Coming from someone that has watched every video on Aircrete and paid for online workshops, I would just like to say that you are on to something here. You have a way of explaining things better than everyone else. Your techniques are unique and superior to those selling their courses online. I find myself checking your channel several times a week just waiting for you to put out more content. Your PVC molds are absolutely brilliant. I love your ability to think outside of the box. Looking forward to more videos!
I'd like to give you a little hint! I am a sculptor and I make rubber molds and pour cement based products! Don't put oil on the mold!!! Oil and water don't mix and the oil might not be good for the concrete! Instead, what you want to do is lightly water spritz your rubber mold so it is completely moist (not filled with water)! This breaks the air bubbles from forming! Good luck and have fun!
I build faux brick walls doing exactly this about 5 years ago, I 'stucco' just to fill the mold face, about 1/4 inch, then immediately fill with perlite concrete. Works great, it was my secret..... I made a mold by using two=part poured polyurethane onto a brick wall makes a flexible mold that always releases.
I am in the Philippines and I used an inexpensive floor wax called STARWAX . It is a mix of waxes and petroleum distillates and comes in a soap sized clear plastic bag or a tin can and is like soft shoe polish for applicating . I experienced instance release of concrete from plastic pales which were not new and were scratched a lot from mixing concrete from making rocket stoves.
Fantastic experiment, your mold idea is genius. I used to work in some craft where i had to use rubber molds with water based product, so better than oil, which leaves a residue, instead use White Spirit, or Mineral Spirit sometimes called, the stuff you would clean solvent based paint off paint brushes. If you paint that on before the pour it will form a barrier that evaporates off with no residue after de-molding
I did the same thing with bonding cement and a texture spray gun. I made the mold and use silicone caulk to put texture in the bottom that simulated wood grain. I then oiled the form that I made out of myelin, sprayed in colored bonding cement, then fill the form with aircrete. The hard-facing worked fine. Unfortunately I was attempting to make a bench out of it and even though I was using post tension and had reinforced the form unfortunately I did not have enough center support for the span. It held up to 200 lb but immediately broke after. As far as the skin it was only one quarter to 1/2 in and since it was fiberglass reinforced out of the bag it made the whole process very easy, it didn't shrink and was plenty strong.
Wondering how thick the mixture was. I seem to understand it was only 1/4 to 1/2 inch .. of hard cement but trying to understand how thick it was and how far you tried to span .
Great idea. I wonder if making a mould around a sheet of cement board and pouring the aircrete directly into it would create a kind of diy sandwich panel
I love this idea! I’m thinking wind load when I pose this idea.. I will be in a hurricane zone so I want really thick walls. Plus I love the esthetic of super thick walls. I am picturing the facing about 3 inches thick then rebar reinforced middle 10 inches thick and then 3 inches on the top side of the mold. Perhaps some house wrap thrown in there. So 16” wall. I like anything over engineered and the security of that nice thick wall. It still may not be thick enough for a significant enough wind load for hurricane zones. I can’t do those calculations. This was sheer genius BTW. I really appreciate the time you took with this. Also I wouldn’t really go for the texture. No texture will have the wind skidding right over it.
I love this idea. The use of the PVC form is pure genius. The only drawback I see is that you would still have to add the fabric layer to the outside to counteract the tensional/torsional forces to the aircrete dome structure. My thought has been to spray a hard surface onto the cloth layer for a finish coat. Have you built any structures yet with these bricks you are making?
No need to spoil the outside, what about doing as he did but pouring half the aircrete then adding a layer of Housewrap or galvanised chicken wire, pouring the rest then adding a sheet of housewrap on top to really sandwich strength into the block. Could cut the top layer larger to have an overlap that can bond to the next block while building
@@utubeape You would still have individual bricks without a congruous layer for tensional forces. My initial idea was to pour bricks with a 1x1 inch channel on one end and use that as a vessel for a ring of rebar on each row.
@@fabonline9389 You could add the tensional reinforcement in the mortar between courses and at the foundation. I would stick to a catenary shape to be on the safe side as well.
@@Thoracius The foundation course would be set into a keyway to resist outward pressure. A catenary shape does not apply to this structure. There is no "swoop" between points of attachment in the rebar and I can't visualize what you are suggesting. My idea is more like a wooden barrel with the bands on the inside. Think of a dome more like an egg and how the pressures are distributed.
@@fabonline9389 image.slidesharecdn.com/domespptfinalpdf-180603063630/95/construction-of-domes-14-638.jpg The advantage of a catenary dome over a hemispherical dome is that it is self-supporting using entirely compressive forces, so you wouldn't /need/ any reinforcement. If you're set on reinforcing aircrete in the mortar joint, I would lay sheets of fiberglass mesh that span the entire width of the block to give it more purchase and distribute the loads more evenly. Aircrete isn't very strong. Under a tensional load it's not going to hold onto rebar. The part of the block exterior of the rebar would just break off.
I had thought of trying this and it is nice to see I am not alone in innovating with aircrete. I have a 25 foot diameter foundation made for an aircrete building and I finished the aircrete floor with standard concrete . By the way I am near volcano and would not mind having you out to see my project.
My limited experiments with much thinner hard facing failed, as the facing didn't stick to the aircrete. But I'm just getting started, and struggling with basics, so my results hardly prove much. How long did you let the blocks cure before taking them from the molds?
@@lucleclerc5052 We stuccoed some aircrete planters and the stucco has held up ... and held on ... fairly well. Two coats would probably have been better, but we've had some substantial hail which left only a few damaged spots.
@@utubeape I connected with someone from Gigacrete and he said that you could do a thin layer (1/8”) of StuccoMax inside the mold, then apply 11 oz. mesh, then another layer of StuccoMax (1/8”) and then pour the aircrete while the plaster is still wet. So an overall coat thickness of 1/4” was enough... but that was for a deck support project involving 2” x 6” joists. I’m not sure what they put in their proprietary formula but I’m sure it has some sort of fiber reinforcement otherwise they couldn’t achieve the kind of impact resistance and even bullet proofing that they claim and demonstrate.
@@greenshereen I don't know how strong Gigacrete is, but people doing aircrete and similar are more likely to want to cut costs and add the special ingredients themselves. I have experimented with polypropylene fibres and they really do strengthen render / stucco / mortar
@@utubeape true... we don’t really ever know how strong things are until they stand up to tests. But, their Ballisticrete is demonstrated on a video to effectively deflect rifle rounds from several yards away. Interestingly, the concrete behind it cracked from the shock. It was, of course, a small tile and the rear face of the concrete was not plastered. My intention is to mix and pour my own aircrete to cut down on costs and use their plaster. Since it’s just a 1/4” coat it will go a long way.
Good to see this works. Pouring blocks is something for me to keep in mind now. If you like to see some concrete books: archive.org/details/@artifact95 Its mainly the calculus on concrete, and not the pouring/molding methods, i have those books, but not a working book scanner for now. Good luck! Greetings, Jeff
Coming from someone that has watched every video on Aircrete and paid for online workshops, I would just like to say that you are on to something here. You have a way of explaining things better than everyone else. Your techniques are unique and superior to those selling their courses online. I find myself checking your channel several times a week just waiting for you to put out more content. Your PVC molds are absolutely brilliant. I love your ability to think outside of the box. Looking forward to more videos!
Scott, what course would you recommend? Thanks!
I'd like to give you a little hint!
I am a sculptor and I make rubber molds and pour cement based products! Don't put oil on the mold!!!
Oil and water don't mix and the oil might not be good for the concrete!
Instead, what you want to do is lightly water spritz your rubber mold so it is completely moist (not filled with water)! This breaks the air bubbles from forming!
Good luck and have fun!
Great video! This is an important and natural step in the evolution of Aircrete.
My finger hurt every time you poked the hard face on the blocks.
I build faux brick walls doing exactly this about 5 years ago, I 'stucco' just to fill the mold face, about 1/4 inch,
then immediately fill with perlite concrete. Works great, it was my secret.....
I made a mold by using two=part poured polyurethane onto a brick wall makes a flexible mold that always releases.
Thanks for recording your experiments with aircrete! I hope you'll do more!!
I am in the Philippines and I used an inexpensive floor wax called STARWAX . It is a mix of waxes and petroleum distillates and comes in a soap sized clear plastic bag or a tin can and is like soft shoe polish for applicating . I experienced instance release of concrete from plastic pales which were not new and were scratched a lot from mixing concrete from making rocket stoves.
thanks so much for this comment
Fantastic experiment, your mold idea is genius. I used to work in some craft where i had to use rubber molds with water based product, so better than oil, which leaves a residue, instead use White Spirit, or Mineral Spirit sometimes called, the stuff you would clean solvent based paint off paint brushes. If you paint that on before the pour it will form a barrier that evaporates off with no residue after de-molding
Yup.
If I were looking for an expert in hard faces, I'd pick that guy for sure.
Nice going. I definitely learned something new today.
FANTASTIC ! Thank you. That will save So much work.
I did the same thing with bonding cement and a texture spray gun. I made the mold and use silicone caulk to put texture in the bottom that simulated wood grain. I then oiled the form that I made out of myelin, sprayed in colored bonding cement, then fill the form with aircrete. The hard-facing worked fine. Unfortunately I was attempting to make a bench out of it and even though I was using post tension and had reinforced the form unfortunately I did not have enough center support for the span. It held up to 200 lb but immediately broke after. As far as the skin it was only one quarter to 1/2 in and since it was fiberglass reinforced out of the bag it made the whole process very easy, it didn't shrink and was plenty strong.
Wondering how thick the mixture was. I seem to understand it was only 1/4 to 1/2 inch .. of hard cement but trying to understand how thick it was and how far you tried to span .
Great idea. I wonder if making a mould around a sheet of cement board and pouring the aircrete directly into it would create a kind of diy sandwich panel
I love this idea! I’m thinking wind load when I pose this idea.. I will be in a hurricane zone so I want really thick walls. Plus I love the esthetic of super thick walls. I am picturing the facing about 3 inches thick then rebar reinforced middle 10 inches thick and then 3 inches on the top side of the mold. Perhaps some house wrap thrown in there. So 16” wall. I like anything over engineered and the security of that nice thick wall. It still may not be thick enough for a significant enough wind load for hurricane zones. I can’t do those calculations. This was sheer genius BTW. I really appreciate the time you took with this. Also I wouldn’t really go for the texture. No texture will have the wind skidding right over it.
Great concepts - keep the videos coming!
Brilliant! ✊🏼
thanks for the video, i guess we can use this method to make sandwich cement board for building a cabin.
Gr8 idea
great idea, will try your steps
Great idea! Does the oil effect the bonding of one brick to another?
Awesome thanks
I love this idea. The use of the PVC form is pure genius. The only drawback I see is that you would still have to add the fabric layer to the outside to counteract the tensional/torsional forces to the aircrete dome structure. My thought has been to spray a hard surface onto the cloth layer for a finish coat. Have you built any structures yet with these bricks you are making?
No need to spoil the outside, what about doing as he did but pouring half the aircrete then adding a layer of Housewrap or galvanised chicken wire, pouring the rest then adding a sheet of housewrap on top to really sandwich strength into the block.
Could cut the top layer larger to have an overlap that can bond to the next block while building
@@utubeape You would still have individual bricks without a congruous layer for tensional forces. My initial idea was to pour bricks with a 1x1 inch channel on one end and use that as a vessel for a ring of rebar on each row.
@@fabonline9389 You could add the tensional reinforcement in the mortar between courses and at the foundation. I would stick to a catenary shape to be on the safe side as well.
@@Thoracius The foundation course would be set into a keyway to resist outward pressure. A catenary shape does not apply to this structure. There is no "swoop" between points of attachment in the rebar and I can't visualize what you are suggesting. My idea is more like a wooden barrel with the bands on the inside. Think of a dome more like an egg and how the pressures are distributed.
@@fabonline9389 image.slidesharecdn.com/domespptfinalpdf-180603063630/95/construction-of-domes-14-638.jpg The advantage of a catenary dome over a hemispherical dome is that it is self-supporting using entirely compressive forces, so you wouldn't /need/ any reinforcement. If you're set on reinforcing aircrete in the mortar joint, I would lay sheets of fiberglass mesh that span the entire width of the block to give it more purchase and distribute the loads more evenly. Aircrete isn't very strong. Under a tensional load it's not going to hold onto rebar. The part of the block exterior of the rebar would just break off.
Keep them coming
😁 good Idea.
Genius
I had thought of trying this and it is nice to see I am not alone in innovating with aircrete. I have a 25 foot diameter foundation made for an aircrete building and I finished the aircrete floor with standard concrete . By the way I am near volcano and would not mind having you out to see my project.
very much like to see your project
Great trial
AMAZING!!!!!
Cool!
Is there any source to give stats on durability etc? And cost comparison to concrete. I desperately need info for KEY PROJECT.
So we arent talking about the Kung-Fu fingers of this guy? Finger punching concrete is not a normal thing.
How about building up GFRC on the sides of the mould to get a solid block that holds its shape all around?
Thanks!
My limited experiments with much thinner hard facing failed, as the facing didn't stick to the aircrete. But I'm just getting started, and struggling with basics, so my results hardly prove much. How long did you let the blocks cure before taking them from the molds?
Same issue here. Within 1 week my relatively thin face just peeled off or crac. eggyknap, did you found a solution in 2 months ?
@@lucleclerc5052 We stuccoed some aircrete planters and the stucco has held up ... and held on ... fairly well. Two coats would probably have been better, but we've had some substantial hail which left only a few damaged spots.
@@eggyknap Thanks for your quick feedback,
3 days
1-Have you made a structure using those blocks?
2-Did the structure use a normal mortar or an aircrete mortar?
I know
Could you use Gigacrete's Plastermax for the hard facing instead of regular concrete to make it even stronger?
I am also thinking sand/cement with chopped poly fibres in for added tensile strength
@@utubeape I connected with someone from Gigacrete and he said that you could do a thin layer (1/8”) of StuccoMax inside the mold, then apply 11 oz. mesh, then another layer of StuccoMax (1/8”) and then pour the aircrete while the plaster is still wet. So an overall coat thickness of 1/4” was enough... but that was for a deck support project involving 2” x 6” joists. I’m not sure what they put in their proprietary formula but I’m sure it has some sort of fiber reinforcement otherwise they couldn’t achieve the kind of impact resistance and even bullet proofing that they claim and demonstrate.
@@greenshereen I don't know how strong Gigacrete is, but people doing aircrete and similar are more likely to want to cut costs and add the special ingredients themselves. I have experimented with polypropylene fibres and they really do strengthen render / stucco / mortar
@@utubeape true... we don’t really ever know how strong things are until they stand up to tests. But, their Ballisticrete is demonstrated on a video to effectively deflect rifle rounds from several yards away. Interestingly, the concrete behind it cracked from the shock. It was, of course, a small tile and the rear face of the concrete was not plastered. My intention is to mix and pour my own aircrete to cut down on costs and use their plaster. Since it’s just a 1/4” coat it will go a long way.
@@greenshereen I have just read that Plastermax is an interior product
Good to see this works. Pouring blocks is something for me to keep in mind now.
If you like to see some concrete books: archive.org/details/@artifact95
Its mainly the calculus on concrete, and not the pouring/molding methods, i have those books, but not a working book scanner for now.
Good luck!
Greetings,
Jeff