Our House

One of the really great sites I’ve found is Mason Greenstar. Conversations with the owner, Zack Rabon, have been both helpful and illuminating. He has developed an admixture for enhancing and improving papercrete properties. His company is currently working on developing papercrete panels to compliment the blocks they already produce. This is definately a company to watch.

In my conversations with Zack I have had a couple epiphanies. I’d like to extend my thanks to Zack for allowing me to babble in his direction.

I think having a porous floor in my form will be sufficient. I don’t think the sides of the form need to assist in the draining and drying.

I need to include the headers for doors and windows in my pour. (Duh! Why I didn’t think of this sooner is beyond me.)

I found a contractor who pours his tiltwalls (rc with insulation) with the windows and doors in place. I’ve got to go look and see if he does so with bucks installed around the windows . . . I think that’s what I remember. I’ll have to go back and look.

I do have a question. Keeping cement hydrated increases the strength. Papercrete, by its very nature, dries out more quickly than rc. How much stronger will papercrete be if it’s allowed to remain hydrated longer? Should I wrap the wall in plastic and keep the moisture in for a couple weeks? Must research . . .

I ran into a site with beautiful and thoughtful architecture. I’ve always liked the appearance of rammed earth, and the poured earth this company uses is as beautiful as the rammed earth walls I’ve seen. What this site offers is beyond just the technology of using earth to build homes by ramming or pouring. These homes are both thoughtfully designed and functionally engineered with elegant spaces. I did find the “affordable” base price of $225/sf amusing when I’m trying to build a house at ~$10/sf, but realize the price they’ve quoted is with top end everything with specialist contractors doing floors, heating, et al. The homes do look richly designed and decorated, and I believe I’d be happy to live in any one of them (as long as someone else footed the bill for construction). The spaces are open and airy and feel warm and inviting. Ideal, in my opinion.