Concrete "Modeling Clay", Sidewalk, & Aquaponics


These stepping stones are primarily made of mortar -- one part Portland cement, two parts sand, water to a pasty consistency. The faces are modeled with the same mixture, only with less water -- the mortar was only damp and was clumping a bit -- and a fair amount of ready mix joint compound.
A fair amount meaning...a big gob.
A handful.
I'm hoping these pieces will become part of one section the sidewalk I've been working on. They will be set at either side of a walkway.
This was my first effort at modeling with cement sans cellulose fiber (i.e. papercrete). The "concrete clay" handled pretty well, so I think it's something I can build on regarding my efforts at outdoor sculpture. I have no idea how well this "soft" concrete that is so inundated with joint compound will fare in the elements.
Friday I finally got to work on the sidewalk leading to the gazebo, pouring 12 80-pounds bags of concrete mix.
On the Aquaponics front, we ran the pump five hours on a 12 volt battery -- testing one aspect of a "backup" system in case the power goes out. We probably could have gone longer, but were satisfied that we could run the pump awhile using the battery and a small inverter. We still need a smaller, second pump to use as a spare. We also ordered our Ammonia test strips. Our plants are setting ontop the fish tank in our little Aquaponics house-- two tomatoes, two peppers, a zuchini, and an eggplant --all waiting approximately two weeks for our 12 Tilapia fingerlings from the local supplier.

Comments

  1. KellyMarch 22, 2015 at 6:59 PM

    Hi Michael, I'm very new to papercrete but am shredding lbs and lbs of newspapers to make some "walk overs" for my small farm. During the winter/spring we get rain (lots of rain) and the gates between my pastures and gate into the nightpen and barn are quagmires of standing water and mud . . . my poor sheep end up trying to jump over and slipping on landing . . . . bottom line, I'm hoping to build small ramps that go up (about 8 inches tall) and extend well over the gate areas so that they have little "foot bridges" to get past the mud and water.

    All that to ask the question: if I use AE to coat the final papercrete blocks/ramps, do you think they will be effective, sturdy remedies for the problem I described?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Drip Irrigation Experiment 2

Image
I placed another four inch block under the barrel (I think the higher it is, the better) and changed the middle four way connector to a tee, eliminating the middle emitter pipe. Then I graded the bed a little toward the barrel and water flow is much better. I think the 1/8” holes may be too large. I’ll be making another drip irrigator for a smaller bed, and I’ll drill 1 /16” holes instead. Also on this barrel, the mosquito screen top is in place, held on with a band of hanging wire. Since getting that screen to stay in place was a bit of a pain, I placed a 2” PVC fitting with cap near the top of the barrel as a filler. We’re excited and can’t wait to plant.
Read more

Drip Irrigation Experiment 3

Image
The second drip irrigation barrel was easier and less expensive to make. I drilled a 7/8” hole near the bottom and forced an old ¾” hose bib in. It took a lot of force to start turning that hose bib, but once it was in, no leaks, and no need for a washer or even a nut or fitting to hold it in place. The same went for the 2” PVC fitting used as a fill spout. Cutting the hole just slightly too small made for a tight fit and no fitting on the inside to hold it in place. This bed is not as wide as the other, so I used two emitter pipes rather than four. I drilled 1/16” holes approximately 12” apart. It takes about six hours to empty the 50 gallon barrel, which means, I hope, my irrigator will water our garden plants for six long hot hours each day this summer. I used a product called “Liquid Tape” to seal the 1/8 inch holes on my first effort, and re-drilled on the other side of the pipe with the 1/16” bit.
Read more

Improvised Shelves for our Frigidaire Refrigerator

Image
Well, this is not necessarily recommended. Ask me in six weeks, or six months, how it's going and maybe I'll recommend it then. These machines--these Frigidaire Energy Star refrigerators (like the one we purchased at Lowes only four short years ago) are frail. Seriously. All the cheesy, half-ass components that make this feeble milksop of an appliance come to life supposedly work together to make it more energy efficient. Cheap, frail plastic and glass shelves included. Of course, the energy efficient aspect of these newfangled appliances are supposed to save us money. That's the sales pitch, anyway. We replace our shabby old energy hungry appliances with new ones (appliance purchases usually indiiate an emergency, so we might well be using our credit card to make the purchase), and we're rewarded not only by a cleaner environment, but with a slightly fatter wallet. Only so far, this particular appliance is begging to be replaced after only four years. That's not le
Read more