[Cob] building codes

[raduazo at cox.net]

You will need to weight it down to keep it under water, but I think any paper will work. I was very surprised when I compared plaster mad from bright white paper (shredded government documents) and news papers and found that after the clay was mixed in there was no difference in the color.
Gray clay makes plaster gray and red clay makes plaster red. Apparently the paper is pretty well coated even though I only use one part clay for three parts pulp for the light clay insulation mix.
Ed
---- joe r dupont <joedupont at juno.com> wrote: 
> what about corugated cardboard???  I have access to that...
> On Sun, 6 May 2007 10:17:19 -0700 Dirtcheapbuilder-Charmaine
> <tms at northcoast.com> writes:
> > you can do the same with lime and shredded paper, as in the Chineses 
> > 
> > recipe I refer to.
> > 
> >   soaking for a 2 WEEK period with just enough water, breaks down 
> > the 
> > paper, and a quick rototilling mix may do a similar job.. you get a 
> > 
> > cottage cheese type plaster that can be altered significantly with 
> > sand.. gritty Mexican style wall plaster or less sand makes and old 
> > 
> > work softer plaster.   try it too.
> > 
> > here is the recipe again.
> > 
> > Chinese recipe for Paper Lime plaster [interior use]A  By WEIGHT-1 
> > part 
> >   (lb.)  chopped/shredded paper-office paper – or newspaper 
> > insulation 
> > to 10 parts (lb.)  soft lime putty (type N or S hydrated lime soaked 
> > in 
> > water 48 hours) Mix  well in large bucket or bin with tight lid. 
> > Seal 
> > lid. Let mellow 2-4 weeks, stir in 1/2-1 parts  sharp sand to make 
> > more 
> > trowelable. Mix with paint stem/paddle blade to make creamy.. Spread 
> > on 
> > wall by hand or trowel. Sculpt and  dry. feather edges thin at stop 
> > 
> > points. Can be limewashed; embed tiles while soft.   Adding extra  
> > sand 
> > gives a stronger, more old  world  plaster/mortar look; for outdoor 
> > use 
> > eliminate paper or coat with sealer, or waterglass. Note from 
> > Charmaine: Successfully applied to  new and old DRYWALL, particle 
> > board 
> > on my work studio & bathroom walls.
> > AND used outside in weather as an external plaster!!  still sticking 
> > 
> > and staying in place, with a thin layer of waterglas applied  one 
> > time, 
> > 2 years ago.
> > 
> > 
> > Charamine
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On May 6, 2007, at 7:10 AM, <raduazo at cox.net> wrote:
> > 
> >         Someone talked to my last week about doing a plastering 
> > project 
> > in New Orleans. I have mixed cob with a rototiller and I have mixed 
> > 
> > earth floor material with a rototiller, but never plaster.
> >         This week I did a very small scale test on plaster which I 
> > think 
> > could be ramped up to large scale production. I started by putting a 
> > 
> > bundle of news papers in a soaking pit and after two days removed 
> > the 
> > papers and tore them into strips. (The soaked paper tears very 
> > easily.) 
> > I then put it in a mixing pit and turned it for a bit with fire clay 
> > 
> > ($12. per 50 pound bag from places that sell brick laying supplies.) 
> > 
> > The result is a light clay insulating material with a little clay 
> > and a 
> > hard plaster with more clay. The light material could be molded and 
> > 
> > dried into blocks to fill cavities for insulation and the hard 
> > material 
> > makes a fairly decent wall plaster for covering a lath.
> >           You can, of course, substitute screened clay for the fire 
> > 
> > clay. I usually dry clay, break it up with a tamper in my concrete 
> > slab 
> > and pour the powder through a screen.
> >               If anyone has a project where insulating blocks might 
> > come 
> > in handy it would be nice to see someone else experimenting with 
> > this 
> > and other new materials.
> > Ed
> > 
> > ---- joe r dupont <joedupont at juno.com> wrote:
> > > one more time.. houses should be able to be built as 
> > experimental..
> > > period. if you buy an experimental home .. its your risk.. that's 
> > all
> > > it is called freedom..  like i said.. if i lived in an earthquake 
> > area 
> > >  i
> > > would sleep under a  steel cage to stop from being crushed.
> > > not a bad idea.
> > > joe
> > > On Fri, 4 May 2007 15:21:12 +0100 "Wesley Sandel" 
> > <wsandel at gmail.com>
> > > writes:
> > >> I've been reading the posts on building codes.
> > >>
> > >> It's true, it seems pretty damn silly that you can't just build
> > >> whatever you
> > >> want to live in, but often have to conform to all kinds of 
> > standards
> > >> that
> > >> may seem to make no sense (except in most rural areas, where
> > >> apparently you
> > >> can just build whatever you want anyway).
> > >>
> > >> But not all codes are just attempts by big brother to force you 
> > to
> > >> give your
> > >> money to corporations.
> > >>
> > >> I've spent a good bit of time in Central America. After awhile I
> > >> started
> > >> remarking on how ugly and expensive all the structural concrete
> > >> homes were,
> > >> and how much cheaper and more liveable the natural product homes
> > >> were. Then
> > >> it was pointed out to me that every 20 years or so they have a
> > >> series of
> > >> horrendous earthquakes and lots of natural homes fall down on
> > >> people, so
> > >> they've fallen out of favor. The locals have opted, without code, 
> > to
> > >> use
> > >> steel reinforced concrete when they can.
> > >>
> > >> I was involved with a non-profit in Houston, building low cost
> > >> housing. On
> > >> one project, someone hung the drywall before the electrical was
> > >> inspected,
> > >> and the city inspector made us cut holes in the drywall every 
> > few
> > >> feet to
> > >> verify that everything was up to code. We were pretty upset. But 
> > the
> > >> fact
> > >> is, a lot of contractors will cut corners to save money, and one 
> > of
> > >> the
> > >> functions of the code is to prevent that happening and 
> > compromising
> > >> safety.
> > >>
> > >> Codes are often safety driven.
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> > >>
> > >
> > >
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> > 
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> > PO BOX 375   CUTTEN CA 95534  USA
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