Our task this week is to finish off the substrate for the barrel vault arch. We'll also continue the testing of our DIY meshcrete as a replacement for surface bonding cement. In this photo, you can see that we'll need to finish the roof and bring the ferrocement over the lip of the roof and down the wall a bit. The ferrocement should come over the outside edge of the wall to seal out water and weather.
We lay in some chicken wire and a layer of nylon mesh netting and hand-trowel our cement in. In this photo, you will notice the edge of the mesh netting, the chicken wire and some of the 6 mil plastic from the roof which will be cemented down the wall. I have found that buying this very useful nylon mesh netting at fabric stores is an excellent way to generate questions about my wedding plans and/or my sexual preferences.
The nylon netting provides an amazing amount of flexible structural support and a substantial reduction in cracking to our ferrocement work. The common problem of chicken wire poking up through the thin layers of concrete which are used in ferrocement work is greatly reduced by using a layer of mesh on top, which also provides a smoother finish. Here, you can see the net come up over the parapet from the wall. This "meshcrete" will help seal the top of the wall from rain, as well as tie the wall into the ferrocement work of the roof.
A closer look at the meshcrete we're using instead of surface bonding cement on the walls. The left part of the photo is a wall with a 1/8 inch thick cladding of meshcrete. The right side of the photo is the untreated wall. Adherence to the wall is superb and cracks from the concrete curing are very hard to find. We've found a little info on the Web about the use of nylon fishing nets for concrete reinforcement, but I think we may be the first folks using mesh fabric in this way.
Time for the victory dance that goes with successfully winding up a phase of construction. As we bask in all that DIY glory (or is it just heat rash?), it's mighty hard not to feel a little pleased. The hardest part of the roof is finished, we've discovered a unique building material and saved ourselves some serious money in the process. The use of meshcrete will save us a few thousand dollars on surface bonding cement for the walls alone. We've got a "net" profit for the day and it's 4:20. Time to call it a day...
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