Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Re: Re: [papercreters] Re: Thoughts needed



What is the picture of the pallets?  I love pallets and keep wondering what else I can use them for.  I have used them for concrete forms, enclosing a compost pile, a frame for screening rocks from dirt, and a few other little projects in the Caribbean.
Thanks
Tom

Tom Hay, Ph.D.
A2B Research and Development, LLC
703/672-6033 (internet phone)
tomhay@verizon.net

Nov 3, 2010 08:12:10 PM, papercreters@yahoogroups.com wrote:
 

Ebay search for "trash pump" (or click) and that should give you some examples. The better your pump, the less you have to worry about mixing all the lumps out, and filtering out staples, envelope windows, book spines, etc. that will clog your pump and make you waste a lot of time tearing it down and cleaning it.
altNot this 2" one, but more like this 4" one alt

The idea with the barrel is to have it on a stand above the wall, doing the mixing up there. The 4'x4' stand would start 4' tall, then would grow in 4' intervals by adding layers. Outriggers for stability, of course. My spray washer has a 50' hose so I wouldn't have to haul wet pc, only dry paper and cement. I can lift those with a pulley/counterweight system. Once it is mixed I'll just open the gate valve and let it pour out into the waiting form. Mixing with a power washer isn't hard, just time consuming - about fifteen minutes per barrel full, and I usually end up with papercrete in my mustache since it invariably splashes back at least once per batch. :)  A poncho or rain suit is helpful when it is too cool to be getting wet.  
alt
yep, pallets..., about $60 worth if you have to buy them.

Blocks are OK, but you have to handle the papercrete at least twice, plus waiting for the blocks to dry. IMHO a slip formed wall is stronger since the layers tend to melt together and end up almost monolithic.

Judith has been doing a hybrid method using some blocks she had lying around as infill in the slip form. I imagine that is about as strong as straight slip forming.

If I understood your original plan, you are going to put three layers of earthbags on top of the undisturbed soil as a foundation? If you have a 1' deep frost line, you really should put your foundation bottom below that frost line to prevent heaving. The easy way is like Judith did, a rubble trench foundation. This also will give you drainage under your walls. Rubble trench foundations have been used for millenia, and there are many examples of centuries old buildings still standing on rubble trenches. Dig a trench deeper than the frost line, fill it with rocks, start forming your papercrete on top of that. The trench should be twice as wide as your wall thickness.

spaceman  All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information.  http://Starship-Enterprises.Net

On 11/3/2010 12:27 PM, Teresa P wrote:
Soooo.......... what pump would you suggest and what are your plans/ideas for moving the barrel up the wall? Maybe it would be easier for me to stair step the wall doing slip forms and then after the wall gets too high I could do blocks to carry up the stair steps? This should be done on the cheap as much as possible....    


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