[Cob] Re: Coblist Digest, Vol 1, Issue 33

[eos at tesselation.com]

Greetings all and happy thanksgiving!
paper hmmmm:
i like your thoughts re. urban waste
- i think stacks of paper could be the same as straw bale really
- it would need to be stabilized; bound well
- driving framing metal or whatever studs through it would be much 
harder because the paper is heavier
- paper bales are possibly more insulative than with straw but 
otherwise very similar and i like the direct use of newspaper instead 
of having to re-process (more embodied energy etc...)
papercrete - i've done some experiments but always with some crete 
because i needed water friendly...

philip mirkin is a friend and charmaine knows him and is a great 
source for this stuff!
At 10:41 AM  5/8/03, philip mirkin wrote:
>We have some photos of hybradobe dome in the forest at 
>Eleusisland... please share in the fun here: 
>http://www.5medicines.com/mudpeople.html
>there are (so far, we ain't finished yet!) about 25 pictures there now
Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
PO Box 375, Cutten   CA 95534 707-441-1632    books at dirtcheapbuilder.com
  http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com    http://www.papercrete.com

there is also a fired clay technique called paperclay - the paper 
pulp is added to the mix and then fired out which increases air and 
lightens the material considerably - thats the goal usually with 
paper as i understand it - some fiber = tensile properties and the 
lightness but the weakness is in it's ability to go through wet/dry 
cycles - seems great if it can be kept wet or dry not cycle between 
the two.
blessings
eos

Message: 14
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 13:23:19 -0500
From: "Marlin" <lightearth at onebox.com>

anyone else that has also experimented with shredded paper (yes, it's 
me the urban waste nut :) in a cob mix in lieu of straw? I'm 
interested in all of the stuff that you're trying and the WHY of the 
materials/choices/solutions that you're looking into.

For me (once again) I'm looking to make stuff out of recycled 
materials IN ADDITION to natural materials and strawbales are not 
very indigenous to the inner city , clay and shredded paper are...

Thanx

Marlin Nissen
www.outtathebox.org