hillbillyarchitect McCoy

I have read some articles about this fellow,
unfortunately, as one would expect he runs into some resistance from the bureaucrats,
This is clearly a labor of love because what he saves in materials he is most definitely exhausting in Labor.
If  you work in construction you know there is an incredible amount of waste both on the demo and construction ends- it is wonderful to see someone making it beautiful.

I dont think you'll find there is a right way or a wrong way, this is pretty primitive stuff. People have their opinions, but what works for you works for you-
How high are you building the walls?

vinyl will dry and crack when exposed to UV

I think putting the can in the stove would damage the coatings, the organic matter will wash off with the first rain- the paper labels are only attached at one point, rip them off.

as for rain-water, rust is organic, paint chemicals are not-

I would not cut the bottom end off- it will still crush flat,and then you will have more material- and no, I would not cut it open,
This is simple, take the can, which has one end missing, and crush it flat (on the side), you can use a rock, or a truck, or make a press. One nail it all it should take to fasten it down.
Rust? I would not worry about, if you are, I would dip them all in urine to flash rust any parts which are exposed? most of the can is treated in some way or another, and if you ever find them in the woods, it takes a can a very long time to rust out- I would not treat them in any way.
The plus of less steps here is less labor and less risk of cutting yourself.

See http://www.glassartists.org/Img64640__Img64640_Flat_Bottles_004.jpg.asp

unless you had a large heat source and a crew, this would be very labor/time intensive,
My vote is for flattened tin cans, nailed overlapping- untreated,

It has nothing to do with being alarmist, it is practical- they are mats woven from inorganic fibers that have accumulated years of skin and body fluids- while they may not cause disease, there is nothing healthy about them. When you have built a home from mattresses crusted with another man's semen, perhaps you can devise a use for used tampons?

yes, commercial detergents etc will make your greywater much harder to clean. there is a scientist at Woods Hole that he perfected aerobic treatment at small scale.-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_treatment_system

stalk_of_fennel wrote:
i think you're being a bit alarmist.