creative endeavors involving polymer and ceramic clay, cement, papercrete, and more
DIY Swimming Pool Refurbished
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This little swimming pool -- about 12' x 6' x 4.5' deep-- is almost thirty years old and has been refurbished several times. It needed some patching and painting and we almost did away with it, but in the end couldn't part with it. We used an epoxy pool paint this time -- a deeper blue and very pretty, I think. Small, but perfect for a dip in the evening.
Here is a younger me digging that hole.
Paradise days -- my lovely wife and our good dog, Henry.
Current formula for "sculpting mortar" -- 10 parts sand 6 parts clay dust 2 parts Portland cement 3 parts builder's lime This mix is light and malleable and has held up well for me outside. I sometimes add a little joint compound or asphalt emulsion. I generally mix the dry ingredients in a cement mixer and store it in five gallon buckets. I'll mix a few cups at a time with water. I mix it very damp but clumpy. I'll dip my gloved hand in water and massage a palm full of the mix, which becomes wet and malleable very quickly. When I thought of adding clay to an earlier recipe I searched for "powered clay," and local shops didn't know what I was talking about. I found clay dust online sold by the bag at The Ceramic Shop in Pennsylvania. I get builder's lime at a supplier for concrete products. I cover the work with wet towels and plastic bags to reduce the little hairline cracks that can form as mortar dries. I've been staining some of t...
Experiments using various 3:1 mixtures of cellulose insulation (paper), peat moss, and sand with Portland cement -- three parts aggregate to one part cement -- with sundry ingredients added (builder's lime, joint compound, asphalt emulsion). Trying for a more malleable, clay-like "concrete" formula.
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