I'm not sure good mixers are low cost. Ideally a tub type plaster mixer. but you could use a low speed mixer drill with paddle and tie it to a temporary frame.
If you're not comitted to using papercrete and want to try some mixes, sample amounts can be done with a kitchen wand blender.
NT
ps its probably also possible to use a conventional mixer if you put a handful of bricks in, would be rather slow though.
That seems to be the one saving grace. I expected the whole thing to collapse when I walked in but the sides (or at least the three I can get to) seem quite rigid with no shake. Some of the panels need repair/replace but that's no big deal.
But noisy in the rain. Maybe an option though but I'll still need support to span the 12' in more than one place.
Whilst the roof and floor are bad the sides are quite sturdy, which surprised me.
That was cleared! Couldn't see the shed at all even to take a photo.
Just to confirm - 4"x2" should be self supporting across a 12' span?
Why as close as 16"? To support weight if I'm working on top? (see note)
Looks interesting - about 5 or 6 panels should do it?
Just a thought but what about then putting some corrugated plastic or iron on top instead?
Note: Several years ago a neighbour "in the trade" said he could get the roof fixed. He sent around a 6'4" 18 stone guy. I don't think the roof ever recovered.
Yup - it would not meet building regs for a room floor or anything, but should be adequate for keeping the roof and you out of the shed while working on it. Its also a cheap and easy size to buy - everyone will have 4x2.
Yup - you could probably go to 24" spacing if you want. Make sure you get a joist at each board intersection so you don't have any long unsupported edges, and screw the boards down well. (if using felt, you don't want the boards to move against each other at the joins since this is what will split the felt)
I would expect so.
Yup, nothing to stop you doing that. Depends on what you want to do in the space. Plastic can let through lots of light, but will be loud and creaky and encourage huge temperature swings. Similar for iron without the light. However both are cheap. Plastic would also include the multiwall polycarbonate sheets - pricey but much better thermally.
Yes, well that would be why I use fairly substantial timbers and decking on anything I plan to climb on top of! ;-)
I was under the impression that the home made mixers also included a blade for shredding the paper. Presumably if one had other ways to shread the paper then a conventional mixer would work ok.
;-)
Compared to most sheds that sounds like spare change!
You could pay twice that for a flimsy prefab job with a layer of crap felt on the top.
Usually building your own costs as much or more than the commercial offerings - but that is usually because you can't bring yourself to use the crap materials they do.
Indeed.
Some interesting stuff about papercrete on YouTube. One gets the impression it's best to live in New Mexico or similar.
And drive a "truck" with enough ground clearance to drive over moulds while having a spare acre or two to do it ;-)
Although given the nature of cement curing, the actual "drying out" of the blocks may not really matter. Once they are set enough to be strong enough, they can probably be erected while still damp. So the climate might not be a show stopper.
Typical papercrete mixers don't do much shredding, what they do is pulp. A simple paddle mixer in drill does the same, just on a smaller scale. The downsides are needing to hold it, and it can choke on large blocks of paper.
NT
Papercrete is mostly paper, and behaves not like concrete. The stuff only sets when its dry. Once dry, the cement prevents it reliquidising once wet again. The lime content from the cement makes it mouldproof. The end result is a very lightweight mixture a bit like AAC blocks, but with slight springiness if the mix is low cement.
There's no standard mix. PC can be anything from tough hard high cement mixes to weak low cement mixes, and a wide range of additives are sometimes used.
You'd want to walk on something supported by that shed....?
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