|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Project: A 2,163 square foot house utilizing dry stack concrete block construction with a central courtyard and based on the Spanish colonial-era missions in San Antonio. The Challenge: Can a forty-something married couple design and build an attractive, efficient and mostly paid-for house while remaining sane, solvent and married? With no actual prior construction experience? Hmmmmm - let's check in on our Contestants and see how they're doing... |
| Technology, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. My Camelot may be your...oh, you get the idea, so let's talk nylon mesh and cement. Our roof work is basically ferrocement, however, the addition of a layer of cement and nylon netting provides additional tensile strength and reduces cracks as the concrete cures. Note the layer of chicken wire (which provides structural reinforcement) under the layers of mesh as I trowel in the cement by hand. |  |
| A closer look at the ferrocement roofing components we're working with, seen here in profile. The previous layers of ferrocement covered with a layer of cement and nylon mesh (I guess we'll call this "meshcrete") yields a great combination of strength and workability. This substrate for the barrel vault is capable of supporting my weight, even as thin as it is. The roof will get another layer of meshcrete before it is sealed. |  |
| Curiosity leads me to drape this mesh fabric over the top of the parapet and down this wall to see how well meshcrete might replace the traditional surface bonding cement used with dry stack block construction. |  |
| A closeup look at the meshcrete as I apply the cement by hand to the wall. Surface bonding cement is basically a 1/8 inch coat of cement with either fiberglass or nylon fibers troweled onto the blocks. This approach seems to be working very well as the mesh almost acts like lathe for stucco. I smooth out the finish by hand as I go along. |  |
| I finished this section with a minimal amount of grunting in about 30 minutes, including mixing up the cement, working by myself. I take the meshcrete up and over the top of the parapet to seal it from the elements. So far, [EDITOR'S NOTE: regrettable pun ahead] our DIY meshcrete seems to be making it over the hump here at Camelot... |  |
| Want to see a rough floor plan?Want to be notified when we post new pictures? Just e-mail us! Want to see the rest of the story? Click on Gimme Shelter Home Page. |
|
| Next installment: Net Profit? Click HERE |
All music and data on this site ©2001 and 2003 TexasMusicForge.com. Any unauthorized usage of music and/or data from this site is strictly prohibited and will get you tied up and dragged behind my horse.
E.M. Kliman, Proprietor.