I mixed it. It was way too thick so I split the slurry and added a gallon of water to each bucket and finished mixing.
I added 7 1/2 lbs of sand to each bucket and mixed again. Then I added the EPS to only one bucket and mixed. I then added the Portland (1 lb to each bucket) and mixed again.
I had two wooden boxes about 6 x 20 x 6 that I knocked out the bottoms. Placed them on an old towel in the yard and poured each of the mix into the forms.
They were calling for rain so I dragged them in the shop and removed the forms. Now the waiting begins.
Any comments on my mix??
I was wanting to use just 8 oz (1/2 lb) of Portland to 1lb paper/1lb drywall, but my brother convinced me to double that to 1lb. Are my ratios right? Did I forget something?
Experienced Papercreteres PLEASE COMMENT!!!!
Also, how long do you think it will take before I can handle them? I wanted to try this myself because (1) I need the experience and (2) One test is worth more than a thousand opinions!
Thanks to all!
Jim J in NW Arkansas
PS We are going to build a home in SW Missouri hopefully breaking ground this Spring and wanting to use Papercrete!
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