This is my first post in a while. Much has happened since my last post that has occupied my time and energy. Wanda woke up one morning about three weeks ago with Bell's Palsy. At first we were concerned because the one sided paralysis of her face led us to worry that she had had a stoke. But after going to the Dr. we learned that that was not the case. As if it was not bad enough that it left her face misshapen, apparently the medication she was prescribed made her feel extremely sick. We were told that the Bell's Palsy would most likely go away in anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months. She is dong fine now however, after just 3 weeks. The paralysis in her face went away after within 2 weeks, but it took another week before the effects of the medication went away enough for her to go back to work.
Just before she became ill I had begun experimenting with the papercrete. I had researched how to mix the papercrete but learned that it is a matter of testing different formulas to get the right mixture of paper, cement, and sand.
We began by soaking the paper to break it down. I then used a stucco mixer which I got from the hardware store, attached to my drill, to mix the paper into a pulp.
Once that was done I added my cement and sand. At this point I am just mixing up enough to make one or two bricks at a time until I get the right mixture.
Once the mixture was ready I poured it into a frame that I made to form the bricks. I am making my bricks 12"x18"x5". For now I made the frame for 2 bricks at a time.
All that was left now was to let the brick dry. I knew something was wrong after about 5 days and the brick still was not dry. I figured that part of the reason for that was that it was still cold (especially at night). But when the brick finally did dry I found that the brick could be easily be broken apart. Apparently my first attempt was not a success. But it was not a failure either, because I learned that my original mixture had too much paper and not enough cement.
In the next few days I hope to whip up another batch of papercrete and hopefully make my first usable brick.
Sorry about the bout with Bell's. My daughter has had about 10 bouts with it and it's side effects. Stress will trigger hers..I hope like most people she only has this the one time the trick it to get on the steroids right away.
ReplyDeleteI used papercrete to stucco the outside of my shed. What do you plan to use for waterproofing?