popsci.com — Spray Grancrete over a frame of Styrofoam, metal, wood?even woven sugarcane stalks?and in 20 minutes you have a waterproof, fire-resistant structure that has more than twice the strength of traditional concrete and can withstand extreme temperatures without cracking.
Dec 14, 2005 View in Crawl 4
saigumiDec 15, 2005
Oh hell... it's Terrafoam! Now.. if we just had Manna.From Marshall Brain's Manna - <a class="user" href="http://marshallbrain.com/manna4.htm">http://marshallbrain.com/manna4.htm</a>
joeyjojoDec 15, 2005
"I think bubble shaped houses are made by pouring concrete on a large thick ballon and slowly infating it once the concrete has started to set."Monolithic domes are created by first inflating the balloon, THEN spraying.Grancrete isn't a new application technolgoy, but rather a new material technology. It's the mix that's new (and cheaper).
rautoxDec 15, 2005
I worked on a gunite crew a long time ago. It's been around for 50+ years as noted above. There's also shotcrete, which has also been around a while. The difference between those two are that gunite is mixed at the point of application. There's a big hose shooting dry concrete and another hose shooting water. The two mix on the way to whatever they're splattering. Shotcrete is wet before it goes into the hose. It appears that the difference here is that it's being used as a component in a sandwich (ala composite construction--think surfboard) as opposed being a reinforced single component (think swimming pool w/rebar). Pretty cool application.
ironbearDec 15, 2005
Great stuff, but only if it's compatible with UBC. Otherwise, pretty limited use in the US.
karnDec 15, 2005
Monolithic domes are typically a bubble thats inflated, then rebar is built inside the bubble, and then shotcrete sprayed on the walls (from the inside). It's sorta messy, and only somewhat like whats mentioned in the article. Grancrete seems like it would be very beneficial to the building of monolothic domes, only possibly adding minimal cost, with increased lifespan.
Closed AccountDec 15, 2005
I produce instructional videos for a company that manufactures most vertical concrete systems. They spray a whole hous ein a few hours and then "stamp" a pattern (brick,stone, great wall, ect...) then crave grout lines then color/antique. s**t looks amazing and is strong as hell.<a class="user" href="http://www.fossilcrete.com">http://www.fossilcrete.com</a>
Closed AccountDec 15, 2005
I have been looking at this to build a new home soon.<a class="user" href="http://www.monolithicdome.com/">http://www.monolithicdome.com/</a><a class="user" href="http://www.domebuilders.com/">http://www.domebuilders.com/</a><a class="user" href="http://www.domeofahome.com/">http://www.domeofahome.com/</a>I love the totally open floorplans you get with all the common areas in the middle and bedrooms around the outside edge of the circle.
ah802Dec 15, 2005
At $20.50 to coat 15 square feet, it's quite expensive... coating to a depth of 2" on both sides of the foam and costs hit a brick wall... nothing beats the price of dung-walls.
genconkeeperDec 15, 2005
Okay 20 minutes is cool but I saw this in a old Time-Life science book from the early 60's. A few cities used a inflatable tent as a form and made park shelters out of them. Very old news.
super_structureDec 15, 2005
eraserhead: Concrete doesn't dry; it cures. It is a chemical reaction between cement and water.This is hardly revolutionary. Spray concrete (shot-crete, etc.) has been around for decades. Saying it is "more than twice the strength of traditional concrete" is completey ridiculous since concrete strengths always specified per job and are available in strengths that vary in orders of magnitude. If it can cure in 20 minutes, that is fast, but that doesn't mean that it is actually full strength in 20 minutes. The wikipedia reference linked to above states cures in 2-4 hours. Lastly, anyone who can describe $20/ft^2 as "low cost" knows nothing about construction, if that is what it actually costs for 2-2" applications.This "article" is hardly even worth even including here, is not news in any way, and sure isn't worth a digg.
flipinoDec 15, 2005
Oh the pranks you could pull...