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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Ferrocement Building Project

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  • From: Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Ferrocement Building Project
  • Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 07:52:11 -0600

At 11:09 PM 11/26/02 -0800, you wrote:
Aloha,

> I'd sure look at concrete reinforcing wire for some of these
> applications ya'll are describing.

What kind of wire are you referring to, Mark? The thicker, larger-mesh
(6" square, etc.) kind used for reinforcing slab pours and so on? Or...?

Thats the stuff. I see it in a lot of widths and shapes at the local pre-cast concrete products factory, not sure if it is ordered that way or if they form it there.


> I agree with Kirby that the chicken
> wire, made of two metals and thin, seems a little out of place.

Thin and many is good, for ferrocement - it's the fine matrix of embedded
tensile fibers (e.g. metal mesh, lath, etc. in most cases) that gives it
strength and rigidity. FC is a different combination of materials with
different properties than 'civil-engineering-style' steel-concrete (slabs,
bridges, beams, pilings, steps, etc. etc. )

Why not use standard concrete fiber (fiberglass I think) rather than mess with all that chicken wire? Seems like a lot of work. BTW - my objection is to chicken wire specifically, like Kirby noted, the stuff tends to rust out fairly promptly with moisture and is a coated wire, dissimilar metals tend to have corrosion problems as they form mild electric currents and move atoms around. Has anyone knocked apart some of this chicken wire reinforced material after a few years? Be interesting to know if the CW held up.
M


Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM





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