RE: [papercreters] Keeping it simple

I want to make some kind of an earthen floor in my house as well. I have researched a lot of material on the subject but have no experience with it yet. I think the clay/cardboard pulp would be a good underlayment with something harder on top. Many people put linseed oil on top of the earthen floors to make it harder and seal it.  I have a lot of used cooking oil that I have been collecting to run my diesel truck on and have noticed some interesting developments when the oil that gets spilled on top and on the sides of the barrels get dust on it, it gets very hard. The dust of course is very fine clay in my neck of the woods. I also made a coating for some of my blocks and also applied it to a portion of a wooden shed and on an adobe wall made from the cooking oil and cement. It dries very hard and adheres well to whatever I put it on. I think lime would work with the oil perhaps better than portland cement. I want to experiment with using just clay with the oil as this would cut the costs considerably as I get the oil free for the hauling. This would possibly make a good top coat for a clay/cardboard pulp floor. I'm going to be doing some experimenting with it as I am trying to keep my costs down and still have a good product. I think it's possible.(Still don't have the truck converted to run on the veggie fuel) --- On Tue, 5/18/10, JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@hotmail.com> wrote: From: JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [papercreters] Keeping it simple To: "papercreters papercreters" <papercreters@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 5:18 PM   Wih 16" walls you will have a remarkbly comfortable interior temp.   I'm thinking of using the cardboard and clay soil mix for a floor. Any suggestions? Follow progress on the new project at http://www.papercre tebyjudith. com/blog More papercrete info at http://squidoo. com/papercreteby judith   To: papercreters@ yahoogroups. com From: donald1miller@ yahoo.com Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 17:01:46 -0700 Subject: Re: [papercreters] Keeping it simple   I'm on the same page as you on the "keeping it simple" philosophy. Where I live in SW Arizona I have 100 % clay for "topsoil" which is not good for gardening but I have found that I can make great blocks with just clay and pulp. I use mostly cardboard for pulp and I really don't use that much clay so the blocks are very light and strong. I quit using sand as I found that it settles in the bottom of the mixer and the blocks are not uniform in weight as the ones made with the first slurry to come out of the mixer are quite a bit heavier than the slurry on the top of the mix. They dry a little slower than blocks with cement added but I found that for some reason the blocks were softer when I use clay and cement together so I just quit using cement. Cheaper that way too. Some of the mixes that people are describing are using as much cement as a concrete mix which of course is not very "green" if one is interested in that angle, (I'm not) but of course the cost goes up accordingly. I let the water drain out of the mix in my forms and then I mush the mix down well which makes a block that does not shrink very much. I have been making a lot of blocks the last month and have around 600 12X16X6" blocks made. I need around 4000 so I have a ways to go but I have enough to start on my house with this fall. The wall will be 16" thick so it should help to offset the intense summer heat which we get four months of here. --- On Tue, 5/18/10, JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@ hotmail.com> wrote: From: JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@ hotmail.com> Subject: [papercreters] Keeping it simple To: "papercreters papercreters" <papercreters@ yahoogroups. com> Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 2:43 PM   Those who have come to know me through this group understand my love of simplicity. It is interesting to hear what others are experimenting with and I think it's great to be able to throw something that would have ended up in the landfill into the mix. But what I really love about papercrete is the utter simplicity of it.   I started out adding sand to the mix according to the formula I found in the book by the Pattersons (can't think of the name) then switched to pumice for its light weight and insulating properties. Now I am using just cardboard and a little cement and am very happy with the result. When Anthony called me for advice on how to get his papercrete to dry faster I suggested he leave out the sand. I hope he lets us know the outcome.   Ok, I just had to spout off a bit about my love of papercrete and its simplicity. But I still want to hear what others are adding and I still look around for stuff I can get rid of in the mix or the middle of a wall. Follow progress on the new project at http://www.papercre tebyjudith. com/blog More papercrete info at http://squidoo. com/papercreteby judith Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. Learn more. Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. Learn more.

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