[Strawbale] Tashcrete again

[Stone Tool]

	The subject of "trashcrete" seems to have died in the furor of people's 
outrage over the use of Portland Cement as a binder.   It seems that 
clay slip bonded straw is "cool" here but as soon as "crete" is brought 
up it is untouchable.
	It is unfortunate that there have been no intelligent and thoughtful 
responses to this thread...... apparently for this reason.

	The reason for the "crete" rather than the clay slip other than my 
personal objection to the idea of building with "mud" is the ability of 
it to set up / dry in far greater thickness than would be the case with 
mud at a reasonable rate.   Crete has the benefit of setting up more or 
less independently of "dehydration" and is an extremely valuable product 
for that reason.   This is not the case with clay, or lime obviously. 
Looking at available cheap agents to bond, cement is about the only one. 
   The idea of building door and window openings, and spilling and 
tamping a material such as this around it constrained by forms is very 
appealing....... to me at least.   The concept is for a very "dry" mix 
beginning with cement mixed with water, relatively thin, and straw, 
waste paper, pieces of packing material, etc (trash) until the mix is 
fairly dry..... the cement is primarily a bonding agent as with clay 
slip.   Imagine putting up a receptacle for waste Styrofoam.... egg 
cartons, packing, "peanuts", etc..... at the local supermarket or 
somewhere, shredding it along with paper, straw, etc to create a light 
weight matrix (non-load bearing).    Waste materials are 
"environmentally friendly"..... at least if you don't regard crete in 
the same warm and fuzzy light.   Mud is NOT an option for me...... 
perhaps urea formaldehyde adhesive of some sort......

	This could be a very interesting experiment with a small mixer...... to 
see what sort of product could result.   Let's not be hidebound, but 
think outside the box a bit.........  I don't think that it is a sin to 
discuss variants here.

				H.W.