Grancrete, a new way to build a house
Grancrete is an interesting new product devoped with low cost housing in mind (think third world). But would have obvious apps here. Seems like it would compliment ICF’s really well.
www.techtransfer.anl.gov/awards/rd100short.html
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Hey
Interesting post .I would like to know more about that stuff.I did a Google search.I found more imfo .2 guys can build a 800sf house in 2 days.
I've seen mention of that on a dome-related site. Promises are listed but no data. There's no engineering specs posted for how the structure will behave...supposedly under testing. People are asking, can I have the same benefits as 3" of concrete plus rebar for a 1/2" of grancrete with no rebar? Ummmm...think I'd want a bit of engineering first! Story was told of 1/2" on some foam holding up a car. Expecting to see that on Snopes any day now. First price I saw was $92/50# bag.
Edited 4/10/2005 2:38 pm ET by Cloud Hidden
It was invented at Argon labs ( 15 yrs ago) so I think its for real. I bet if you contacted them they would be able to give you reams of data.
It's for real but it's not yet been completely tested. From the ANL site: "Argonne and Casa Grande have extensively field-tested Grancrete for structural properties, post-application behavior and production costs. Their next step will be to test it for both earthquake and hurricane resistance, after which they will make the product available worldwide." There are currently no standards (that I've seen) for using with/without rebar, for thicknesses to withstand different loads, etc. Can it be used today and be code compliant? I doubt it, but I do look forward to when the engineering standards are established.