Good points, Cody. I am planning on "spraying" the shell and then setting in place cured panels because it's less labor intensive than building walls in place, bucket-load by bucket load. And less labor intensive than troweling the stuff on to a great thickness.
I'm testing the hexagon hexayurt 18 panel design with the added insulation of the cellulose-paper-clay-crete and a sprayed shell as a room I will actually use -- probably as office and exercise room -- this coming winter. Just to identify any problems with this building method. If that proves out, then I want to go much larger with a stell- framed hex or octo model with a greater roof pitch. If I discover that the wall or roof doesn't stand up to the elements adequately, then I'm back to considering more traditional design solutions. Thanks a lot for the help. My understanding is that the papercrete, properly treated, doesn't have an absorbancy problem, but just what constitutes proper treatment varies with each location, climate and environment and requires experimentation. People in the Truth or Consequences region -- maybe 220 miles south of me -- and some folks not far from Tucson, Arizonal, have gotten away with the prickly pear mix without adding any portland cement. My understanding is that this is preferable because it is believed that the cement decreases the elastomeric quality of the cured finish. I've also seen that pure clay curls and cracks in the sun. So it's a delicate mix. I won't know what I've really got until I've got it up and watch it through various weather conditions. -- ken winston caine ----- Original Message ----- From: Cody Firestone To: hexayurt@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 9:53 AM Subject: Re: [hexayurt] re: questions re: my plans -- was re: Harbor Freight has hot knives... and <snip? OK, so now I understand . So using the "Papercrete" and some steel framing, you intend to build a Hexayurt for a feasibility study, not necessarily to move in as a primary structure. Right? Have you considered the use of Papercrete mix in a ferro-concrete matrix? I was checking out the photos, so it looks like after the big blocks of Papercrete are laid on top of a wooden or steel structural frame, you would cover with chicken wire, then smooth over with a more conventional type of concrete to finish it out. The photo caption said he also used a layer of poly sheeting under the blocks for water proofing. SO, not having worked with Papercrete directly i have a few questions to ask, not that i need actual answers, but things that come to mind while planning to build with this stuff: 1. What is the waster absorption of Papercrete after it is cured. Would it be absorbent, increasing it's weight significantly and causing a structural collapse? 2. If it DOES absorb water, what waterproofing material would you use? 3. Ferro-Cement technology could build your roof much lighter and with more artistic possibilities. Basically you build a chicken wire and rebar "cage" then press concrete into the matrix. It hardens and there you are. If you are doing this on a roof, you use burlap or builders canvas on the underside to keep it from "slumping" and you use a very "dry" mix of concrete. If using the Hexayurt design, i think you could build a rebar framed Hexayurt panel, then wire them together in position. THEN fill them with Papercrete with a topping of regular cement to seal it up. you could make the thickness whatever you wanted, and it would not require the two step process of forming the "stones" and then building a separate steel frame to put it up. Since this is a permanent structure, you might as well go ahead and do the ferro-cement. the Hexayurt would look more "dome" like. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to hexayurt@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to hexayurt+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to hexayurt@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to hexayurt+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en.
