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The Site
Building Codes
The Foundation
Building The Walls
Installing The Roof

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Get Yours

THE SITE
The first thing you have to look at in any kind of construction is the site. Orienting the home to take
maximum advantage of passive solar design is of prime importance. It may also be possible to use
the contours of the site to help design the home. For example, if there is a high spot on the site, it
may be possible to build part of the structure into it to take advantage of earth sheltering, or to
construct a lower level or basement. There may be other things on the site, which can help you and some you may want to avoid. For example, the earth and rocks on the site may be material you
can use for building, but there may be low areas on the site, which should be avoided due to
flooding. Some of these decisions are value judgments, which require time and contemplation to
evaluate. If a spot feels good and meets practical requirements, it's more than likely the best place.
Many additional ideas on "Siting A Natural Building" can be found in a book titled "The Art Of
Natural Building".

BUILDING CODES
Building Codes are intended to protect the health and safety of people occupying a structure or
those possibly affected by it or living near it. There is nothing wrong with Building Codes per se, but
they are sometimes used to unnecessarily prohibit perfectly safe procedures or to limit alternatives.
In some cases this is intentional, for example to limit construction procedures and materials to
those championed by special interest groups. But sometimes there is just not enough good
information available to allow Building Safety personnel to deviate from the book. This is where
diplomacy and knowledge come in handy. Usually showing respect, knowing precisely what you
want to do, and having good plans to accomplish it go a long way toward establishing rapport with
Building Safety personnel. Usually your plans or procedure gain a lot of credibility if you can find a
structural engineer or architect who is willing to approve (stamp) them. This approval stamp often
costs quite a bit of money, but some practitioners have found progressive architects who are
interested in working with innovative materials and charge very little.
Building Safety personnel have reason to be cautious. They don't want to be held responsible for
approving a product or procedure which turns out to be unreliable or even dangerous. In many
cases, it is possible to work with them. I have had very good experiences with those who have time
and are willing to listen. I'm not sure that any of the following construction methods are approved in
the Universal Building Code, but they have been used in structures which have been standing for
years.

THE FOUNDATION
The function of a foundation is to support the load of the walls and roof of a structure, prevent
settling, and provide a solid anchor point to hold the structure together. The foundation has to
extend to a depth just below the frost line in your area. Basing the foundation below the frost line

concentrates the load of your structure where it is much less subject to heaving. Heaving is
movement caused by the expansion and contraction of moisture changed to ice during the freeze thaw cycle. The foundation is usually comprised of a footing and stem wall. The stem wall is placed
on the footing or is poured as part of the footing. The function of the stem wall is to elevate wall
construction materials - in this case papercrete - above the ground. This serves to isolate them from
moisture and provide a barrier against bugs and pests.
There are a number of ways to build footings and stem walls. One of the most common ways is to
pour a concrete footing and stem wall in a single monolithic unit. This involves excavating a footing,
placing steel rebar horizontally and vertically, and building forms to support the stem wall. There
are variations on this approach, but they all cost quite a bit of money, and use a significant amount
of concrete - in fact, the footing and stem can cost more than the rest of the papercrete structure
combined. Concrete is strong and quite reliable, but has the propensity to "wick" moisture. If there
is water in the surrounding soil, concrete will absorb the water through capillary action and pool it
on its surfaces, including where the papercrete walls meet the stem wall. Since papercrete is very
hydrophilic- absorbs water quite readily - this situation has to be stringently avoided. Ideally, the
concrete footing and stem wall are isolated from the surrounding soil with drainpipes and/or a layer
of gravel to drain water away. Additionally, some kind of barrier has to be placed between the
concrete and the papercrete - either a good liquid sealer or a physical barrier like a polyethylene sill
sealer.
There are other ways to build footings and stem walls with
tires or with rubble and sand bags. These methods are not
formally recognized, but people are using them. The
foundation with tires involves digging a tire-width trench,
filling tires with gravel or earth, laying them horizontally in
the trench, filling the tire openings with gravel or earth,
tamping them and then constructing a stem wall on top of
them.

Tires are stacked offset like bricks.

Drawing courtesy of Building With
Earth by Paulina Wojciechowska.

This general approach is used in earth ship (rubber tire)

construction for the foundation as well as the walls. Digging
wide trenches and filling tires with earth is very labor
intensive, but it works quite well.

The easiest and least expensive way that I've heard of is to

build a solid foundation for papercrete walls is with rubble
and sand bags. It is not code, but variations of it have been
used successfully to support many structures. A trench
several inches wider than the wall is dug to just below the
frost line. Thoroughly tamp the bottom of the trench.
Starting at the bottom, layers of progressively smaller stones
are placed on top of one another. The bottom layer should
be the coarsest, perhaps 4 inch (10 centimeter) stone,
followed by a layer of 2 inch (5 centimeter) stone, followed
by one-inch (25mm) stone and ending with pea gravel
several inches above grade. Screening your own gravel is a
lot of work, and it is not often possible to get uniform
selected sizes commercially. Usually the sand and gravel
yards sell ranges of sizes like 1/2" - 3/4", 3/4" - 1 1/2", 1 1/2"
- 3", 3" - 8", 6"+, etc. (1.3 - 1.4, 1.4- 4.0, 4.0 - 8.0, 8.0 - 20.0,
15.0+ centimeters)

Rubble footing with sand bag stem.

Drawing courtesy of Building With
Earth by Paulina Wojciechowska.

If you can pick up what you need yourself, the prices average about $6.00 a ton. If delivered, figure
$15.00 a ton plus a truck rental charge. The thickness of each layer and number of layers depends
on the depth of the trench. As each layer is added, it is tamped and leveled with a tamper or a 2 x 4
until the last layer is a few inches above grade. Then two layers of sand bags are laid on top of the
rubble foundation. The sand bags become the stem wall. Make sure that sand or small gauge
gravel is used to fill the bags. If earth is used, and there is a significant amount of silt or clay in it,
there is a good chance the bags will wick water more readily than concrete. Also be sure that the
same amount of sand is placed in all bags. If the amount of sand varies significantly, the size and
thickness of the bag will vary making it difficult to keep the stem wall level and uniform in thickness.
This is a problem especially when more than one person is
filling bags. I found a way to keep the amount of sand
constant and hold the bag open as well. I bought an 8-inch

(20 centimeter) diameter piece of stovepipe and placed it in

the bag. When filled, this stovepipe piece held a little too
much sand so I cut off a section until it held just enough
sand for the type of bag I was using. Incidentally, there is a
tendency to overfill bags. If overfilled, the bag will belly out
and become overly round - even after tamping. This makes
layers of bags unstable. It's best to look at the creases of
the bag and tamp a few bags to determine how thick the
An 8-inch piece of stovepipe holds the bag should be filled. The idea is to get the most flat solid
bag open and measures the amount of
area after tamping. After finding out how much sand it takes
sand.
to do that, pour the sand from that bag into the stovepipe,
mark it and cut if off so that only that amount can be added. The stovepipes are cheap - five or six
dollars. It's easy and inexpensive to make these "measuring cups" so that everyone filling bags has
one.
Layers of bags are laid with offset joints like brick. Two strands of barbed wire are placed in parallel
along the length of - and between the layers of - the sand bags to keep them from sliding across
one another. To keep the papercrete wall from shifting on the sand bags, 3/8 inch (1.8
centimeters) rebar is pounded through the sand bags, at two to four feet intervals, as deep into the
rubble footing as they will go. Pounding rebar through the rubble footing may be difficult, but I'm
told that the rebar sometimes finds its way between the stones. Most people start rebar with a post
driver.
They cost about $20.00 at Home Depot. Its a lot easier on
the hands than using a mall. The post driver leaves a few
inches protruding, so a hand mall has to be used to pound
the remaining length of the rebar all the way in. But at that
point, the rebar is stable enough to save hitting your
knuckles with the mall. If the rebar will not penetrate the
footing at a given point, try pounding it in at a different
angle. If the rebar won't go into the foundation at all, just
leave it impaled in the bags. The idea is to stabilize the first
few courses of papercrete on the sand bags, not nail the
bags to the footing. The weight of the bags and the
papercrete will keep the walls from moving on the footing.

A post driver is used to start the rebar.

A mall is used after the rebar is far
enough in to be stable.

Actually, at least one home I visited had no footing at all.

The site where the home was to be built was very sandy and had no problem with drainage. The
seasonal temperature changes were not extreme enough to cause heaving in loose, sandy soil. So
the builder simply leveled an area for the home, and then spread out about six inches of scoria, a
porous volcanic rock, for sub-floor drainage and insulation. Next he laid a few courses of sand bags
right on top of the scoria. He finished the entire building, walls and roof, with bags of scoria
covered with papercrete. So, absent problems with drainage and frost heave, if walls are thick (i.e.
building loads are spread over a wide base), footings may not be necessary. Many ancient
buildings, standing for hundreds of years, are built on the ground without footings.
In fact, un-reinforced rubble and shaped stone have been
used for foundations and walls for centuries before Portland
cement and rebar were discovered. Some of the early
Native American stone structures of the Southwest, like
those at Chaco Canyon and Pueblo Bonito, are centuries
old, several stories tall and still intact. Some have mud
mortar and others have no mortar at all. Larger stones were
chinked so skillfully with smaller stones that nothing else
was needed.
Some of the walls at Chaco Canyon are Tamping together layers of progressively smaller stones
three stories high, built on the ground,
promotes drainage and strength. Wedging smaller stones
have little or no mortar and have been
between larger stones would seem to stabilize the layers
standing for hundreds of years.

and distribute the load in a horizontal as well as vertical

plane. Unlike a concrete footing and stem wall, a rubble footing with sand bag stem wall will
theoretically not wick water at all.

Building With Earth ,by Paulina Wojciechowska, has a detailed section on foundations. We plan
further experimentation with these foundations early next year.

BUILDING THE WALLS

Ironically, the first decision about walls starts with the roof. Will the papercrete walls support the
roof or will the roof be supported some other way? Currently, it is difficult to get a permit to build a
home with papercrete if it is load bearing," that is if the roof is supported by the walls. Not enough
testing has been done. It is easier to get approval to build roof -supporting garages, sheds or other
structures, since they are not intended to house people. Many localities will permit papercrete walls
as in-fill for homes - that is as non-load bearing walls built between roof -supporting posts. The
posts are connected to the foundation at the bottom and tied in to beams on top. The roof system
is built on top of the beams. This approach is commonly called post and beam."
The posts and beams may be made of wood or steel or a
combination of both depending on local building codes. I
know of one home built with steel post and beam materials,
which the owner was able to obtain nearly for free, because
he was an expert welder. If you want to build inexpensively,
you will become familiar with your local demolition and junk
yards. Its often possible to obtain excellent deals on
building materials in these places, while at the same time be
recycling valuable resources. If the building authorities in
your area go entirely by the book, be careful to check with
them regarding what recycled materials are permissible.
A post and beam home with papercrete
walls used as in-fill.

No matter which method you choose to support your roof,

the walls are built the same way. The rebar, as described above, has ideally been pounded into the
rubble foundation, and has been allowed to protrude a few feet above the sand bags.
The first three or four courses of papercrete will have to be
drilled or impaled on the protruding rebar, or poured in place
around the rebar. The rebar is meant to prevent horizontal
movement. Pounding it into the rubble foundation won't
prevent the walls from lifting vertically, but if something
cataclysmic happens to lift the weight of 12-14 inch (18-35
centimeter) thick papercrete walls, chances are that nothing
would have kept the structure from lifting.
When just a few inches of rebar are visible above the
courses of papercrete, it's time to lay a piece of rebar
Rebar protruding above a concrete
horizontally and wire it to the protruding vertical pieces. Then
footing.
pound the vertical pieces down almost level with the surface
of the papercrete, cover it with a layer of papercrete mortar
and start laying the next courses of blocks. It's a good idea to keep the thickness of the mortar
joints to a minimum whenever possible - ideally about 1/2" (1.25 centimeters). Otherwise, the thick
mortar joints will shrink and your finished walls will lose a bit of height when the mortar is fully
cured. This is a good reason to wait a few weeks after the walls are up (longer in damp climates)
before installing windows and doors. If the mortar joints are thick enough to allow excessive
settling, windows may be broken and doors may not open very well. Usually, excessively thick
mortar joints occur because not enough attention was paid to keeping the blocks level, square and
true as the walls were built - the lazy way to make height and alignment adjustments. Some of this
is unavoidable and not very important, but building the entire height of a wall with 2"-3" (5-7
centimeter) mortar joints will result in some settling. Using a mortar mix rich in Portland cement will
minimize shrinkage and encase each block in a fireproof "container."
But let's get back to installing the rebar. After laying up
another two feet (61 centimeters) of blocks, pound more
four-foot (122 centimeters) rebar through the block layers on
top into the block layers below. Repeat the process above,
laying a piece of rebar horizontally and wiring it to the

protruding vertical pieces. If you're using slip forms instead

of blocks, you can wire the horizontal and vertical pieces of
rebar together, starting at the stem wall, and pour
papercrete around and through them all the way to the top
of the wall. This pins the entire wall together and provides a
great deal of lateral strength.

Horizontal rebar is tied to vertical rebar

for additional strength.

There are two ways to plan for openings in the wall - either frame as you go or leave the rebar out
and cut openings to size with a chain saw at a later time. If you have all of your windows and
doors, or know the size of the openings, you can build frames for them as you put up the wall.
If your walls are load bearing, the frames should be
substantial in case the finished walls settle slightly at the
mortar joints. Do not install flimsy pre-hung doors or
unframed glass as you go in load bearing walls. The settling
that occurs is usually slight, but could be enough to break
unframed glass or knock door jams out of alignment. If you
don't know exactly what your opening sizes will be, leave the
rebar out of the places where openings in the wall are
planned. You can cut them to size later with a chainsaw.
There is one caveat here. If you are using sand or other
solids in your mix, or if you are using more cement to paper
Openings can be framed out for doors than a 50-50 ratio by weight, you may have great difficulty
and windows as walls are built or they
trying to cut openings in the walls after they are dried.
can be cut out with a chainsaw later.
Conventional chain saw blades do not cut through sand or
hardened cement very well at all.

INSTALLING THE ROOF

When you have reached roof height, you have a decision to make. You can attach a wooden plate
to the top of the wall and build a conventional roof framework from there, or you can use vigas.
Vigas are smaller-diameter logs used as roof beams. Some builders drill a hole in the vigas and
anchor them to the wall by pounding a long piece of rebar into the papercrete and bending it over
the viga. If you want to distribute the weight carried by the viga over a greater area, you can notch
it with a chainsaw and position the flat area on the wooden plate attached to the top of the wall.
The wooden plate can be attached to the wall in several
ways - either by 3/8 or rebar, or by spot welding short
pieces of threaded rods on one end of short pieces of rebar.
If the rebar is used by itself, without the threaded rod, drill a
hole in the plate and pound rebar into the papercrete as far
as possible, hopefully a minimum of two feet. It's much
easier to use a post driver than a mall or sledgehammer to
do this. Allow 4"- 6" (10-15 centimeters) of the rebar to
protrude from the hole and bend it over flat with a hand mall.
This should be done every three-four feet depending on
what is beneath the spot where the rebar is being placed.
A post driver is used to start the rebar,
Sometimes obstructions below where the rebar is being
a mall is used to drive it in the last few
driven, like window openings, can be avoided by driving the
inches.
rebar in at an angle. Bending with a hand mall tends to
enlarge the hole made by the rebar and move the block out of position, so the preferred method is
using the threaded rod.
Weld a four inch piece of threaded rod on one end of as many pieces of rebar as you need to hold
the roof down. In essence, you make very long bolts. Drill a hole in the wooden plate, and drive the
rebar into the papercrete until an inch or so of the threaded rod protrudes above the wooden plate.
Place a flat washer over the threaded rod and tighten down a nut. Do this every 3' - 4' feet along
the wall. The wooden plate chosen to distribute the roof weight on the wall should be narrower than
the wall - perhaps a 2x10 - so that papercrete can cover it outside and inside.
In my experience, adding a little Plaster of Paris to
papercrete mix causes papercrete to adhere solidly to wood.

The rebar method of attaching the roof framework to the wall

has been used in structures in Colorado and New Mexico,
which have successfully withstood weathering and storms
for a number of years.
After the roof framework has been installed, you have to
decide whether you want to build a conventional roof, a
papercrete roof or a hybrid papercrete-conventional roof. A
conventional roof is quite expensive; it averages about forty
The wooden plate for the roof is
percent of the cost of the entire structure. A conventional
fastened to the wall with threaded rod
roof has to be well insulated, or the insulating value of
welded to rebar. The rebar protruding
vertically is driven through holes in the building the walls with papercrete will be wasted.
Conventional roof systems are much more expensive than
plate next to the holes with the
threaded rebar. The vertical rebar will papercrete. According to one practitioner, a six-inch thick
hold block in place, which is laid above papercrete roof can be constructed for about 75 cents per
the roof line.
square foot, including a paint sealer. A Spanish tile roof
would cost $11.00 per square foot.

MAKING ROOF PANELS

If you choose a papercrete roof, you have to decide whether you want to make papercrete roof
panels or pour the roof. Pouring the roof is not practical if there is no water on the building site and
it can't be trucked in. In that case, roof panels can be made elsewhere and brought in with a pickup
or utility trailer. When making roof panels, it's best to carefully level the ground where the panels will
be made so the thickness of the panels is consistent. Papercrete panels are made with 2' x 4' (61 x
122 centimeter) forms. The 2' x 4' forms should be built of 2 inch by 4inch (5 x 10 centimeter)
lumber. If you make larger, thicker panels, they will take longer to dry and you may need help to get
them up on the roof. To keep the papercrete clean and help drain out the water, put a sheet of
shade cloth on the ground under the form. Some people use more cement in the mix for roof
panels. Adding too much cement will negatively affect R-value. Strong panels are made by pouring
about two inches of papercrete mix into the form and then spreading a piece of chicken wire over
the mix. Pour the remaining two inches of mix, smooth out the surface with a trowel, and let it set.
In the desert Southwest, you can pull off the form for the next panel in about half an hour. You
should be able to handle the panel in about four days. It will probably take a week or so to
completely dry.
For the greatest strength, roof panels are installed over
offset chicken wire and two thin layers of papercrete. First a
sheet of one-inch chicken wire is tightly stretched over the
ceiling joists or vigas of the structure and fastened in place
with heavy-duty metal staples. A second layer of one-inch
chicken wire is offset 1/2 inch from the first and installed the
same way. Then a thin layer of papercrete is spread on the
chicken wire and allowed to dry to form a strong base for the
roof panel.
Just before installing the roof panels, another thin layer of
papercrete is spread over the base layer to mortar the
panels in place. Then they are screwed to the roof joists or
vigas. Since papercrete is relatively soft, the screws don't
have to be as long as the papercrete is thick. They easily
countersink into the papercrete as they bore into the
underlying joist or viga. Once the first layer of panels are in
place, you can mortar and screw on additional layers of
panels or pour a layer of papercrete. If the roof is relatively
flat, pouring is no problem. If greater than a 4/12 pitch, it
would probably be better to mortar on a second layer of
panels.

Offset chicken wire and thin layers of

papercrete are installed before the roof
panel.

Apply a second thin coat of papercrete

to stick the roof panels in place and

then screw them to the ceiling joists or

vigas.

After the second layer of panels are added, a thin layer of

papercrete should be added over the outside surface to fill the cracks and smooth out the entire
roof surface. At this point, you can choose to leave the papercrete untreated, waterproof it, or
adopt a hybrid approach - cover it with insulating foam or steel sheeting.

Kelly Hart has lived in a sand bag home covered with

untreated papercrete for several years with no leaks. His
home is located in an area where there is snow, and
accompanying freeze-thaw cycles. The roof structure on his
home has a fairly steep pitch, like a cone, but he says
rainwater does not drain off; it sinks in before it can reach
the ground - and then evaporates.
I have also visited a location in New Mexico and walked on
the nearly flat untreated papercrete roof of a shed several
years old. The papercrete had cracked and separated on the
This five year old home is covered with surface a bit, but there was no evidence of leakage.
papercrete without waterproofing. It
hasnt leaked.

Some people write that it is possible to waterproof

papercrete with elastomeric paint like Kool Seal or Henry's
products. Elastomerics are quite expensive. I've examined
these products and they produce a thin, flexible rubber-like
membrane when dry. When I peeled a small sheet of it off a
container and tugged on the edges, it didn't stretch very
much before holes started to form in it. I think it would seal
the roof if it stayed absolutely intact, but no one knows for
sure how long this membrane will remain flexible and
undamaged under the ultra violet beating of the sun - or in
cyclic freeze-thaw situations. Even roofing tar hardens and
ultimately cracks in the sun. A papercrete roof is slightly
A papercrete roof with surface cracks springy; it has a little "give" in it. I would worry about walking
and separations, but no leaks.
on it and stretching the elastomeric membrane. If it cracked
or perforated at all, and water were trapped under it, mold, mildew, fungus or degradation in the
papercrete could follow. One practitioner is extremely concerned about mold. He feels that using a
solid papercrete roof is risky "except when another kind of material (such as a metal roof) is
assembled over it, and the papercrete can breath to allow any possible leaks to air out. This
appoach is also much more healthy for the inhabitants of the structure, since breathability has been
established as desirable for a "healthy" house."
Two other practitioners I spoke with said that elastomeric paint has a good record when used per
instructions. Applying elastomeric paint is a two-step process. If the primer and finishing coat are
used as recommended, it gets high marks they felt. Both also recommended crystalline
waterproofing.
Long available for industrial applications, crystalline
waterproofing is now used in residential applications. It
consists of a dry powder compound of Portland cement, very
fine treated silica sand, and proprietary chemicals.
Combining the product with water and applying it to the
surface of concrete results in a catalytic reaction that forms
several inches of non-soluble crystalline fibers within the
pores and capillary tracts of concrete. This seals the
concrete against the penetration of water or liquids from all
directions. UGL DryLok is one of these products.
Supposedly this will work in either cured papercrete or in the
wet mix itself. It's pricey, but said to be so effective that its A pond made of papercrete sealed with
crystalline waterproofing.
possible to make ponds with papercrete. If it will hold water
without leaking, it should prevent water penetration.
Coating the outside of a papercrete roof with about an inch of Sprayed Polyurethane Foam (SPF) is
another approach. It is expensive, and not environmentally sensitive, but it may be a good
compromise. I walked on this kind of roof in Prescott, Arizona, where the sun is very strong, and
there were no problems with it. It's tough, flexible and absolutely waterproof. With reasonable
caution, it can be walked on without worrying about puncturing it, though it is vulnerable to heavy

pointed objects. It also adds an additional R 6.88 per inch of insulation to the roof. That is the
equivalent of another three inches of papercrete. Add that R-value to two four-inch thick papercrete
roof panels with mortar, and the total R value is about the same as the walls. That is a great
envelope for a home, especially considering that the roof would weigh about eleven pounds per
square foot. At that weight, if a wall were supporting a 25 foot (7.6 meter) span of roof by itself
(unlikely), the total load at the base of the wall would be about 550 pounds per square foot. That is
a little less than four pounds per square inch. Since papercrete is variously rated at well above 100
pounds per square inch, there is a very wide margin for wet snow or any other additional roof load.
Another approach to roofing in New Mexico was poured
papercrete with a metal roof installed over it. This hasn't
leaked since the building was built five years ago.

This five year old papercrete workshop

has a poured roof covered with steel
roofing.

POURING THE ROOF

Some people prefer to place wet papercrete directly on the roof rather than go through the process
of making, cutting and fitting roof panels. This works fine for structures with nearly flat roofs. Of
course, a nearby source of water is required.
A layer of one-inch chicken wire is tightly stretched over the
ceiling joists or vigas of the structure and fastened in place
with heavy-duty metal staples. A second layer of one-inch
chicken wire is offset 1/2 inch from the first and installed the
same way. Ideally, the papercrete is drained on the ground
and then pumped, augured or handed up to the roof in
buckets. Mike McCain has used a four-inch grain augur to lift
papercrete to roof heights. A number of people have written
that pumps are not reliable, but others have found ways to
make them work.
A few inches of papercrete are spread over the chicken wire, Inside a shed with a poured roof. Two
layers of offset chicken wire hold the
which sags somewhat under the weight. After it is allowed to
slurry while it dries
dry, a second layer of papercrete - and possibly additional
layers - are placed the same way. The unintended advantage to this method is that the papercrete
sags down between the ceiling joists or vigas thereby providing greater thickness and more
insulation value. The down side is that wet material is heavy to work with. Of course, cutting
papercrete panels is dusty, so it all depends on which method you like best.
After the roof is poured and smoothed out, the same waterproofing
methods can be used as those for roof panels described above.
Another way to go is to build a vaulted roof or domed roof out of
blocks right on top of the walls. See Domes. This method has been
done successfully, with beautiful results, in Texas by Clyde T. Curry.
Besides saving the cost of the roofing framework, the domed or
vaulted ceilings of papercrete provide good insulation.

A bedroom with vaulted ceiling

of papercrete.

WINDOWS, DOORS AND CABINETS

If windows and door are pre-hung in their own frames, they can simply be screwed into the
papercrete opening. The gaps can be trimmed conventionally and/or filled with papercrete. I have
had success adding a small amount of Plaster of Paris to papercrete where it comes into contact
with wood. Mixed this way, the papercrete adheres very firmly to the wood. Before drywall, which is
Plaster of Paris between sheets of paper backing, wood lath was nailed to studs and covered with
plaster to finish walls. That might explain why the papercrete/plaster mix works so well with wood.
If wood or metal frames have to be installed, they can be
screwed directly into the papercrete. The opposite is also
true. At a construction site in New Mexico, I saw narrow
sections of unsupported papercrete block walls, between
floor-to-ceiling windows, angle-screwed to the window
frames. The frames themselves were independently
anchored to the floor and to the roof plate. This stabilized
the short walls extremely well. Any gaps are filled with
papercrete and the inside surface of the wall opening (not
covered by the frame) can be surfaced with papercrete.
Papercrete has another quality, which makes it ideal for
installing frameless glass. The glass can simply be
embedded in the papercrete. Papercrete doesn't expand or
contract perceptibly, even when wet or frozen, so sheets of
glass or glass block can be embedded in and trimmed with
papercrete without fearing that they will be damaged by
expansion or contraction of the papercrete.

Short wall sections between windows

were screwed to window frames for
added stability.

Windows and doors should ideally be insulated or the Rvalue benefit of papercrete walls and roof is compromised.
Windows should be at least double paned, but that costs
more. It is easier to find cheaper, older single-pane windows
and unframed glass than newer multi-paned windows. The
older windows have character and look more substantial.
Frameless glass can be embedded in
papercrete without fear of cracking.
Since glass can be embedded in papercrete, so can several
separate sheets of glass or two complete windows. The one Outside bottom is not covered to allow
drainage.
on the inside should be open-able for cleaning. The air
between the panes is the best possible insulator, so if using two single-pane windows, space them
as far apart as is convenient. In extreme climates, insulated doors or two-door entryways should be
built to minimize heating and cooling loss.
China cabinets, pre-built shelves, medicine cabinets and
anything else, which has to be anchored to the wall can be
firmly anchored with screws. Papercrete does not hold nails
any better than drywall, but screws work very well and will
hold a considerable weight. The great thing about screwing
into a papercrete wall is that you dont have to look for a
stud. You can anchor any object exactly where you want it.

Screws are the anchor of choice for

papercrete.

PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL

Installing plumbing lines requires cutting holes and channels in papercrete. This is fairly easy if
original papercrete mix didn't have a surplus of solids (sand, powdered glass) or cement in it.
Cutting papercrete results in a lot of dust. Consider wearing a mask or respirator. Holes and
channels can be made with conventional drills and a chainsaw. Once the pipes are soldered and

pressed into slots in the papercrete, they are covered with more papercrete. The benefit is that the
entire plumbing system is insulated. Cold stays cold and hot stays hot longer - less wasted energy.
Narrow channels for electrical runs can be cut with a circular saw or chain saw. To make holes for
outlets, cut horizontal and vertical slits with a circular saw. Then pry out the unwanted piece with a
screwdriver. One of our practitioners mentioned that he puts a glob of non-flammable mortar behind
his outlet boxes for safety, since most home fires start where the wiring enters the outlet boxes.
Outlet boxes can be angle-screwed directly into the papercrete. Once the electrical wiring and
outlets are installed and tested, the channels for the electrical runs are filled with papercrete.

FINISH - EXTERIOR & INTERIOR

Exterior finish can be papercrete, stucco or a 60-40 mix of
papercrete/stucco. Some practitioners use two sacks of
Portland cement and make their stucco the same way as
their blocks. Doubling the amount of Portland cement in the
papercrete gives it more strength and resistance to
abrasion. One practitioner we spoke with uses six sacks of
Portland cement and paper- no sand or other components to make wall plasters. He feels this is essentially what is
being purchased when buying exterior stucco. Papercrete
stucco can be painted with exterior latex paint. I examined a
small home painted this way. The paint had been in place for
Papercrete stucco sticks to concrete over three years and looked like it had been recently
block very well. The lighter sample on
painted. Papercrete stucco takes paint very well. Without a
the left was mixed 50-50 by weight
with Plaster of Paris - the one on the primer, one coat covers quite well. For peace of mind, two or
three coats are advised. Rather than pay the high cost of a
right with 60-40 Portland cement.
primer or multiple coats of the same color paint, just
purchase latex paint that has been color-matched incorrectly
or abandoned at the paint counter. Most stores will sell it for
about four dollars a gallon. It is perfectly good paint, just not
the right color. All the different "mistakes" can be mixed
together and used for the first coat or two. Then apply the
color you want as the final coat.

One coat of inexpensive latex paint

without a primer covered this
papercrete sample very well.

Stucco adheres to
papercrete walls very well with or without the use of stucco
mesh. Andy Hopkins' house in Colorado has a textured
stucco coating, which feels like hard plastic. Andy has sold
the house so the type of stucco couldn't be determined. It
was some kind of new foam and acrylic-based stucco. This
type of stucco stuck to the papercrete very firmly, looked
great and was weathering fine.
Classic El Rey stucco was used on a shed visited in northern
New Mexico. This type of stucco is made with Portland
cement, and is colored all the way through - so a scratch or
nick won't be easily seen. The shed was five years old and
the stucco was in nearly perfect condition.
Classic stuccoes and a number of new acrylic formulations
are available in many colors and textures. Some are quite
expensive and some require an environmental premium.
Keep in mind that papercrete stucco looks great and can
wait until a better solution becomes available. Lime might be
considered as well.

Foam and acrylic-based stucco over

papercrete.

Interior finishes include many of the same alternatives as

exterior. One approach to interior finish was used in a large
home in Arizona. The owner covered all interior surfaces
with a thin layer of drywall joint compound. A few cracks
developed over time.

Five year old El Rey stucco over

papercrete.

Kelly Hart has used a white lime wash, which is particularly attractive, in several rooms of his home.
He also discovered a way to mix latex paint 1:10 with water to produce beautiful water-based
stains. His bathroom stain is particularly attractive. Stains not only dress up the look of the
papercrete, they also cut the cost and amount of paint used by ninety percent!

Lime wash on papercrete ceiling.

A stained papercrete wall in a

bathroom.

FLOORS
Many people using papercrete prefer alternatives to concrete floors, because of expense and
environmental issues. Papercrete itself may not be the best solution for floors since the point
pressure of table and chair legs will indent it - unless a great deal of cement is used. One
practitioner we spoke with makes papercrete floors in yard quantities, about 200 gallons, with six
sacks of Portland cement and about 45 shovelfuls of sand. That provides a hard enough slab to
work well with floors.
Some people use papercrete as a sub floor to insulate the floor from the surrounding earth and
provide a base for a radiant heating system.
An earth floor made of adobe, or adobe mixed with
papercrete instead of straw, is an alternative. Earth floors
can be finished and decorated in various ways. There are
many books available about building earth floors.
Another lesser-know option for floors is tamped road base.
Road base, sometimes called "city base," is what is used for
making roads. Be careful. If you simply ask for " road base",
you may get common ABC gravel with little else in it. The
type of road base you need has a mix of rock, sand, clay
and dirt in specified quantities approved by cities for
An adobe earth floor inlaid with
roadbeds. In the Phoenix area, the material is called ABC
flagstone.
MAG. The MAG stands for Maricopa Association of
Governments. This is a consortium of cities in Maricopa
County where Phoenix is located, hence "city base." ABC MAG has a mix of under one-inch rock,
sand, clay and dirt. This material is applied in several layers. Each layer is screened finer,
dampened, screed, tamped and troweled smooth. After finishing, the top layer should be as
smooth and level as a conventional floor.
Successive screening is a lot of work. With some investigation it's possible to find out what the
constituents of the road base are. Buy them separately and dry mix them using aggregate sizes
appropriate for each layer. This saves a good deal of labor.
The finished floor is sealed with boiled linseed oil and turpentine. The entire process is described in
a chapter called "A Tamped Road Base Floor" in "The Art of Natural Building."

Road base can only be had in the colors of nature and the colors vary from location to location. In
the Phoenix area they vary from gray to brown. In Austin, I'm told they are reddish. There are
probably ways to vary the color. An advantage to road base is drying time (which is much faster
than adobe.) It only takes a few days in dry climates.
Road base costs under $5.00 a ton, if you pick it up. Working with it is easy - no mixing straw, clay,
papercrete, etc. Two 12-ton truckloads cover 500 square feet. It is also very durable having a
plasticity index (in Phoenix) of 0-5. The plasticity index is a measure of a materials' tendency to sag.
Smaller numbers are better, but it's common to see ratings of up to 12.

HEATING AND COOLING

This is where papercrete shines. With a papercrete envelope and well-insulated doors and windows,
much smaller heating and cooling systems are possible.
In fact, with some planning, the heating system of the home can be built into the floor. Solar
heated water is circulated though a serpentine system of plastic pipes embedded in the floor to
produce radiant heating. Since the floor has quite a bit of mass, the heat is retained for long
periods when the water isn't being heated, such as at night. Usually a small fireplace or electric
heater can easily supplement the radiant heating.
Cooling costs are also greatly reduced. A much smaller air conditioner or evaporative cooler can be
used. If you want to live comfortably off-grid, newer solar power systems are an option. The new
high-tech systems are computer-integrated with wind-power generators and propane generators.
On extremely hot or cold days, when quick heat or cooling is necessary, the new systems
seamlessly move to the generator. As soon as the demand falls within the supply parameters of the
solar or wind equipment, the system switches back to them. So fossil fuels are only consumed
when peak demand requires. This kind of system is also modular. The initial system can be small if
you are living in part of a structure while building the rest. As you add on to the structure, additional
modules can be added to provide the increased capability you need. This is great because you don't
have to buy more capability than you need before you need it.

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