@john316 Prepping Ideas – Are You Prepared Enough? | Be Prepared For The Coming Emergency. Survival Cement
I have many fond memories of making adobes with my grandpa. He had a field in front of his house with stacks of wooden molds made out of 2x8's. We would mix it by the wheel barrow and then shovel it into the forms. If it rained we would cover them with tarps. I wish I had paid more attention when he was alive, can not remember exactly the portions of clay to grass or how long they took to cure.
Saw a video once about some guys making blocks with concrete & paper pulp. They built a trailer using the rear end of a junk car for the the wheels and axle, but they spun it 90 degrees so drive shaft connection pointed straight up. Then they mounted a round watering tank on the trailer, centered over the driveshaft connection. They cut a hole in the bottom and welded a short shaft and some old lawnmower blades onto the driveshaft connection to make an agitator. They sealed it water-tight and added a lid . To make their papercrete slurry they added water, concrete, and a lot of old newspapers. Then they hooked up the trailer and drove around for a few minutes at a fast walk. When they got back, they drained the mix into block forms, leveled them off, and did it again. It worked very well. I think that system would work just a well for making adobe, either as bricks or plaster. It would sure save a lot of stomping. And a lot of time. Add the foliage "rebar" as you plaster on the mix, or just make some forms and cast a thousand or so bricks/blocks a day. Of course, being able to do adobe entirely by hand is a major plus in the bush. Using the machine would make it practical to build an adobe house without having a 30-year mortgage. Here's the video: .
You are partially right, there was horse manure in it but grass was part of the formula. Thank you for reminding me of the manure part.
