Balloon FormsThe main body of the dome was built with balloon forms and and a thin shotcrete layer.Balloon form structures were originally developed by Lloyd Turner, of Santa Cruz, CA. featured on HGTV's Extreme Homes "Subterraneans". Other monolithic dome homes and earth sheltered, or underground house designs can utilize the hopper sprayer for part of the construction process. Natural BuildingThe hopper sprayer is immensely popular with strawbale and alternative methods such as earthbag, and cob. Applying finishes such as lime plaster, clay slip, earthen renders, papercrete, fibercrete, and cement stucco is simplified. Tedious hand troweling for multiple application coats is reduced greatly.Faux Rocks & Tufastone CreationsBase coat spraying of man made rebar-framed boulders, large garden structures and other ferro and hyper tufa ornaments is greatly speeded up.The hopper sprayer delivers an even "spatter coat" that is easily controlled for thickness and texture. The first layer (scratch coat) can be sprayed, and left to cure, allowing plenty of "tooth" for the second coat. Troweling is then easy when creating textures or smoothing and defining detail on large "boulders", pond-scapes and water features. Conventional StuccoingThe Mortar Sprayer can be used with conventional stuccoing on diamond mesh lath, with stuccoing on straw, with stuccoing on concrete masonry units, and with stuccoing on burlap. It can be used for stuccoing on netting over water-resistive membranes, but a little extra care is needed to ensure that the stucco does not slough off. Other uses include spraying mortar for Ferro-cement and shooting Fibercrete /papercrete mixes.Cement RequirementsCement comes in 1 cubic foot bags. Masonry cement usually ranges from 70 to 78 pounds. Plastic or stucco cement usually is 80 or 94 pounds. Portland or blended hydraulic cement is usually 94 pounds. Some companies make “half-bags” of cement. A 47-pound bag of Portland cement is not a cubic foot, but a half cubic foot. Lime is usually packaged in 1.25 cubic foot bags which weigh 50 pounds.Three cubic feet of loose, damp sand fills four 5-gallon buckets level full. Notes from NolanPlease view the Directions for Use by Herb Nordmeyer.Thank you Herb for taking the time to put together a set of directions to help get people started with spraying. I truly enjoy using these sprayers and seeing the possibilities they open up for builders. Normally I recommend people use a 5 horse power 220 volt compressor for full speed spraying. This is the size I use when in fast production. The manufacturer recommends at least 7 acfm (actual cubic feet per minute) @ 90psi as the minimum requirement. People have reported using less but I don’t want someone to be disappointed by not having enough air to do the job. The pressure used can vary widely by the mix used. For Papercrete, I would use lower pressure around 50psi. For stiff mortar mixes I prefer about 100 psi. With enough air power, the sprayer can empty a wheelbarrow faster than a second wheel barrow can be delivered from a mixer. We use the sprayer to scoop directly out of the wheel barrow for increased speed. We use 2 all steel mason’s wheel barrows. The mason’s wheel barrows can be recognized because they are narrower than a regular contractor’s wheel barrow and have steel handles. These flex less when running up ramps with large loads of material. If anyone needs a picture for a description, I can email one. Please write to nolan@clipper.net . To start the day with a sprayer, I apply a light coat of LPS3 spray to the unit. This leaves a thin waxy layer on the hopper that aids in clean up latter. When I don’t have LPS3, I use a light coat of WD-40. I pay particular attention to preventing material from setting up in the air jets. I keep the cleaning rod handy for the jets. Hardened mortar in the jets can be close to impossible to clear. The other area I keep an eye on is the air valve. I don’t let material harden on the shaft that can damage the O-rings inside. Every now and then, when I am doing a thorough cleaning, I will disassemble the air valve and grease the inside parts. I have occasionally replaced the o-rings which I purchased from a local supply store. If you have comments or suggestions for using the sprayer, please send them to me. My goal is to help as many people as possible expand their construction possibilities. Best regards, Nolan Scheid sales@mortarsprayer.comFor MORE building information and FREE web resourcesPlease visit: www.papercrete.comSee books and videos about these building methods at |
| ||
| Looking up the castle tower | |
|