Cordwood Building With Paper-Enhanced Mortar – DIY – MOTHER EARTH NEWS


Cordwood masonry is an historic constructing approach whereby partitions are constructed from “log ends” laid transversely within the wall. It’s simple, economical, esthetically placing, energy-efficient and environmentally-sound. Cordwood Constructing: The State of the Artwork (New Society Publishers, 2003),edited by Rob Roy, is a key useful resource on cordwood constructing, bringing collectively the knowledge of 25 of the world’s finest practitioners. The next excerpt is a chapter on paper-enhanced mortar, or PEM, additionally referred to as “papercrete.”  

Sure, the writing is within the wall. It’s winter 2002. I’ve simply completed my first yr’s work constructing a cordwood dwelling in southeast Minnesota, utilizing newspaper together with sand and Sort N masonry cement. I name this combination “paper-enhanced mortar” or “PEM” — a extra correct time period, I believe, than the time period “papercrete,” used somewhat casually with any cement and paper combination.

Though the idea of utilizing paper by-products in a cordwood mortar combine remains to be in its infancy, it’s my opinion (somewhat than reality) that my present combine is “buildworthy.” My experiment is being carried out in a cordwood wall that has a put up and beam body. My home is a two-story, 16-sided kind made together with the Double Wall Method. With load-bearing cordwood partitions, I might be reluctant to make use of this mortar as a consequence of its decrease power.

I began my first wall, following within the footsteps of Jim Juczak — effectively, form of. I’ve by no means seen Jim’s sneakers, and sadly, I’m not near a paper mill to get any free paper sludge. (Are you able to inform I’m jealous?) So as an alternative, I used to be in a position to work out a cope with the county’s recycling heart for 75-pound (34-kilogram) bales of shredded newspaper. The primary bales additionally contained workplace paper waste, which was laborious to slurry. However after some “case of beer negotiations,” the blokes on the recycling heart have been completely satisfied to produce me with “pure” newspaper.

My first combine was a mixture of two elements slurried newspaper to 1 half masonry cement. No sand. I’d tried this combine on a take a look at wall with success, so it appeared okay to make use of on the home. The combination was very moist and laborious to level; it had a slight cottage cheese texture to it. After I accomplished the primary 8-foot sq. (2.4-meter sq.) panel of our dwelling, I left it to dry for a few weeks … then a pair extra weeks … after which a pair extra weeks.





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