7 years in the waiting i get to start my 42" pompeii

[leetheldc]

So that didn't go that bad at all don't know what I was worrying about I'm itching like hell but worth it only problem is I only had enough for 1 layer of blanket I remember ordering it while I was at work and the salesman did the calculations for me never trust anyone. I found a supplier online who can get me some delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday so il have to do that. I'm going to use 25 mm thick for the next layer so I will be at 75mm of blanket in total then the 2 to now 3 inch of vermicrete

[UtahBeehiver]

When I installed my pcretete I made a curved trowel to help keep the curved form. My template was a visual baseline, where as Gulf's template actually screeded the pcrete.

[Gulf]

Russell,

Actually, I would not describe it as a screed. I had somewhat of a removable curved trowel that mounted to the arm. That allowed me to move the trowel up on each course. I slightly packed the vcrete outwardly toward the trowel and downward against the preceeding course trying not to compress the blanket. On the higher courses it became necessary to shorten the arm to allow for working into the entry. I left a few inches of the bottom of the trowel to glide over the preceeding course as a guide.

[UtahBeehiver]

Your right, that's what I get for using my memory with these old ancient brain cells.

[leetheldc]

Cheers guys I'm trying to mold these methods together to achieve something like you both did ihave got brick splits ready to go I had them cut from the bricks I had left over so I'm really following your methods for the as perfect as I can get-it hemisphere. I have cut some timber for the curved trowel I just need some material for the actual curved face

[leetheldc]

Joe how did you attach the trowel to the profile with you moving it up all the time?

[UtahBeehiver]

I am not going to go my memory anymore. I looked at his picassa album and he screwed the trowel onto the template arm as he did each layer which was the width of the trowel.

[leetheldc]

I am not going to go my memory anymore. I looked at his picassa album and he screwed the trowel onto the template arm as he did each layer which was the width of the trowel.

Ah thanks Russell I missed that one I was thinking if clamping it but would proberly move. worth the time to just screw it Each time I suppose

[Gulf]

Sorry guys. Since the last upgrade I don't get notifications. I just came back in to cool a bit. Russell is right. I used long dry wall screws in this case. The Dewault drill shows up in several of the pics from my build. I would not know what to do without it anymore .

Vecrete Pics.

[leetheldc]

Sorry guys. Since the last upgrade I don't get notifications. I just came back in to cool a bit. Russell is right. I used long dry wall screws in this case. The Dewault drill shows up in several of the pics from my build. I would not know what to do without it anymore . https://picasaweb.google.com/110159595322558444862/6277876653000630641?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIyf-ff5orSwzgE&feat=directlink"]Vecrete Pics[/URL].

I picked up a full box of dry wall screws the other day on site that some wall boarder couldn't be bothered to pick up hay hay I knew they would come in handy! My extra blanket came yesterday I didn't bother with the 25mm and just got another 50 mm as I had the room for it so 100 mm of blanket in total leaving 30 to 50mm of vermicrete under the profile I got home today and got the lath in place the vermiculite and cement are in my garage so hopefully I can get started on that tomorrow after work

[leetheldc]

2 curved trowels made from and old oil drum lid one for the first plum 100mm to take for the 100mm insulation the dome is sat on and one for the dome shape its self curved top and bottom shaped from the profile for the rest of the way
First course of vermicrete on the plum 100mm course ready for as many course as I can do tomorrow with the next trowel . A very slow process but well worth it i really enjoyed this part of the build I hope it's the same for rest of the courses but I don't how people do this without a profile must be a nightmare to do without a keen eye is needed I bet . Well looking forward to get some more on tomorow don't know how many course I can lay at a time for it to hold itself up maybe il just do the one a day

[david s]

The major problem with vermicrete is that around a third of the volume of he mix is water. This is a huge amount and takes a very long time to evaporate. Only around half of the water will be used in the hydration process so ther is plenty left. It will dry on the surface readily enough, but water trapped in deeper, against the blanket will just sit there. This is why I recommended doing it in layers of around an inch and a half with a week of drying between layers. With so much blanket, heat from any drying fires is unlikely to reach the vermicrete. If you already have your roof up sun and wind are unlikely to do much drying for you. You may need to fire the oven for a few months to get that vermicrete dry before rendering over it.

[Gulf]

Lee,

It looks like you have it under control.

David gave me the same advice when I did mine. I had to look back at my build for some dates, but I did heed his warning and let my vecrete dry for 3 months before rendering with stucco. Even with 3 months drying under a covered roof such as yours, there was still plenty of water in there. I included a vent at the apex of the dome, through the vecrete and through the stucco. During the drying fires I was able to see that moisture escape through the vent by placing a clear plastic sheet over the hole (that was also advice from David). During the time that moisture was visible under the plastic, the shell of the dome was warm to the touch. When the moisture quit collecting under the plastic, and the shell of the stucco felt like ambient temperature, I took that as a sign to ramp the fires up.

I was able to get from 3 to 4 courses done per day. (looking back on the build) And, that was done with a sore back. I mixed my vecrete a little strong since I felt like I had enough insulation and was going for strength. If you go as high as 5 or 6 to one with the vecrete, you should be able to get as many courses per day as you can install. That is, as long as you go back to same starting point for each course, to give it a litttle set up time.

On your second trowel, Remember that it needs to ride slightly on the previous course which is the guage for the next. You may have to lift it slightly away when advancing to keep it from digging into the previous course. My trowel blade was a little more flexible than yours, so all I had to do was lift the leading edge. Yours will work just fine. There should be enough slack in your pivot to do that with no problem.. Looking back at my pics, I remembered something else for your upper courses. I did lightly tamp each course downward and back toward the trowel. But, I did it in 3 leading edges per course. (Maybe the pic below will make sense) If you look close you can distinguish the 3 layers for the leading edges. You may have to reverse the trowel a little to do this.

I'm looking forward to your progress.

[UtahBeehiver]

Looking good. Nice and uniform. Starts out slow but once you get at routine it goes faster. Like Gulf and Dave said, the vcrete is full of water and it takes time to get it out before you put on the final outside layer. You have been patient for 7 years a few more weeks won't make any difference. You can fire the oven and do other things while it dries.

[leetheldc]

3 months is no problem to me I had 2 months in my mind so another month is no hardship.and like Russell said I have waited 7 years already! O now 9 years! Ha
David, I would of gone for the 2 layers but I wasn't confident in getting a true shape doing it that way and as soon as I saw the swinging profile I knew that was the way I needed to go for easiness more fiddling about but worth it. The weather at the minute here couldn't be better to start the drying very windy and very warm at leat it's a start.
I'm still going to fit a vent like Joe and Russel proberly the Donaldson one you guys as that is the only one I can find that gets rid of the moister so I will definitely use the plastic sheet method for an indicator.
Joe 3 to 4 course is some doing hats off to you with a bad back too I only managed 2 course yesterday I wasn't at it all day but it took me ages to get round the dome squeezing around the back was horrible.
I left my trowel down about 20mm on the previous course this worked fine I ground all the edges smooth and round on my trowel so it didn't dig in that much as for the leading edges this is where me keeping the trowel on the previous course not lifting away I just used that 3rd edge as my compaction point angled down from top of trowel to top of last course slide the profile round about 50mm a time the trowel hits the chimney so I can go all the way from one side to another if that makes sense. Il try taking a pic they tell a story a lot better.
Russell I've got loads of things I need to do to keep me busy countertops are next so it gives me time to get them sorted.