Papercrete does not have the tensile strength needed to support anything. So if you have something to support it it is a good roof. I would say that if you can get the oil field pipe to use as rafters and spread some sort of chicken wire type thing across it you would have a great roof.
I attribute the improvement in the second roof to the papercrete being monolithic. I poured the whole roof in a few days so the papercrete didn't have time to dry out. The first roof, with the old blocks embedded is a good roof but I don;t think the old blocks totally bonded with the slurry that I poured around them. So I would say it's still a good roof but just different from the second one.
Oh and I should mention that the mix I used for the roof had more cement than I used in the walls. For a 200 gallon mixer I put a whole bag of Portland whereas the walls are made with only 1/2 bag per batch.
The Making of Papercrete DVD now available on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Papercrete-Judith-Williams/dp/B0040ZNE9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1283998627&sr=8-1
Follow progress on the new project at http://www.papercretebyjudith.com/blog
More papercrete info at http://squidoo.com/papercretebyjudith
To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
From: ablueprincess@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 17:12:32 +0000
Subject: [papercreters] Re: rafters and beams and tying foundation into roof
I was reading your site, both of us are drawn to pc for the same reasons. But how in the world did you get those heavy logs up on your roof beam???
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, JUDITH WILLIAMS <williams_judith@...> wrote:
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> I did papercrete roofs and so far they are doing great. In one I laid a double layer of chicken wire over the vigas that are about 30 inches apart. I spread a layer of papercrete, some old papercrete blocks and another layer of papercete over that. The roof is solid but you can feel the flexiblilty of it when you walk on it. It has no leaks.
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> The second roof I did a little differently. I laid some of that inexpensive reed fencing over the vigas. On top of that I put some of that foil bubble insulation and about 5 inches of papercrete (with no blocks). This will require much less finishing (it is done inside while the first ceiling still needs to be plastered). This roof, although not as thick as the first one is completely rigid when you walk on it. I am not sure if it has leaks since it has not rained but I think I may have one where the insulation comes together and I failed to tape the joint. Stupid mistake if I have a leak there. I will probably have to apply a waterproof layer to the entire roof just to solve one leak. Time will tell.
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> The Making of Papercrete DVD now available on Amazon.com
> http://www.amazon.com/Making-Papercrete-Judith-Williams/dp/B0040ZNE9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1283998627&sr=8-1
>
> Follow progress on the new project at http://www.papercretebyjudith.com/blog
>
> More papercrete info at http://squidoo.com/papercretebyjudith
>
>
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> To: papercreters@yahoogroups.com
> From: ablueprincess@...
> Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 05:01:21 +0000
> Subject: [papercreters] Re: rafters and beams and tying foundation into roof
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> Thank you. I guess mostly I am thinking about the roof. I really dont want to use lumber. Out here wood and plastic dont do well. The things that last are metal or concrete, but concrete cracks with our earthquakes. Ideally I would like a papercrete roof to span the 48 feet width and 50' length. But it will have interior walls that would be spaced every 12' apart.
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