fastest home build method

Gfrc

First, a little background. We, my three sons & I, have been hardscaping the great muddy ooze that lurks to the rear of the house. We started at the end of February & so far, we have erected decking adjacent to the house, excavated a pond with waterfall, built a wooden bridge over troubled waters, constructed an unplanned second deck & are creating a summer kitchen with a woodfired oven, a large open fire with ornate chimney (maybe) & a BBQ range. We're mad. We're even casting our own firebricks!!

The point is, it's taking too much of our time so I've been looking at alternatives to solid masonry. What I learned from Google is new to me, but large, light concrete panels incorporating certain admixtures & reinforcements, can be demoulded within hours. I have been looking at fake rock panels, but a video showing how to form a Warped Wood Concrete Fire Table got me thinking about a boat made from glass fibre reinforced concrete. Video below. These panels are very tough. Form them flat & then bend them shape as they start to set off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kayhn1_YKgQ

There are many other Trinic videos that list the proportions of all the ingredients. It's like mixing a cake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_bQEH0_3j0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e-hKlU6DBc

Have fun,

Perry

 

Actually both paddlers are going with the flow as the cardboard canoe is going downstream and the kayak is in an eddy

 

T's hobby is to follow gonzo around questioning everything he posts. must have broken a record for persistance by now.

 

It turns out that CSA cement is not available in the UK, but Ciment Fondu is.

http://www.kerneosinc.com/cimentfondu.php

I've now got 50 kgs due for delivery tomorrow. A tough 15,000 psi, concrete canoe, warp moulded in a tarpaulin, is on the cards. I hope it floats.

 

very interesting, thanks for the link.

 

Very interesting! Do you have some pics for us?

 

G F R C

I sent an e-mail to Guillermo about GFRC & he replied with this.

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/24344/1/IJEMS 8(2) 90-99.pdf

So, nought new under the sun, I guess.

 

Just found this subject thread.

Nice job there Gary

 

Not exactly a 'home project'

 

Kelsall and Dudley Dix

I would agree with Mr Watson here.

I would also suggest have a look at the build process on this 55 catamaran by Dudley Dix:
http://www.dixdesign.com/dh550%20build.htm

...and you might consider forgetting about those nice rounded shapes on the bottoms of many hulls,...flat panels with chines can work out very well.

 

Redesigning the Prigrim 40 Trawler

You might have a look thru this rather long subject thread where I look at the possibilities of modern day construction of a canal boat/trawler with a steel hull (frameless method, precut) and proproplene cored decks and superstructure (flatpanel built on a table ala Kelsall)

Why Steel Hull

Composite Superstructure Considerations

Cabin Superstructure

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/redesigning-pilgrim-40-trawler-canal-boat-11212-12.html

 

For years I have been kicking around the idea of a sailboat made of high strength fiber reinforced concrete from just above the waterline down. The upper structure could be anything (I was thinking wood) but the frames would be metal-most likely galvanized steel. Based on material strengths and densities such a construction could produce legendary keel-boat designs from before WWII. Such a construction would be faster to produce, cheaper, and far lower maintenance than the original. The primary failure of cement boats is rusting steel reinforcement -no steel no failure. The primary failure of wooden boats is rot below the waterline. The denser concrete lower would reduce the amount of lead needed to get to design waterline and modern rigs could be used to get the righting and natural frequency of the original.

 

Wooden boats rot above the waterline more than below. The superstructure is the first thing to rot. What material strengths and densities are you referring to? Could you post them so we can discuss them? Cement, even with fibers, has a higher density and is more brittle than any of the common boatbuilding wood species.

 

If you look at pericles links you will see that glass reinforced concrete is very flexible gonzo. Skyak . I agree with gonzo. Wood boats rot far more above the waterline than below. On my boats i have done many rot repairs on the deck and cabins but never under the waterline.