Papercrete and Paper Adobe are here!

Pour the paper slurry into blocks, forms, panels, domes, sculpt like clay, use as a coating, filler and more. Build walls and houses with blocks of any size. Papercrete adheres to itself, can be used as a mortar for paper blocks, and dries quickly in hot/arid climates (longer in cold/wet environs). Doesn't mold, swell, attract insects, and is surprisingly fire resistant. This is a new method, and is still untested in many areas and environments, but the potential is enormous for do-it-yourself builders. Now experimenters are going beyond cement and using clay and sand and other natural, and free additives for very low cost construction. Check out the following information:

Papercrete: The Starting Point for Very Low Cost Houses

This is part of an article which appeared in EarthWorks magazine July 1999.

What is Papercrete? It's simply shredded newspaper, Portland cement and sand in somewhat variable proportions of 60/20/20. This is potentially an ideal building material because it is cheap, utilizing unwanted newspapers, magazines, cardboard and junk mail plus local sand and dirt. Papercrete can be produced onsite, using few tools, and is easily handled by women, older folks, non-professional builders and anyone who wants to experiment freely.

A stock watering tank has been converted to a mixing tank

Papercrete is really an industrial form of paper mache.
In this photo inventor Mike McCain dumps a batch of papercrete into a drying form.

In construction use papercrete performs like adobe because it can be made into large or small bricks. It can also be poured like cement, made into a monolithic wall, in filled between poles or studs like light-straw clay, shaped into large, reinforced panels; mortared, drilled, hammered, nailed, used as plaster, and more.

Mile McCain's "Jumbo Blocks."
Recently, cement has been eliminated from the mix to make Paper Adobe and Fidobe, which are simply sandy dirt and paper, creating dense, and free, bricks and building logs.




Many materials can be used.
The possibilities seem endless and experimentation with other natural materials continues, transforming from one basic recipe to several others.

Mixes of 50/50 newspaper and cement make a strong exterior stucco layer to cover papercrete bricks and other wall materials such earth bags. On interior walls papercrete plaster can be left highly textured, or trowelled into a pattern, then painted. Papercrete dries to a pale gray color, and clay coated papers from magazines and glossy flyers aid in binding everything together.

A wall made of woven reeds form the "wattle". Paper adobe type mixes can be the "daub" to plaster over them.

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The Drawbacks
Papercrete does have drawbacks, and since it is still completely experimental (several houses and structures have been built in the last three years) the long term performance results aren't known. And no real insulation tests have been performed, plus papercrete blocks soak up water like a sponge (but release it again) so they must be protected from moisture and weather. All that being said, it still has enormous potential as an ultra low cost building material. Or as a partial replacement of costly, commercial building products.

This Rastra (brand) wall is factory made of cement and EPS(expanded polystyrene).

The Future
What papercrete and the IDEA of papercrete offers is freedom and personal empowerment. Because of the cheapness and ease of testing and playing with this material from the kitchen blender level, up to a full tank mixer, the average person is free to attempt design ideas and shapes. From paper, shredded bark, hemp hurds, sawdust, and EPS waste, to straw and dry weeds..a very friendly building material can be constructed. Use cement, or substitute clay for a more natural recipe. Add hydrated lime for extra binding, anti-germ, and moisture control. Use what you have locally.

There is also the freedom to create low-cost shelters as an alternative, acceptable, housing. Many people may willingly choose to live in a papercrete structure while building a 'real' or traditional house, or to save income on shelter in general. Minimalists, environmentalists, and survivalists may prefer this type of building.

There is social and community benefit. Using papercrete to build mother-in-law cottages, or guest houses, allows all economic strata of people to have affordable housing. Every community needs housing for all its citizens, and this building material may prove a viable alternative.

There is a great deal of potential to use recycled, free, non-toxic materials to make a variety of mixes, each having potential strengths and weaknesses. I encourage you to experiment and text small batches with local materials. The emphasis is to build with non-toxic ingredients (no used motor oil for instance) with the goal of having a strong, load-bearing, fire resistant, wet/rot resistant, insulative material.

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Papercrete Inventors

In the last four years, Mike McCain, an inventor/ builder located in Colorado experimented with shredded recycled paper, sandy dirt and cement to produce an amazing product he calls fibrous cement. Eric Patterson, a printer by trade in New Mexico, developed and patented what he terms padobe over six years ago, from just newspaper and cement. (Eric, however, is encouraging anyone to experiment with this material.) A third force in papercrete advancement is Sean Sands, a retired physician who is experimenting with wood chips, sawdust, cement and adobe. Sean and Mike constructed experimental domed shelters at a community in New Mexico in 1998, and both are continuing to build and experiment, with Mike offering workshops and private construction in the Western US.


Inventor Eric Patterson, Silver City NM.

Eric has experimented with various amounts of cement, and typically uses a 2 pound coffee can full of cement in a 55 gallon drum of paper and water. His results were so good he built a room onto his house, and added a dome shaped guest house in the backyard. A view of his walls, painted white with regular latex paint, look no different than any other standard wallboard.

Mike McCain, shown in the photos above, is a true inventor, he's built domes with blocks, and used a slipform to pump slurry to create a monolithic wall. Mike loves papercrete because there is no one 'right way' to make it, and it is a very forgiving material.

Sean Sands' experimental papercrete dome and plaster.

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To learn more order one of the books, videos, or booklets below. The videos can be rented. Please see the Video link above, or the Order Form link.

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Building With Papercrete & Paper Adobe: A Revolutionary New Way to Build Your Own Home for Next to Nothing by Gordon Solberg, 2002.
This book describes papercrete, a mixture of Portland cement, sand, and recycled newspapers/magazines, which can be used as a building material. Papercrete is strong (compressive strength of 260 psi), lightweight, holds its shape even when wet, and has a high insulation value (estimatedbut unverified R 2.8 per inch).
It is very inexpensive. Paper adobe is even less expensive, since it is made of paper pulp and dirt. This book contains over 224 photographs; descriptions of formulas, mixers, building techniques, and innovative ideas from the small but growing band of papercrete pioneers who are experimenting and building with this remarkable material.
This is a second, expanded edition of the original 1999 book, compiled from all of the arties in Earth Quarterly and Papercrete News that pertain to papercrete and paper adobe.

Earthbag &papercrete builder Kelly Hart says: Papercrete is a fairly new ingredient in the natural building world. It is basically re-pulped paper fiber with portland cement or clay and/or other dirt added. When cement is added, this material is not as "green" as would be ideal, but the relatively small amount of cement is perhaps a reasonable tradeoff for what papercrete can offer.

I have had a fair amount of experience with this stuff, and I would say that is has some remarkable properties. Care must be taken to utilize it properly, or you could be courting disaster. I am acquainted with both Eric Patterson and Mike McCain, who independently "invented" papercrete (they called it "padobe" and "fibrous cement") and they have both contributed considerably to the machinery to make it and the ways of using it for building.

The paper to be used can come from a variety of sources and is usually free. I've used newspaper, junk mail, magazines, books, etc., which I get from our local dump or from the waste bin at our post office. Depending on the type of mixer that is used to make pulp out of it, the paper might be soaked in water beforehand or not.
#1031....$35.00..Soft cover, spiral bound.ORDER HERE
[Also recommended are the videos for complete building information]

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Updated! ... Building with (almost) Free Materials-A Series of Articles... by Charmaine Taylor. Explains how to use Cob, Cobwood, Adobe, Agstone, Papercrete, Paper Adobe, Earth bag Rammed Earth, Lime and alternative materials (reed, coir, hemp, jute) for building small projects and structures. Describes finding clay, woodchips, fabrics, testing soil, and how to make and use these materials. Photographs, recipes/mixes, and a history are given. A good starting point for learning about natural & alternative methods, 35+ pages, B&W photos. Unleash your creativity for almost no cost! #1045...$10.00...ORDER HERE


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Inventor Sean Sands shows how light a papercrete brick is. A dense adobe brick would weight 25-30 pounds.

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• Just Released ......"Introduction to FiberCrete with inventor Mike McCain"..a 90 minute, complete how-to ..see the Video page for more description. . #9015...$30.00...Rental $9.00.

• 2 Hour Papercrete VIDEO Author Gordon Solberg's two hour documentary with all new information and interviews on papercrete, paper adobe and fidobe. See Mike McCain's ingenious building tools and methods, Eric Patterson's house addition and privacy walls, Sean Sands operating a stock tank mixer and finish plastering his dome home, and several houses made with papercrete, including spray on and slipform techniques. Also shown are papercrete logs, mortars and plasters of this material, and wall forming tips. Narrated by Laura Solberg, this is a low tech video with some sound and light problems due to outdoor filming, but the information is invaluable! There is nothing like seeing how this stuff is made, and hearing people's experiences to really understand the potential of papercrete mixes for ultra low cost building. A very low cost viga roof beam method is shown, and a clever driver for running the stock tank mixer with an ordinary car, plus footage of a workshop event in building walls for the Earth Quarterly office in NM. Running time 1 hour 58 min. #1051...$35.00 (video rental available for $10. for 2 weeks-see Video Rental page.)

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• Papercrete-City of the Sun (Build-A-Thon) is now available. Over 60 minutes of building techniques, philosophy and on site visits, show how papercrete was used to build several homes. Interviews with Mike McCain; see his latest Scissor-blade mixer in action, plus Danish eco-builder Max Jensen and Sean Sands discuss their application, and life philosophy, on building at such low cost. Other builders are interviewed, and their homes are shown. Much discussion on trail and error with materials such as sealers, water proofers, and methods too. #1081...$25.00
  [Note: Viewing both videos #1051 and #1081 gives you a complete up to date view on papercrete methods.]

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• A Sampler of Alternative Homes-VIDEO- Two solid hours packed with interviews, plus inside/outside views and construction of each type of alternative building...including the exciting new material " Fibrous Cement/Papercrete" building method. See recycled waste paper , sand and cement turned into sturdy building blocks, forms, panels, domes, and HOUSES- for an amazing cost of under $1.00 a square foot! Other methods covered are: Strawbale-load bearing, post-beam and dome, Earthships, Cordwood, Thin Shell Concrete Dome, Adobe block (Cinva Ram), Rammed Earth, Earthbag/Superadobe, an Earth Sheltered Kiva, and a city bus conversion to motorhome. #9007...$30.00 (video rental available for $10. for 2 weeks-see Video Rental page.)

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  Building with Adobe& Stabilized-Earth Blocks- 1964 : LEAFLET... #535, USDA . 8 page booklet, 5"x7" size, xerographic. Describes selecting soil; mixing, molding and curing adobe bricks with a form mold and with a Cinva Ram block press (ram photo shown). Explains building walls with cross section diagrams showing construction methods, roof design and attachment. Gives recipes for finish coating walls (plasters)- a casein & TSP wash, limewash and lime plasters. Black and white diagrams throughout. #535..$3.00

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  Papercrete blocks can be used like adobe bricks to build walls. Papercrete also serves as the mortar.

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  Adobe Construction Methods: Manual 19 : by LW Neubauer. 35 page booklet, 5"x7" size, xerographic. A very thorough primer for Adobe! Explains how to make and build with adobe bricks. Soil selection, stabilization and waterproofing with cement, emulsified asphalt, lime are detailed. Describes how to build and mortar walls, place lintels, windows, doors, and build roofs. Shows diagrams of construction details from foundation to roof, with correct measurements given. Covers finishing, painting, limewashing, fireplaces and chimneys,. Even describes other tamped earth methods such as English Cob, rammed earth, poured adobe; with photos and diagrams of formworks used. Black and white photos throughout, produced by UC California Agricultural Sciences Dept ,1964. #19...$10.00

  

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  Adobe & Sun Dried Brick for Farm Buildings-1934 : Farmers' Bulletin #1720, USDA . 18 page BOOKLET, 5"x7" size, xerographic. This wonderful little booklet has photos of 1930s adobe buildings and laborers constructing them; to teach rural farmers this very low cost, fireproof building method. Describes mixing, molding and curing adobe bricks. Explains mud and lime mortars, coal-tar paints, when and how to apply finish plasters. Covers windows, doors, roofs, footings, foundations and chimneys with dimensions given. Shows photo of a very low cost roof of cottonwood logs/willow twig and straw, coated with adobe mud/sod. Black and white photos throughout #1720...$5.00.