Monday, May 14, 2012

Re: [papercreters] PC Insulation



Dan,
Is Cincinnati humid in the summer?  Does it get over 100 degrees farenheit for protracted lengths of time?  I tried to make bricks and had them drying for weeks before they were dry enough to use in Montana where it is low humidity and hot during the days.  I went to slip forming because of the wait time involved in the brick making.  If you have a structure it would be the easiest thing in the world to put long shallow boards on the outside of your studs and fill it with PC.  You are adding lots of steps when you make bricks.  With slip forms the only wait time you have is if you can pour more than 2 rounds a day.  I would allow 2 rounds to dry and set before the next round goes on so no swelling occurs.  This may be just a couple of days, and you can use those days to gather the next 10 or 15 batches of paper.  A screw gun and a strip of plywood 8" deep by 8' long is all you would need for the forms, and just screw them inside and outside of your studs.  Maybe have 2 sets of them to leave one in place a couple of hours, then move it in front of the last one. 

If time is of no concern and you didn't want to get the whole thing done in one summer then bricks would work, however.
Ron


From: trendawareness <trendlinesystems@gmail.com>

 
Ref. my December '11 post inquiring about slip forming, I'm ready to start insulating my attached garage with PC. This is non-living space and my goal is to reduce the summer and winter temperature extremes in my garage. I live near Cincinnati OH where we have 2 heating days for every 1 cooling day. January's average low is 19F and July's average high is 91F.

But rather than worry about potential water damage caused by the run-off from slip forming, I'm leaning toward pouring 4' x 16" blocks the traditional way then placing them between the wall studs.

My thinking is that if I pour a 16" wide block, allowing for the usual shrinkage, it should make for a snug fit in the 14.5" space between the studs. My plan is to use the same technique in the overhead attic space between the joists.

Here's my questions for the group:

(1) What's the suggested PC mix for non-load bearing PC? I'm looking for good R-values, yet bug & termite resistant, blocks.

(2) To reduce the amount of cutting and sanding required, I was thinking about pressing the boards between the studs before they're fully dried, say 2-3 days after pouring the mix into the molds. Do you think this method would work?

As always, any additional suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

Dan

PS: One month later my paper (crete-less) weed mats around my shrubs are holding up well. The only weed growth has been in the gaps where the paper mat has pulled back from the landscape blocks. Even after a week of no rain, the mats are damp to the touch. So they're holding in the moisture quite well.





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