Papercrete Flame Test

[aiacopino]

Thank you sklarm.... I checked other people's sites and I saw some with adobe and lime that are very appealing to me. Thanks again.

[aiacopino]

I wonder if there is any alternative to the use of cement or concrete to hold the paper together... any thoughts?

[sklarm]

@aiacopino clay or lime can be used.

[fookingsoc]

When you have a flammable material, paper fibers in this instance, encapsulated in a non-flammable materiel, which is the concrete, you have a self-extinguishing building material. The reason for this is, is that the fuel which is the paper/wood fibers is not available quickly enough to keep the combustion temperature up and therefore starves itself....Great Work!

[krisofamericas]

How does the papercrete block hod up to water? I'm just wondering if papercrete is only for dry climates or will it hold up to snowy winters or rainy seasons.

[sklarm]

@krisofamericas it's fine in dry climates ( < 10" of rain a year). I would not recommend it for a wet location. 

[dodgedart74]

businessman gone construction worker, cause 1 joint.. fail

[YiuTeub]

put wood near flame tip and try again. 

[circusgirlee]

This would have been a better test if you had used the flatof the 2x4. However, your point that papercrete won't just go up in smoke is well illustrated. As to "TheKingdomofErnor"'s assertion that paper has no negative effect on the environment, that is wildly incorrect. There are two major problems with it. First, harsh chemicals are used to process pulp and second tree farms are not forests, but would otherwise be so. Keep going with the papercrete - love it!

[722erodz]

good info : ]

[tucsonpersonified]

Your not a very good pyromaniac!

[zekehooper]

As far as the blocks go for fire proffing, they are basicly like the tile on the space shuttle. The paper is nothing more than cellulose that degrades in the cement creating air pockets and that is what makes it fire proof....Like lava rock. That being said, it would be the covering that would get the fire first. An earth plaster would look and work nice on this type of wall.

[722erodz]

so cement and paper can be fire proof, weather resistant, good for building dome homes? : ]

[flyingpigstuff]

Now expose it to true bushfire conditions of 30% humidity or less 100kl/h winds with 9000kw^3 meter thermal radiation. (an extreme fire). When you stand the product do so in heat exceeding 600 degrees C for 20 minutes then 200 degrees C for 3 hours. That is what Australian fires typically involve.

[jameslikesstuf]

id like to point out that these blocks would most likely be rendered in the house as the finish looks horribel without it, and therefroe any radiant heat would be striking a render, rather than a papercrete block. and i relation to your question in relation to aussie bushfire conditions most homes cannot withstand such temperatures, but papercrete would stand up better than the majority of wooden homes we have here in aus!!

[jameslikesstuf]

i would like to see a better test though, for example actually placeing a papercrete brick in a fire, rather than simply placing a blowtorch on it.

[CoolPCman]

so your point being: blowtorches suck at setting things on fire?

[HaunterV]

the point being it would be better buiilding material than straight up concrete

[CoolPCman]

well, no it wouldn't. The blowtorch wouldn't hurt concrete either... if you look at the flamability value of it. But as flyingpigstuff said, a blowtorch is not a valid test...

[MrNeosoul99]

Put the blow torch on your dreadlocks and see if it has the same effect.

[TheKingdomofErnor]

paper is biodegradable, has literally no negative effect on the environment

obtaining the paper (cutting down trees) also has 0 negative effect on the environment, since all trees which are cut down are part of tree-farms

virgin wood isn't cut down in the US anymore

[sklarm]

How about recycling pulp? That seems to have severe consequences due to transportation across state lines, chemical usage, water/air pollution.

It is recycling scam that is the real problem.

[TheKingdomofErnor]

well yeah, recycling is a waste of energy and resources for everything other than aluminum

[poosaypirate]

@sklarm RAW Materials also have to be transported and processed with chems what are you TRYING to talk about? crock of shit

[ColdfireTrilogy]

@TheKingdomofErnor lol virgin wood isnt cut down in the US .... ok then whatever makes you sleep at night...

[poosaypirate]

@TheKingdomofErnor ttTHE LESS TREE FARMS WE USE THE BETTERrr!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jesusisyhwh]

You do that to cement block or brick and guess what, it doesn't even smolder.  Cement block and brick are also envioronmentally friendly. They also last a great deal longer than paper.

[NoirMusic]

How is it enviromentally friendly to use a product that requires mining, heavy machinery etc...?

[0000max0000]

as opposed to chopping down trees??

[poosaypirate]

@NoirMusic LOL  desperate

[lamont22222]

yeah you do that to ant concrete product and it explodes

[3DPeter]

@ Jesusisyhwh

Dude, you know jack shit, because it takes a lot of energy to fabricate a brick,

or mining the ingredients for cement, brick and concrete.

[Jesusisyhwh]

Well of course it takes energy to make brick and cement. It takes energy to make anything. Do you think that trees just grow in a vacuum or that papercrete just appears out of no-where? Cement and brick are very environmentally friendly. They are made out of natural minerals that come from the ground. They are non-flammable and require almost no maintenance. Wood only lasts for a little while and then must be replaced. We have unearthed brick buildings thousands of years old..

[3DPeter]

@ Jesusisyhwh

papercrete is made of something we already made, newspapers, and instead of trowing them away, they get a second purpose, so re-using materials is way better for the enviroment than using new ones imo.

Btw, as you can see, papercrete doesn't burn, not even when you hold a blowtorch to it, so it's also safe to use.

[starsquid]

From what I understand, concrete block, aka cinder block will often crack when exposed to focused heat like that.

Regular concrete also requires sand and/or gravel, which has to be dug up from somewhere, whereas the papercrete uses a renewable material- cellulose fiber.

I'd imagine it insulates better than standard concrete, and tolerates tension stresses better too, but then I don't know for certain since I never heard of it before today.

[lnfantryofficer]

The thickness of the material is a factor you neglected in this test. I realize the papercrete block will not likely burn much but the larger block allows more heat dispersion and less oxygen.

[NoirMusic]

They also hit the broad side of the paper block and the edge of the wood. I suspect the creator of the video was desperate to show the superiority rather then the equality of the product.

[usmartine]

Cob homes are made with only clay, sand, straw and water. Paper can be recycled but we will not run out of dirt!

[sklarm]

I measure by dry weight.

As far as blown in insulation i hear itbcan work, but have not tried it myself.

[archidube]

You mention one part cement to one part paper. Is that one bucket of ground up paper and cement or do you go by weight? Also could one use the blow-in cellulose insulation for the paper and mix in a standard cement mixer? Thanks for posting.