Cob Re:Wood CHips Ahoy-free sawdust & bricks

[crtaylor]

Q's for Charmaine:

>> - what about the swelling up of the wood fibers while they are wet?

I have not noticed any swelling, BUT I am not measuring  weights
scientifically or with great care.  I believe they will swell a small
amount, but the sawdust was all fresh cut from hardwood tress so as a mass
they are 'wet'.


>> - would like to hear more about your FC soggy  paper expiriments.

I wrote up a 30 page report on what I did and what others are doing..I can
answer a specific question or two, or three. :>

Otherfish said:
>> - i did a small test batch / brick of cob made with papermache pulp
>> - it made a very weather resistant cob  & the small amount i made dried out
>> with no problem  if an easy way can be found to make a dry, friable (
>>loose individual fibers pulp easily from old news papers this could
>>possibly lead to a strong, weather resistant cob that uses short fibers.
>>Such a short fiber cob could be mixed with a standard  concrete mixer.
>>This seems to me to have some very far reaching potentials-//


The MIXING of this fiber has been discussed endlessly, and then some, over
at the ESSA list (Earthfriendly and Self-Sufficient Architecture
<essa at csf.colorado.edu>)  and there is NO way around having to blend
newspapers, this is why I went to cellulose..but there is harldy any fiber
LEFT in the cellulose, so it needs some ( silly but true) fiber added. I
made up some small bricks with dry grass and shredded office paper added
and they were stronger, but no real results to report yet.


A cement mixer is only good if the material is already pulped. A mortar
mixer with the paddle blades is better, but still a poor blender.

>> - please share some of your alt. fiber cob mixing research with the coblist!


I use a lot of local clay, some pure clay, some 30/70 'adobe' clay/sand
plus paper, etc.

I have tried lime, less sand, more sand, beach sand, no cement, some
cement, etc.

its all in the report.  I think there is a good potential for the
combination of cob and paper materials for interiour walls,  non load
bearing structures, small projects, etc.

The local news did a big story on this last week at my place, and heralded
" Papercrete coming to Humboldt County?"  People are really interested in
messing with this. and I am now the dirt lady..recognized all ove town. haha

OK, now about the sawdust..YES I get it free..I also get clay free by going
up to building sites and asking for the dirt..after they are done looking
at me funny I tell them I am making adobe, which they have neard of, not
Cob..which confuses them.  I have a couple hundred poounds of the best
sticky clay right now..wonderful stuff.


I also get FREE cement and Free cellulose and free other stuff by gpoing in
and asking for Broken Bags of whatever for my "science projects"..then I
haul it away.

Around here  we have tons of sawdust and scraps from small wood mills, I
have a loaded up the car with bags of sawdust, and the bricks I JUST made
are still curing, but I am really pleased with them.  Heavier, due to the
wood weight, vs paper, and they DO have about 20%  or 15% cement..which is
more than the Fibrous cement proportion of 10%...but the bricks dry faster
and have a nice texture to them as Rog in Australia noted.

Over all I am more interested in wood chips and sawdust than paper, being
as NO mixer is required and anyone can just mix a batch by hand or with a
paint mixer attachment and make bricks or pored foprms immeduatley.


If you try local cabinet shops or other places where wood is simply cust
for customers you may find they are happy to have it hauled off.




Charmaine R. Taylor
Taylor Publishing & Elk River Press
PO Box 6985 Eureka CA 95502  1-888-307-7650
'Books for people who want to build'
http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/

**1/2 arce gently sloped, wooded land 4 sale in Florissant, CO,
smack in the Rocky Mountain Range, email me if interested**