Compressed Earthen Block Production
Step Four: The Slurry
(At Right) We make the slurry from local soils, water and a proprietary polymer.
All we need to do is PAINT or POUR the slurry onto the top of the blocks. No need to use mortar, which is essentially the weakest part of the block wall.
Pouring the slurry onto the block surface is five times faster than applying mortar to the blocks. This significantly reduces the cost of labor as specialty labor is not required
(At Right) Slurry Test - a thin slurry is made using the same material and poured onto a base block. Another block is placed on top and a 3 inch nail hammered into the top. After 4 minutes you should be able to pick up both blocks by the nail. The slurry creates a bond that is 2.5 times stronger than a mortar bond.
(At Right) This shows a block with two discs of slurry that dried overnight and could not be peeled off. They broke when you tried to remove them.
When using a “Like” material (the same soil as in the blocks) the bond is stronger. And in 24 hours you have an unbreakable wall.
(At Right) This shows what happened if the slurry disc was forced and broken off.
Next:
Step Five: The Foundation
CEB Production Steps
- Step One: Equipment Arrives
- Step Two: Soil Preparation
- Step Three: Block Machine Running
- Step Four: The Slurry
- Step Five: The Foundation
- Step Six: The Wall
- Page Seven: Finished Buildings
- Page Eight: An industrial building in Durban
- Page Nine: Durban Demonstration House
In The Media:
- Presentation to Nigerian Architectural Conference in Abuja, Sep 2011 (pdf)
- Video: Block Production
- South African Newspaper Article, June 2010 (pdf)
- Cape Town & Durban Presentation, May 2010 (pdf)