permaculture

[Jack Rowe <jackrowe@compuserve.com>]

Dan wrote:

"What is you estimate of liklihood of success for people with zero  prior
experience in ferrocement."

Well, working with ferro-cement requires a little skill... a bit of
practice in 'throwing' the mortar onto the mesh (with an upward motion that
spreads the mortar over an area) and a steady framework that doesn't flex
or can be covered before hardening begins (to avoid micro-cracking from
flexing of forms while cement is hardening... start with outside of
structure, do inside when outside has hardened and is rigid). Stucco
workers are very good at working with ferro-cement. 

I agree with the person (whose name I don't remember -- sorry, my delete
finger is quicker than my eye) who suggested learning about ferro-cement
from the boat-building books, these are the main traditional source of good
info and where I first learned about the technique. Cement boats, who'da
thunk it? 

Jack