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In Cascade, ID -- we had an old salt (gone now) who used to make his own brick-sized "bricks" out of concrete. He would lay up conventional brick walls, mixing in a few salvaged real bricks for color and effect. The walls look great all these years later and at least two of them can still be seen in town -- one at the house where he used to live -- two doors down from where my Mom's house used to be.
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When oil came in the round metal and cardboard containers, my Dad would bury three of them for "fill" and pour conventional-sized concrete building blocks -- several pop cans (opening down) would serve the same purpose = strong block while "stretching" the concrete. This way if he ran short on a project, he could buy a few blocks from the store and finish the project quickly. ==========
I don't know if this helps any with metal forms -- and it's probably not very earth friendly either -- but for re-useable wood forms (and they ARE re-useable), we've sprayed (with a pump-up garden sprayer) or brushed on used motor oil to make the forms MUCH easier to remove. (If you're reluctant to use oil, even spraying the forms with water right before the pour helps.)
Remember to use rubber gloves -- the lime in concrete will do a real number on your hands -- and keep tools and everything clean and dry OR drop 'em in a bucket of water (or a trash can of water for larger hoes and rakes and shovels) if you don't have time to clean them immediately. When you're done, spray metal tools with WD40 or similar and they'll stay like new and rust free indefinitely -- and a used paid-for tool is better than a new expensive tool any day -- plus your Grandpa or whoever you might have borrowed the tools from will LOVE you for it!
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I think all manner of plastic and glass and any non-organic debris could be used for fill. (And certainly SOME stable organic debris -- like wood chips and chopped straw could be used as well. There's considerable evidence that wood chips and chainsaw debris -- maybe even sawdust -- (all soaked in water overnight) actually slow the cure, minimizing cracks AND making for a
stronger cured-out mortar or block.) I believe it was Rob Roy and his experiments with mortar for cordwood masonry which convinced me of the viability of using wood chips & chainsaw debris mixed with concrete. It's a great way to dispose of broken glass and plastic wrapping and styrofoam meat containers -- basically any household trash that won't burn "cleanly" or decompose in a compost pile. If you can't safely burn it or compost it, encase it in concrete blocks and build stuff!
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I heard of the Chinese building large four-sided "blocks" with a floor -- all made of concrete. They would fill the blocks with their refuse -- presumably NOT human or animal manure as that is used for fertilizer -- and then pour a lid to complete the block and build all kinds of walls and structures with them. When I first heard scientists telling us how "safe" nuclear reactors and their radioactive waste is, that was my first thought: Let's build some houses with these "Chinese" blocks, fill them with this "safe" radioactive waste, require these so-called "scientists" and THEIR golden heirs to live in them for a few generations for a real-life experiment and then we'll see just how safe this stuff REALLY is. I call it putting your body and the bodies of those you love where your mouth is. I'd compare it to Trump and his progeny living -- as they do --
in the Trump Tower. It must be safe, right?
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sail4free
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PS ~ does anyone have any recipes for "earthcrete" (dirt and concrete mixed together) which would work for building blocks? The contrast between dirt-colored blocks and concrete-colored masonry might be more visually pleasing. Plain concrete-colored blocks with concrete-colored masonry are b-o-r-i-n-g to look at. How about adding crushed charcoal or chopped dead pine
needles or chopped up pine cones or some of that red sand from Moab, UT for color or would the charcoal upset the chemical magic?
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This reminds me of one of my favorite "floors" -- using 2X4 redwood scraps on edge to build permanent forms in a random pattern for a floor poured-in-place over a plastic vapor barrier (overlap loose edges 6" and secure with continuous duct tape). (Also important to
have 4" of compacted sand under the pour for good drainage.) (If floor is below grade, plumb drainage off into a constructed "dry well" where a sump pump can be installed if necessary.) Pound rusty old bent nails into all faces which will be covered with concrete (these
"porcupine quills" anchor the boards to the concrete and keep them from heaving up out of the concrete.) Immediately before the pour, sweep or vacuum the top edges of the redwood form boards clean and cover them with duct tape. Do the pour and finish as usual. IMMEDIATELY remove the duct tape so the %&*#! adhesive -- perhaps warmed by the sun -- doesn't mess up the exposed redwood edges too much. Don't worry about falling flotsam knocked loose by
removing the tape, it can be safely brushed off AFTER the concrete is hard enough to walk on. There are many advantages to this approach: (1) no forms to remove and (2) one can break up large, intimidating areas into smaller portions which are easily worked by us D-I-Yers withOUT power trowels, long-handled trowels, etc. If the smaller dimension is kept to 6' or less, one can reach out and trowel with a regular, hand-held trowel but no reason pad areas can't be 2' by 4' or even 12" square for that matter -- just remember to install the "porcupine quills" before assembling the forms OR leave room to swing a hammer. "Broom" finishes are sure forgiving for us amateurs or whenever traction is needed on a sloping ramp or garage door apron (a small
area of concrete which makes the transition from dirt or blacktop up to a concrete slab floor), for example. The redwood edges can be sealed -- multiple coats with a clear sealer -- immediately. Most concrete sealers will require the concrete to cure a specified number of weeks BEFORE
sealing the concrete -- read the containers carefully for best results. This gives you a surface much prettier to look at and a lot easier to sweep and clean. A few random ceramic tiles or woodrounds or chunks of plastic pipe on end could always be fitted in during the pour for even more creative fun. Redwood is soft, so don't be dragging monster furniture or refrigerators
across the stuff -- wheels on carts are one of our earliest inventions . . . use them!
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sail4free (last edited 11/14/06)
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