How waterproof, durable and structurally strong is Hypertufa?
dragonfly_wings
15 years ago
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billie_ann
15 years agodragonfly_wings
15 years agoRelated Discussions
hypertufa planters
Comments (3)vermiculite is squishy when wet and perlite isn't. I would think that would cause problems. Hypertufa is concrete with a lightweight aggregate. The aggregate gives concrete strength. You can use perlite and the resulting concrete will be very light, but not that strong. You could use pumice and gain some weight but quite a bit more strength. Scoria would be stronger and heavier still. You can add some sand in there for strength but sand is very heavy. ARGF (alkali resistant glass fibers) might be available locally at a good concrete contractor's supply house or through a ready-mix concrete supplier. They are pretty easy to find on the web and they are light so shipping is cheap....See MoreWhy does hypertufa crack?
Comments (38)Hey guys, I'm liking that Elmers glue, and latex paint suggestion, cheap, and possibly just sitting in a can downstairs, IF, it's not a solid mass of dried up crap by now, paint, that is. I have had some projects that haven't cracked, BUT, some that have. I'd always heard that HYDRATION was key in having a finished project NOT crack, you know, to hydrate it long enough before taking it off and using it. I'm hoping that IF I can't use my old latex paint that is downstairs, IF it's all hard and non usable, AND, I hit up the local WM paint section, and buy some god ugly color that is REDUCED majorly, I'm HOPING that my Hypertufa project WON'T be showing streaks of the god ugly color through it. I want to make a hypertufa planter for succulents. I'm guessing the liming effect of the cement may make the paint color less likely to be bright or showy? I remember buying a small amount of "silica fume" years ago, and never using it, I wonder IF I can use that on this project OR would it be big waste of it, that I should use on a much more delicate project? Really, anyone who knows just what one would use "silica Fume" for, please tell me, I forget what I bought it for, and, if it goes bad quickly, I am sure it has been way too long to use it now. BTW, I have an OPENED BAG OF PORTLAND Cement, it's been open for a few years at least, can I still use it? I've seen cement sitting outside in a heap outside of a place that makes and sells concrete statues, surely sitting in my basement in a bag it's fine, right?...See MoreConcrete Block Raised Beds Covered With Hypertufa?
Comments (16)Tuffatuffa AC noise has different frequencies. One of them being Humm, which typically transfers mechanically (making adjacent structures vibrate with them). Wood is typically used in combination with space, creating sound "traps" for lower frequencies (the humming part of your AC noise). Remember, higher frequencies have shorter wave lengths, so combining different density materials is what you're going for, unless there's a specific frequency range you want to address. This seems like a good link. Let me know if it doesn't answer your questions and I'll do some more research Bass trap I think you're looking for acoustic insulation that wont look bad. Since AC noise will have a variation of frequencies, the more diverse materials you use, the more diverse the frequencies you will absorb. Then, the higher frequencies will just be reflected by the solid surface of the tufa. So, this is how I would do it: 1) Make your wall with a frame of 2x4s for shape 2) Take a piece of plywood or something to go along the interior. Staple it 2 inches from the border (so you're in the middle of the wall). 3) Fill the remaining space (which should be about 2 inches on each side) with foam, carpet or whatever you can find and dispose of. 4) Use some kind of metal lathe to give the tufa something to cling to, and stable it to your wooden frame. 5) If you want to take it a step further, before covering with tuva, cut a few sections of PVC pipe and place it at even intervals accross the side of your wall (about an inch or two of separation). This will insure different frequencies are reflected in different directions 6) Cover the whole thing with tufa. Then, cover with plastic so you can isolate the foam from your wet tufa when you apply Now you have an effective bass(humm) trap, and high and mid frequency absorbtion and reflection (with the interior foam for absorbtion and the corrugated tufa surface for reflection) If you can, lie your "wall" on the floor when applying the tufa. Or at least at an angle so our tufa doesn't slide down. You'll find this is where the lathe will come in handy ;-) Forget my comment about replacing the AC. I have a noisy AC myself, so I am biased towards just dumping the thing :-) OK, I'm typing a lot and I don't know if I'm answering your questions. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help....See Morehypertufa leaf casting
Comments (5)Janice, how much do your leaves weigh now when you make them out of your portland/sand/ mix ? I would estimate that my elephant ear leaf casts (about 22 inches by 14 inches) weigh under 5 pounds. If that is lighter than what you are used to you might want to try a bag of Quickwall by Quickcrete. It has fibers and a bonding agent in it and makes very thin leaf casts. I also like using it to smear a quick coat on leaves that are not very "cooperative" to cast (cut-leaf philodendron)... then I pat a thick coat of tufa all over the leaf and let if get in between the separate leaf parts and I make it surround the whole leaf in some shape like a big circle or oval. When it dries you turn it over and you have a white cement print in a tufa circle. These usually turn out great and it saves a lot of weight compared to solid concrete. Laura...See More
Mike Larkin
15 years agobillie_ann
15 years agodragonfly_wings
15 years agobillie_ann
15 years agoclarenancy
15 years ago
Susan McCurdy
2 years agoDougal Öneton
last year
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dragonfly_wingsOriginal Author