Any old latex paint is a great admix. Just add it in with your water. Adds strength and faster curing and most people have lots of the stuff laying around.

You can pick up a bag of DuroFiber at the masonry store. It's just chopped up fiberglass, and not expensive. Throw in a handful to your mix. There will be little "hairs" of fiberglass sticking out of your finished product, and (if you want to) you can use a little propane torch and burn the ends off. There are other types of fibers, but some of them clump together and are more trouble than they are worth to try to separate.

Can somebody please explain what admix means.
I've been using concrete reiforcing fibers for strength in my hypertufa. Is that an admix?
~Debbie~

Good question DB.
I call it an additive if it's dry and admix if it's wet.
Except for water, Portland and aggregates.
Now Superplastisizer comes in both dry and wet but I consider both admix.
I even confuse myself.:)

Thanks david.
~Debbie~

How about this: if you throw it in there to make it stronger it's reinforcing stuff :)

if it's pigment powder, it's color; and

if it's that liquid stuff to make it cure in the cold, it's that liquid stuff to make it cure in the cold :)

Admix(ture)

"A substance added to a cement-based grout or mortar mix to increase its performance. This might be to make the mortar flow more freely, be more flexible (using a latex compound for example), or more waterproof or frostproof. Often refered to as an additive."

Today there are literally hundreds of performance enhancing "admixes" (think Viagra) for cement-based materials. Modern concrete, for example, is typically engineered to meet very strict and often officially regulated standards. They come in wet & dry and can be added at various points in the mixing process. Within the industry, the term is generally limited to additives that interact in some manner with the chemical processes involved and do not, however, include "mechanical" processes such as those associated with the addition of fibers.

I have gallons and gallons of latex paint I can put that into the tufa too!! I haven't mixed anything yet I was going to make a bunch of different mixes an see what works the best. I want a semi-perm wall If I don't like it I want easy distruction.

Latex paint is great in tufa. Stronger, more water proof.
Many cities around the world are now using latex paints that used to go into landfills in the concrete and road building projects.

Here's an online article about using latex paint in concrete. Unfortunately they never define any ratios, saying only that a little helps and a little more huets (?).

Here is a link that might be useful: Adding Latex Paint to Concrete

Thanks for the link, Tango. Being out of the loop for a bit now, this was new to my eyes and brain .... in terms of its having a positive effect on finished product - aside from tinting aspect. I wonder if I will really give it a try?? Time will tel

Here's a link to the city of London, Ontario's paint recycling program. I emailed them to ask for the percentage of latex paint that they are putting in their concrete tests.
Does anyone here have a guide?

I add 5% concrete bond in my concrete and hypertufa. I can smell it in the final product, but I don't know if that's enough to make a difference in the strength.

Mercedes (Gearing up for Spring - I should be working on my wholesale catalogue because it's still too cold to make anything concrete.)

No, *Here's* the link!

Mercedes

Here is a link that might be useful: Municipal latex paint recycling

There is latex paint and there is latex paint.
Comparing a $9 can of Canadian Tire's finest to a $60 can is like comparing apples and oranges.
How old is it?
Has it been frozen?
That's why there is no guide.
I have used old frozen cheap stuff 3 parts to one part water and it makes great concrete.
But like I said before I'm not in construction where slump and setup times are a huge issue.
I do concrete art.:)

The greatest single asset of formulating "leftover" latex paint into commercally produced concrete is the "Green Value" it achieves. Like flyash, leftover latex paint was once a tremendous ecological burden. Today they are both prized as beneficial ingredients of the most widely consumed single product on earth. Concrete. As Kermit would say..."It's not easy being green"...but it is definitely cool.

hi there,I came across a mortar recipe I ofcoursr changed it I ended up with this I used a pepsi cup from Taco Bell as the measure 42 oz 1 part portland, 1 part potting soil, 1part sand, one part liquid clay, one part Zeolite, one part exterior grade latex and water. I mixed the raw clay I dug it up myself out in the desert, with water, latex paint and the zeolite, I mixed the drys toghter and then put it all together and mixed like the devil. It seems to be holding my rocks together. I'll know more in a week I guess. It sure was fun to make mud tiring but fun I'm going to get hooked.

Has anyone noticed (or have read reports, etc.) any problems with planting in hypertufa vessels constructed with latex paint admix? Indeed, are there any admixes one should avoid in deference to healthy plant growth?

While I have never heard of any admixes leaching anything negative into the soil, there are quite a few "substitute" aggregates that can impart various effects. Copper slag is toxic to mold & algae and iron ore can cause problems with iron sensitive plants for example. Unwashed beach sand contains high levels of salt which can be problematic for plants as well as weakening or even destroying the mix it is in. And of course, all new cement is highly alkaline unless it is neutralized with a mild acid or a long water bath.

Does anyone else know of any? How 'bout uranium slag?

We have a 'no uranium slag' policy in our garden, that we're pretty strict about, but speaking of leaching into the soil, I'm wondering about the use of styrofoam in a garden enviroment. Leachates from pieces that might have exposed or thinly coated styrofoam in contact with soil. If I had to guess I'd think that it would be undesirable; any more informed opinions on this?

cheers,

Sean

Yeow! Just Googled "styrofoam, health hazards" and may now have to change the way I live...but as always, it all comes down to "who to believe". While the official MSDS sheet (this one is from Australia) makes it sound as safe as Mother's milk...another group wants it banned from the planet. Here are a quote and a few links for your reading pleasure. What's a crafter to do?

" Styrofoam is the brand name for the Dow Chemical product which is a plastic made from polystyrene, a chemical that is absorbed through the lungs, skin, and intestines. It has been listed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as a "possible carcinogen" and an irritant that also affects the nervous system. The registry, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, reports on its web page that styrene vapors are most likely to come from building materials and consumer products such as food containers. On Dow Chemical's material safety data sheet, the company lists Styrofoam's hazardous routes into the body as "inhalation and ingestion" and says that it is dangerous to the eyes, may cause choking, is an "upper respiratory tract" irritant, and can cause depression and "irregular heart beats."

http://cla.calpoly.edu/~SMARX/courses/134/webpapers/054/Lehtonen_4r.htm

http://www.aeromfg.com.au/html/styrofoam_msds.html

I often see styrofoam beads used as soil lightener of house plants sold locally.

Hmm, so it's styrofoam, 'readily available food supplement', or 'the worst thing since uranium slag'. Better avoided I suppose; pretty much how I felt about it before I posted.

I'd forgotten about those little balls in the potting mix. I've seen those too. Friends add styrofoam chunks when filling new pots with soil; a trick that doesn't really appeal to me.

cheers,

Sean

Excuse this regular lurker for butting in, but I think you are mistaken about the white beads in potting soil. THat is perlite, a naturally occurring silicous rock which is heated to make it expand and turn white.

I believe Suezn is correct...I've always been told that "the little white beads" were Perlite too. Which I now suppose to be yet another common "alternative aggregate" that we will have to investigate for its potential use as a weapon of mass confusion. Any takers on this one?

Little white beads in potting mix usually is perlite, but I'm pretty sure that I've come across mixes with styrofoam. It's something that I've associated with a cheaper, poorer quality product; a sort of 'dollar store' version.

Just did a quick google,

http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/factsheets/PackagedPottingMedia.html

"Styrofoam  an inexpensive substitute for perlite. Beads of styrofoam help .." etc. Ok, so there you go, it must be true, it says it on the internet.

My lovely wife is,amongst her other talents,a Master Gardener.I asked her about styro pellets,and had she ever used them or knew of anyone who had,and she replied in the negative.Perlite,sure,because its inert and works well in the soil.
We've used styro chunks in the bottom of pots or planters as drainage.
If styro is used in the soil,I daresay that there would be a potential for health problems,esp.if the pellets do break down.For floral beds,you can get away with it;you shouldn't push it with food sources!
cheers from here

"Excuse this regular lurker for butting in, but I think you are mistaken about the white beads in potting soil. THat is perlite"

No it's styrofoam.
I know the difference I work with BOTH every day.

Hey...it sounds to me like someone came up with a clever way to get rid of a lot of toxic waste...just put it in potting soil and sell it!

Those white styrofoam coolers/containers are considered food safe.
Coffee cups are made from the same styrofoam.
The coffee is probably more toxic than the cup.:)

Thus the difference between cheap potting mixes and better quality potting mixes. It's not necessarily a black or white subject. Yes, there are mixes that have some styrofoam put in them but perlite is a superior ingredient for soil and, in a higher quaility mix, is most likely what you're seeing.

I guess the true test would be to be enough water in the soil to "float" the styrofoam. Perlite would eventually absorb the water, styrofoam wouldn't. Personally, I wouldn't mind putting styrofoam in a concrete product (instead of, say, a landfill) but environmentally I'd hesitate "knowingly" putting it into a garden bed. At least in a well-managed landfill, they no longer aim to let it "break down" into the water table. Styrofoam has got a large half-life and is man-made. Just because they put it in potting mixes today doesn't make it right but then again using cement is an environment issue in itself.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Connecticut re: potted soil