permaculture

[Mark Ludwig <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>]

> > Why not use standard concrete fiber (fiberglass I think) rather than
> > mess  with all that chicken wire?
>
> You mean what's called 'engineering fibers'?  Dunno.  With a good FC
> armature of close-knit mesh (of whatever kind) I don't know that they'd
> add much.  Don't know how they'd affect the 'trowelability' of the
> material either.

My thinking is that you substitute the fiber for the bulk of the mesh, save 
lots of time over arranging all that wire.

> > 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.
>
> So wouldn't expanded metal lath have the same issues?  It's a galvanized
> metal product...?

I don't think the lath is coated,  the stuff I have seen looked like one 
solid type of metal, either stainless steal or aluminum.  The lath has also 
been a lot more solid than the chicken wire.

> > Has anyone knocked apart some
> > of this chicken wire  reinforced material after a few years?  Be
> > interesting to know if the CW  held up.
>
> Perhaps I'll get back to you in a couple years... ;-)

I have certainly seen a fair amount of corroded steel in concrete, maybe 
another reason to look at the engineered fibers.


> John Schinnerer, MA
> -------------------------
> - Eco-Living -
> Cultural & Ecological Designing
> People - Place - Learning - Integration
> john@eco-living.net
> http://eco-living.net
>
>
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