insulating layer

[rrichie]

Can anyone refresh my memory on the correct ratio of portland cement and vermiculite?

[Desmo78]

Re: insulating layer

Hi,

If this is for the insulation base it is 1 part cement to 5 parts vermiculite with just enough water to form a slurry.

Best to mix it in a wheelbarrow by hand with a small shovel or garden hoe. Mixing it a cement mixer will break down the vermiculite.

JP

[david s]

Re: insulating layer

Hi,

If this is for the insulation base it is 1 part cement to 5 parts vermiculite with just enough water to form a slurry.

Best to mix it in a wheelbarrow by hand with a small shovel or garden hoe. Mixing it a cement mixer will break down the vermiculite.

JP

Be careful, my understanding of a slurry is a mixture that is fluid enough to almost pour. This would be quite unsuitable for a vermicrete mix. In fact if you add enough water that it pools on the bottom of your barrow, then you've added too much. It tends to wash the cement off the grains of vermiculite. I use 10 parts vermiculite, 2 parts cement and 3 parts water by volume.

There maybe many interpretations of the word "slurry". A slurry in Australia may be different from a slurry in Arizona.