Well.... I've run into winter.
Completely underestimated how long this would take me. But I should give an update since everyone has been so helpful here as I planned this and pushed forward with it late summer.
- One setback. Was finally just starting to build my mixer three weeks ago and injured a tendon and/or ligament in my elbow region and pretty much lost use of my right (dominant) forearm and hand for a couple weeks. (Still giving me lots of trouble and doesn't like for me to lift more than a pound or two at most.) That was a huge setback and frustration. Because I thought I had just enough time to get one shell of a building up and sprayed before winter would hit. Didn't get that far.
So here's how far I have gotten:
-- Came up with and modeled an octagonal hogan-like design that I THINK will be structurally sound and that will use metal conduit for basic framing.
-- Site cleared, leveled.
-- Nearly all equipment purchased that I will need in order to spray and pour my 'crete mix. (Experience so far tells me that I will discover quite a few more little things -- and maybe a big one or two -- that I will need yet, as I progress.)
-- Still gathering some things like windows. Have some nice ones. Need more. Need to find a couple exterior doors, too. Free_cycle has been really helpful with this. As has the "free" section on Craig's List.
-- Secured an "endless" free paper supply. Will be hauling tote-loads all winter, I suppose. Am going to need to pick up more totes and to find a good way to keep the paper dry. Will share what that "endless supply" is once I have all that I need for my project. Don't know how long it will be available if lots of people, or several, were to seek the same permission that I have obtained. So need to remain quiet about this right now.
-- Secured an "endless" free burlap supply and have collected enough so far to skin the first pod that will go up.
-- Have secured a free source for plastic 30-gallon and 55-gallon drums. Still need to collect a few more. Seem to be able to come up with about one per week in the nearby small city (Santa Fe, 70,000 population). If I ventured to Albuquerque (about 110-mile roundtrip) and contacted sources there, could probably get all I needed within two or three weeks. I can haul four at a time on my little flatbed trailer. Two or three trips would give all I think I will need for various purposes on this project. But I haven't explored the possibilties in Albuquerque since I have a source for them in Santa Fe, which is much closer.)
-- So far have obtained about a thousand 55 lb. grain bags (poly) for free for use in the foundation rings of the various building pods. (Sand filled, leveled, then asphalt-emulsion coated.) Since I have all winter to think about it and raise more money for the project now, may rethink this and do a more traditional foundation come spring. Then, what will I do with all those bags?
-- Obtained several super-heavy cardboard totes (275 gallon) which I intend to "rub-r slate" and test. (Will do one as a test to see how well it will hold liquid once treated inside and out. If works well, then two of these will become the tanks for my septic system and I will experiment with using one for the tank for my pull-behind papercrete mixer.)
-- Purchased one metal-reinforced/caged plastic tote (275 gallon). Will use that for my mixer tank if the rub-r-slate treated cardboard tote will not do the job. Otherwise, the plastic tote (filled with water and sitting inside in front of large south-facing windows) will become thermal mass for my solar heating in one pod.
-- Have spent roughly twice what I thought it would cost so far and still need to raise some more for the project. And things have taken at least twice as long as I thought they would. Part of that is because I adjusted my approach several times as I learned more about all of this and started experimenting with things. Part of that is just the way it is. (We always need to allow more time than we think we'll need.)
-- My old Subaru Legacy wagon is sagging in the rear from pulling my flatbed trailer on maybe a thousand miles worth of trips hauling supplies the last couple months. Probably needs new struts all the way around. An unanticipated and necessary expense I'll have to budget for.
-- Originally was hoping to get one livable pod up and shelled before I hit the freezing weather. And then work on its interior a bit all winter and when it's warm enough again in late Spring, start on the other pods. Doesn't look like I made it. Should we have a sudden 10 or 14-day unusually warm spell this month -- which is not predicted -- I might still get there. But that doesn't seem likely.
So it seems like my project may be in rest state now 'til late Spring due to the freezing weather. Freezing every night. Far too chilly to be outdoors working with water and papercrete. Does warm up into the high 40s or low 50s by about 2 in the afternoon most days. And then I have about 2 hours at best of daylight. And don't know how well papercrete can cure if it is going to freeze overnight. So don't know how wise it would be to attempt to pour or spray during that two-hour window of "warmth."
- Now I need to figure out an effective way to cover and keep dry all the equipment and supplies I've gathered. Poly tarps seem to have about a 45- to 60- day life at the maximum in the New Mexico sun. Stuff is on pallets, so don't have to worry about it soaking up moisture from below. But am going to need to keep rain and snow off it. And somehow manage to keep the tarps on during the wicked late-winter, early-Spring windstorms.
-- Remains a slight possibility that I can get one pod framed and burlap skinned here in the late fall. And maybe -- maybe -- I can manage to give it a half-inch thick coating of asphalt-emulsion stabilized papercrete so that I will have a weatherproof shell of a building up and in which I could move much of the stuff that needs to be kept out of the weather. If that happens, I'll be videoing the process and will report about it here. Won't be skinning a frame unless I'm sure I can get at least one coat of a shell material onto it. (Otherwise the sun and weather will destroy the burlap before spring.)
Thanks again for all the help so far. And am looking forward to spring.
-- ken
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