[Cob] Re: insulation-AKA PARACRETE

[ocean]

Hey Charmanine,

Why wouldn't clay bind to they styrofoam?  Isn't clay very sticky 
stuff?  Still, I would want to use "styro-cob" as infill in a wooden 
post & beam structure, or in the place of "light clay" in regular 2x4 
wall framing...

Ocean

On Jan 17, 2006, at 4:21 PM, dirtcheapbuilder-Charmaine Taylor wrote:

> On Jan 17, 2006, at 3:13 PM, Will Kernan wrote:
>
>> I have made some test blocks at 1 to 1 and 2 to 1 ratios of cob to 
>> Styrofoam. The blocks are very light,  don't burn, and are durable 
>> enough to be a wall surface. They aren't as strong  as regular cob. I 
>> haven't found a way to quickly shred the foam, a friend is going to 
>> loan me a wood chipper to try.
>
>  Hi-   a builder at Mother's Trust Spiritual homestead-retreat created 
>  Paracrete - which is cement and  styrofoam dust- aka "grind" a waste. 
>  it may be better to use  cement for this type of material for 
> strength, and eps in clay-cob may be a hindrance, not a structural 
> help.  the clay will not chemically bind with the eps dust. and so 
> weaken the overall  mass.  adding lime to the cob may help, but does 
> not solve the  chemical bond issue.