Scott Perkins

William Bronson wrote:Neat idea, I love building methods that can be done incrementally.
To minimize the number of molds needed and the size of the pieces, maybe try this kind of dome:

https://www.domerama.com/calculators/trapezium/

This is like the orange slices.
To figure the dimensions of a block rather than a flat panel, calculate an inner and an outer dome and the distance between the two.

I think styrofoam blocks skinned in netting and plastered with cement could be a good option.

I really think the trapezium idea could work..  There are a total of 64 pieces and the use of four different mold shapes.    I am afraid even if the molds were made with two pieces  resulting in each piece shaped like a bowl
to hollow out the pieces and make them lighter,  I still wonder if they would be too heavy if made with pure concrete.  If Styrofoam concrete was used then would they still be strong enough ?   Wonder what it would cost to convince a styrofoam mfgr to build molds and produce pure styrofoam blocks that could be glued together.?
and then the styrofoam  dome could be covered with net and plaster of some type for weather protection.
If the eskimos can do it with ice we ought to be able to do it with something else that wont melt  

In the world of landscaping and building retaining walls there are a few different shaped concrete blocks which are designed for dry stacking but they are specifically designed for curved walls.  These blocks have grooves and notches that interlock at the ends and on the outside edges and in the case of the retaining wall that I built, I filled all the holes with small gravel.   Filling the holes with mortar and rebar would be incredibly strong.
Check out landscaping or retaining wall blocks to consider your options.   I should note that each extra row of blocks with the interlocking front edge results in a setback of each row of about a half to one full inch.
The big problem comes in where you would have a corner of two intersecting walls.  There is no easy way I know of to allow the corners to meet smoothly.  So if building an enclosed stand alone structure, you almost have to build a dome or a cone shape.  

For years I have been thinking of how to build a mold or a couple of different molds   that I could poor concrete into  where I could make one or two pieces a day  for a few months  to get enough parts to be able to stack together like an IGLOO for a dome or as a VAULT .    I have seen Igloos made from Styrofoam parts   but a concrete igloo would be much more durable.   Sometimes I think of a Soccer Ball for parts of a sphere but there must be more ways to build a dome.... Such as Orange slices  of an orange fruit that has been cut in half.
Anyone else ever think of this ?   I would like a way for the pieces to if not  lock together , at least a ledge that helps reinforce the next  row.   You would never want to be in  a concrete igloo when it collapses!   How to make it strong ?    We know how the Romans used stones to build arches and bridges etc.

Tereza Okava wrote:

Scott Perkins wrote:My stockpile of red and pinto beans (and rice)  is now 25 years old.  

That's awesome, Scott, thanks for sharing!!!

I forgot to add that refried bean paste makes excellent bean sandwiches.    I got the idea thinking about peanut butter.   Peanuts are not nuts actually but really more of a bean.   So think about it,  they make peanut butter out
of peanuts so why not bean butter ?    We know that peanuts ( legume I think ) and wheat bread form a complete protein just like beans and rice for the worlds most consumed food.    So since wheat in bread is a grain like rice is,  I thought I would take some bean paste ( refried beans) and make a sandwich using wheat bread.   Really not bad.   I didnt think the addition of fruit jelly worked so well  but it depends on how hungry you are   Remember the onion flavored dip with half cottage cheese and half beans was a "protein power house " !        If no-fat cottage cheese is used  .... way way lower calories from  fat-oil  as is the case with peanut butter.

For many years I have tried to follow and keep up with all types of materials and techniques of building sheds etc. but  I have a new ide that I have never heard of anyone trying.  That is poor concrete into a mold on the ground and when hardened , use a tractor  to tilt up what would be a concrete wall that I think would be easier and cheaper than stacking bricks with mortar or blowing  concrete onto a form to make a dome etc.    I dont have enough knowledge about concrete to design the wall such as the mix to use or if and how reinforcement should be added to the the structure when pouring into the mold etc.    I have seen contractors build large warehouses using tilt up concrete wall components but I dont have a good handle on how  to adjust the placement of the concrete tilt up wall components.   I think if you located your molds carefully the walls will tilt up right into place.
Just imagine pouring a patio slab and then grabbing one end with a tractor, or bob cat with ropes and pulleys etc
and tilting it up vertically.   What could be better ?

My stockpile of red and pinto beans (and rice)  is now 25 years old.   I packed them in a 15 gallon cooler in the basement at the turn of the century  fearing that when the clocks turned Jan 1, 2000  society was going to collapse.  My plan was to buy a lot of dried beans and eat them steadily  if nothing bad happened to the world but I forgot about them.  I still have 30 or 40 plastic bags of grocery store dried beans.  1lb and 2lb.     Here is what I concluded so far as producing appealing dinner time alternative.    I do have a dry grinder of but I also have a food processer
and while I could try to grind the beans into a flour,  I found it is far easier to cook the beans on a stove top according to directions and then  dump the cooked beans into the food processer.   The food processor is at least 15 times faster at producing a smooth refried bean paste  and also  an excellent dip when mixed 50-50 with cottage cheese and a packet of onion soup dried flavor packet.   I have also added some bean paste to meatloaf
ground from chicken breasts and pork loins.      I wanted this old thread to show what I think is the best solution to old beans not softening when cooked.   That is the food processer.

If anyone knows of a better forum category please advise or move this message please.    For two years I have been purchasing one quart Lifeway brand KEFIR ($4) at Kroger grocery store and mixing with one gallon of skim milk ($3) that has been heated to 75 degrees F in the microwave.  This mix is left out on kitchen counter room temp for 2 days.   Lots lf kurds form from the live cultures in the form of general thickening of the liquid.   I then blend in a blender 16 oz of frozen blueberries and pour this into the two empty gallon jugs that I have poured the mixture in and shake vigorously.  This is then refrigerated and it takes about ten to fourteen days to consume usually.  In anycase I am doing this for my 95 yr old mom and she drinks at least 24 oz daily.  Into this blender mix I sometimes add olive oil ( cant taste it ) carrots or carrot juice or some powdered fiber like metamucile etc.
Significant improvements in pooping, eye health, and calcium absorbstion etc.   It tasted really good like fruit flavored yogurt etc.   I just thought I would share this as I have made yogurt before and the significate difference
is the temperature of  fluid as a different set of bacteria is growing at the much lower temp compared to yogurt which grows at 115 degrees  F.     I believe I have read histories where the camel and goat herders in the middle east preserved their milk in the desert this way a thousand years ago.   Sure enough a bottle of store bought Kefir  was accidentally left in the garage for five months  and had not gone rancid at normal garage temps.    It was quite a bit more acidic than normal Kefir.   I then refrigerated it and then finally drank it all.

Angus Johnson wrote:I’m wondering if aircrete would work as a water proof barrier instead of using plastic, for a underground home?
Maybe bed sheets dipped in bees wax would work?
Just curious:)

There is an entire industry devoted to this subject and it is  the repair and remediation of leaking basements.
There are coatings for outside and inside the basement walls as well as drainage sheets that allow gravity flow of the water on outside walls to what are essentially underground gutters at the base of foundations that take the water away.   For decades an asphalt base substance has been used for roofing and underground sealing but was only good for 15 or 20 years and recently that have come up with elastomeric rubber based coatings that can potentially last forever when using silicone type base formulations.   Just google basement waterproofing.... if you are really serious get all the back copies of WATERPROOFING MAGAZINE  which is a commercial publication publicizing all the products to be used by builders and contractors and how to use them etc.  

I would love to know what the concrete experts posting in this thread think about the collapse of the residential multi family building in Florida this year that claimed 100 + lives because of degradation in the concrete.    I have built a house and done some remodeling projects using concrete and the only  option I thought I had was to order higher psi strength concrete from the ready-mix plant ( more bags of cement ) .  
and opt to pay for some fiberglass fiber reinforcement to minimize cracking etc.
For some small projects I have added the latex admixtures the tile guys were using in their mortar to further strengthen the concrete and make it more water proof.  

If we civilians are willing to spend the extra money to buy extra longevity,  what are the best ways to spend our extra money when working with concrete ?