Some days I am overwhelmed by the response to this blog. So many questions! One of the more frequently asked questions is, “Where is Cliff Cottage?”
Cliff Cottage, along with Unit One, is physically located in uptown Ginnunga Gap. The uptown is situated about 300 meters away from downtown Ginnunga Gap, which is the location of a former ferry quay, as shown in the photo below.
Downtown Ginnunga Gap (photo: Alasdair McLellan)
Some people have difficulties with directions. One person lacks a functional understanding of left and right. Another has an inability to orientate himself in a grid using north, east, south and west. Because the buildings are not oriented along a conventional grid framework, the walls of the house and workshop have become proxies for conventional directions, and will soon have “street signs” posted, so everyone can check. Here are the proxy directions: Nifl (which points to the land of ice) where the workshop doors are placed; Carmel (which points to a beloved mountain in Israel) which hosts Machine Alley; Muspel (which points to the land of fire) is the wall adjoining the Annex; and Atlantis, which has a (highly theoretical) view over the Atlantic ocean, but overlooks the main workbench.
In much the same way that some British firms hold royal warrants allowing them to print on their offices, factories and even product packages something like, “By Appointment to Her Wellness …., suppliers of toilet paper and other fine sanitary products,” Unit One humbly writes, “By Appointment to the Citizens of Ginnunga Gap, Unit One suppliers of space, tools and machines to transform individual and collective visions into practical products that make the world a better place.”
Visiting British, Norwegian or other royalty will be treated with the same respect that we treat all members of the Greater Ginnunga Gap community.
(Just like Cliff Cottage, this blog has its storage problems. Posts get written, then get stored, never to be published. Yet sometimes small miracles happen. This post that has been in storage since June 2017 is now being published in October 2017.)
The image below is from the United Kingdom election in June 2017. American pussy hats have been replaced by British fox hats (to protest May’s support of fox hunting). “Rosie the Riveter” has been given tattoos. While I am not personally keen on camouflage jackets, I do like the red trousers. In fact, I have two pairs myself which I wear while working!
AFP 2017-06-08 UK election “Revenge of the young”
J. Howard Miller’s original poster is actually titled We Can Do It. It portrays Naomi Parker (later Fraley), working at the Alameda Naval Air Station, in California. It shows how production workers actually dressed. Created in 1942, displayed for two weeks in 1943, rediscovered in the 1980s.
J. Howard Miller 1942 We Can Do It
With the war over, more elegant attire could be worn, as shown in this 50 year old photograph of Diana Rigg 1938- (Emma Peel) and Patrick Macnee 1922-2015 (John Steed). They both belong to the inter-war generation.
PA 1965 Diana Rigg as Emma Peel & Patrick Macnee as John Steed in the Avengers.
I thought of ending this by showing a photo of some boomer hippies in the late 1960s. After having viewed countless images, I am forced to conclude that the world is better off not having to look at them again.
The Unit One Workshop is scheduled to start operation on Monday, 01 January 2018 at 12 noon. If you would like to be included in the official opening celebration all you have to do is contact the operations manager: brock@mclellan.no and have your name added to the list of invited guests.
At the moment a number of speakers have been invited to entertain guests. Not all of these have accepted, yet – so there could be some changes.
Proton Bletchley: Unit One – A Community Workshop (15 minutes)
Precious Dollar: What it costs to construct a workshop (10 minutes)
Billi Sodd: Prison workshops (This is dependent on Billi being able to obtain day release from Verdal Prison) (unknown duration)
Refreshments served
Jade Marmot: The fun of DIY videos (30 minutes)
Brock McLellan: Closing remarks (10 minutes)
During that first day, at 14:00, a Health, Environment and Safety course will be conducted, so that people wanting to use the workshop will know how to protect themselves and the environment.
To begin with, equipment at the workshop will focus on woodworking. A number of stationary machines will be available, if not on opening day, then soon thereafter, including: table saw, band saw, mitre saw, router, planer, jointer and drill stand.
About once a month there will be a “fredag fika” in the workshop. The first of these is planned for Friday, 5 January 2018 at 12:00. However, if people would rather have this on a different day, or time, these wishes can be accommodated. This meeting will give people several days to reflect on how they want to use the workshop, and the rules that are needed to govern its use.
Enhet En Verksted
Verkstedet til Unit One/ Enhet En er planlagt å starte drift mandag 01 januar 2018 kl 12.00. Hvis du vil bli med på den offisielle åpningsfestet, må du bare kontakte operasjonssjefen: brock@mclellan.no og få navnet ditt lagt til listen over inviterte gjester.
I øyeblikket har en rekke talere blitt invitert til å underholde gjester. Ikke alle disse har akseptert, ennå – så det kan være noen endringer.
Proton Bletchley: Enhet 1 – Et versted for fellesskapet (15 minutter)
Precious Dollar: Hva koster det å bygge et verksted (10 minutter)
Billi Sodd: Verksteder på fengsel (Dette er avhengig av at Billi for frigang fra Verdal fengsel) (ukjent varighet)
Servering av forfriskninger
Jade Marmot: Den morsomme med DIY videoer (30 minutter)
I løpet av den første dagen, klokken 14.00, vil det gjennomføres et helse-, miljø- og sikkerhetskurs, slik at folk som ønsker å bruke verkstedet, vil få opplæring om hvordan de skal beskytte seg selv og miljøet.
Til å begynne med vil utstyret på verkstedet fokusere på trebearbeiding. En rekke stasjonære maskiner vil være tilgjengelige, om ikke på åpningsdagen, så snart deretter: bordsag, båndsag, gjæresag, fres, tykkelseshøvel, jointer og borestativ.
Omtrent en gang i måneden vil det være en “fredag fika” i verkstedet. Den første av disse er planlagt fredag 5. januar 2018 klokken 12.00. Men hvis folk heller vil ha dette på en annen dag eller tid, kan dato og/eller klokkeslett endres. Dette møtet vil gi folk flere dager til å reflektere over hvordan de vil bruke verkstedet, og de reglene som trengs for å styre bruken av det.
NB: Much of this post was actually written in 2016, but has been updated and posted in October 2017.
A year ago, a politician in one of the world’s largest countries came up with a campaign slogan, “Make [name of country] great, again.”
“Wow,” I thought, “that is such a fantastic idea.” I slept well, reflecting on that smart slogan until, in some sort of dream phase in the middle of the night, I realized that the message had to be tweaked.
Why should it be just one country? So, I replaced [name of country] with the world, as in: “Make the world great, again.”
I began to slept even better the next night, knowing that the entire world would be great, again – not just one or ten countries, but all 195! http://www.worldometers.info/geography/how-many-countries-are-there-in-the-world/
Then, during this intense dream phase, I realized that the message had to be tweaked even more. Unfortunately, the entire world has never been that great for everyone. Many people live in oppression. Many more people in the past also lived oppressed, impoverished lives. So, we have no right to add “again” to the phrase.
“Make the world great.”
The slogan was now so fantastic I imagined that it couldn’t be improved, ever. So, I spent the next day painting a banner. It was a banner that could be hung from my sundeck that all the world could see, at least that portion of the world that lives in Vangshylla, and can see the sundeck. Unfortunately, that day it didn’t just rain, it poured. Not a single soul could be bothered to look upwards into the sky to read the banner.
That evening, I was sure I would sleep through the entire night, without interuptions. Not even the honking of the geese overhead, flying south, would disrupt my slumber. It was true, the honking geese did not disturb my sleep. It was the banner, or more correctly, the slogan on the banner, that did.
The problem this time was not with the slogan. Rather, it was what was missing from the slogan. It didn’t seem fair that an Obama, or a Hilary or a Donald or even a Bernie should be stuck with the job of making the world great. If the world was to become great, then everyone had to contribute.
The next day I found more material so that I could add a second story to the original banner. It now read, “Working to Make the World Great!”
By now I had grown to expect waking in the middle of the night. Thus, it came as no surprise at all, when I woke up realizing that there were still challenges with the slogan. Yes, we can all work to make the world great, but I’d actually prefer you to do it my way, rather than your way. It took only a few minutes to come to the realization that “My Way or the Highway” is not a particularly mature approach to making the world great. Then, something unusual happened. I fell asleep.
Sometimes, allowing one’s subconscious to work on a problem is much better than any other approach. When I awoke in the morning, I felt refreshed. After breakfast, I looked at the banner and knew precisely what needed to be added. Within an hour the banner was finished. It was a sunny day, so people could look up and read,
“Working Together to Make the World Great!”
Postscript: There aren’t many people who live in Vangshylla, and even fewer who can look up and see the banner. That isn’t important. That slogan is actually addressed to just one person, myself, and changing my attitude to each and every person I meet.
The 1950s and the 1960s were a privileged time. Yet, there are only some aspects of it that I would want to return to. It was exceedingly sexist. Men worked outside the house, while women were confined inside suburban houses. At school, girls were required to study home economics which was in general divided into two sections, textiles (with an emphasis on sewing) and cooking (and nutrition). Boys were required to study industrial arts.
I am not going to mention more about home economics in this post, except to say that I probably would have benefited from learning more about cooking. Similarly, many girls would have benefited, if they had been allowed to study industrial arts.
Industrial arts was obligatory for four (later three) years. One period a week was devoted to draughting, and the construction of technical drawings. The other days were spent working in one of three subject areas, each for a third of the school year, in rotation. The subject areas were woodworking, metalworking and electricity and electronics. For my last two years of secondary school, I took a two year specialization in electricity and electronics. Others were able to specialize in other areas, such as house construction or automotive mechanics. Some people didn’t take any practical subjects at all, after the obligatory years.
There is a Norwegian term, sløyd, that roughly translates as woodwork. Here children use obsolete hand tools to make objects that are either obsolete themselves, or are made in a fraction of the time by industrial machines. I am not sure why sløyd is taught. It shows a great deal of disrespect to children, and the value of their time.
In industrial arts, we learned how to use hand tools, but we also progressed rapidly to machine tools. One does not waste time using a hand saw if a compound mitre saw is more appropriate. This does not mean that the Canadian industrial arts program was perfect. In metalwork, I learned to work with sheet metal, blacksmithing and machining. However, I was never exposed to welding.
Fast forward fifty years …
I am tired of sitting around cafes, gossiping while consuming sugar rich drinks and cakes. Something similar can be said of gyms with their sweat enhanced fragrances. I want to invite people to use their time more constructively, by using the workshop at Unit One. Yes, there will be a “fredag fika” a Swedish term for a sociable coffee break often held on Fridays. It is designed to help bond and consolidate a group of workers. At Unit One it should allow people to discuss projects: present, future and (if necessary) past.
Before people will be allowed to use equipment on their own, they will have to be certified. The first will have to be for general health and safety. When a person enters Unit One, they have to know where their own personal protective equipment is located. Similarly, they will have to know what they are expected to do, during different types of emergencies, including fire and assorted forms of personal injury.
When it comes to certification to use the various tools, one approach is to test out a person using the specific machine. A better approach is to have the aspirant design and make a product that requires a number of different operations on a variety of machines.
Certification misses one vital element – the motivation to work.
Perhaps one should begin with the Arts and Crafts movement, and acknowledge the contributions of William Morris, and several others. That is not going to happen. The two contemporary (?) works that are most inspiring are both written by David William Pye (1914-1993): The Nature of Design (later The Nature & Aesthetics of Design), 1964 and The Nature and Art of Workmanship, 1968.
The workmanship of risk is one of Pye’s most important concepts. It is “workmanship using any kind of technique or apparatus, in which the quality of the result is not predetermined, but depends on the judgment, dexterity and care which the maker exercises as he works (The Nature and Art of Workmanship, p. 20).
He also wrote that people make things to effect change. However, most designed objects are palliative. They do not enable new behaviours. He uses a transport example to illustrate this. One can walk instead of using a car, but one cannot fly instead of using a plane. He also notes that design is limited by economy rather than technique. Since all design is an economic trade off, it is always a failure.
Pye also regards design as arbitrary. Products are developed under the assumption that tools can bring people happiness. His view is that tools can, at best, only help people avoid unhappiness.
David Pye (1914-1993)
There are two other writers that one may also want to read on the philosophy of work, Richard Sennett and Matthew B. Crawford.
Richard Sennett has written extensively about work. The Hidden Injuries of Class (1972) written with Johnathan Cobb is a study of class consciousness among working-class families in Boston. The Corrosion of Character (1998) explores how new forms of work are changing our communal and personal experience. Respect in a world of inequality (2003) examines the relation of work and welfare system reforms. The Culture of the New Capitalism (2006), much like the earlier Authority (1980) address similar issues.
Richard Sennett (photo: Ars Electronica, 2010)
Yet, it is the newer Homo Faber project that examines work in a 21st century context, an exploration of material ways of making culture. The Craftsman (2008), Together: The Rituals, Pleasures, and Politics of Cooperation (2012) and Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City (to be published in 2018) on the making of the urban environment.
Lewis Hyde states that Richard Sennett’s “guiding intuition” in The Craftsman is that “making is thinking.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/books/review/Hyde-t.html?_r=1&8bu&emc=bua2&oref=slogin
What I found particularly interesting about The Craftsman, was Sennett’s use of computer programmers as an example.
I will now elegantly hop over Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) to focus on a 21st century replacement, Matthew B. Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work (2009). In addition to obtaining a Ph. D. in political philosophy, Crawford has also worked as an electrician and mechanic, and owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop.
Matthew B. Crawford (photo: Adam Ewing)
Crawford writes about work that requires mastery of real things. This work can be more intellectually demanding that more abstract varieties. He feels that maintenance and repair work cultivate ethical virtues, and foster habits of individual responsibility. Crawford wants people to replace passivity and consumerism with self-reliance.
Tools are not the most important elements in a workshop. It is the values that are promoted therein.
“It is permissible to study sciences and arts, but such sciences as are useful and would redound to the progress and advancement of the people. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise.”
Ye have been enjoined to renew the furnishings of your homes after the passing of each nineteen years; thus hath it been ordained by One Who is Omniscient and All-Perceiving. He, verily, is desirous of refinement, both for you yourselves and for all that ye possess; lay not aside the fear of God and be not of the negligent. Whoso findeth that his means are insufficient to this purpose hath been excused by God, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bounteous.
Kitab-i-Aqdas
Since I retired, Alasdair and I have made a few simple modifications to that building formerly known as the garage (with attached shed), but now referred to as the workshop (with attached annex). My hope is that this building will result in something more than just more conspicuous consumption, but will be a small center for practical social change.
In the Baha’i Faith, there is a requirement to refurbish, as shown in the above text. This text generates discussion, not only in terms of what should be included (cars?) but also the handling of antiques and rare possessions. Some days, I read the text as an admonition to keep possessions longer than is common today. The Tripp-Trapp chairs in the house are about 34 years and 28 years old, respectively. They are still used daily. None of our cars have lasted 19 years, yet. However, I will be very disappointed if my 2023 VW Buzz doesn’t last at least 19 years. In fact, I have every intention of keeping it until my 100th birthday in 2048, when it will be 25 years old.
A VW I.D. Buzz prototype from 2017. It is expected to enter production in 2023. I am not sure how often I will be carrying surf boards on the roof, as I expect to end my active surfing career in 2018, at the age of 70. The Buzz may be in some way described as environmentally friendly, but it does consume large quantities of materials. It could become a symbol of conspicuous consumption in the future. (Photo: VW)
The workshop is designed to aid refurbishment, not just selfishly – but also in terms of community. It is a place where products are to be designed, and prototypes made. If the prototypes are successful, then further copies may be made. This may even involve batch production.
An equally important act is the publication of product information. The workshop is, naturally, an open source environment. Products designs developed there are to be made freely available to others. This blog will be an important element in distributing information. However, there are other things that need to be done. One of the challenges of the open-source movement is quality control. Products need to be tested, and the results of those tests have to enter a feedback loop, so that designs can be improved.
Woodworking is the initial focus of the workshop. Shop cabinets and French cleat storage units will be some of the first products to be made. The goal is to have the workshop in working order by 2018.01.01. “Machine Alley”, a 6-meter (20 feet) long section of the workshop will consist of eight 600 mm (24 inches) long units, with a uniform height. Machines will have their own particular unit assigned to them. However, it should be a relatively easy task (less than one hour of work) to move a machine to a different location.
The first production machine purchased for the workshop, a planer. This length of wall is to be known as “Machine Alley”, and will be the location where stationary machines will be kept. Photo: Brock McLellan
A large number of wooden products are being considered for the workshop including: a replacement garden shed, a winter garden, kitchen cabinets, a replacement dining table and chairs. At the community level there may be a need for geodesic dome greenhouses that could be produced at this, or another workshop, in the Vangshylla community.
As our own personal refurbishment becomes more complete, I see a gradual transition to other materials than wood. A solar water heater is one example of a product that uses very little wood, more plastic and a lot of metal. With the use of active systems, it is here that we are entering the world of mechatronics (mechanics + electronics + a lot more).
Aerial Euler diagram showing the sub-fields of Mechatronics (Photo: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2012).
Personally, I would also like to learn other construction skills. I have made a decision that using a gym or studio to exercise is a waste of time and money. Lifting a few tons of wood or steel is as good exercise as lifting weights. I won’t even mention the word, spinning. In the Unit One blog, there has been some discussion about making paving stones, and using stucco (rendering) on walls. These activities will keep anyone in shape.
While I would like to work with heavy materials for as long as possible, aging is an ongoing process. At some point a refocusing on robotics may be natural. Regardless, a key element is a focus on community – and the needs of others. I am looking forward to using the workshop over the next 19 years. By then, at the age of 88, there could be yet another refurbishment, with new horizons opening for me to explore.
The Bo-Kapp area of Cape Town features colourful stucco houses (Photo: http://www.holidaybug.co.za/)
Here is a summary of the reasons why one should choose stucco as an exterior cladding. This is not a balanced article, it does not include the reasons why stucco should be avoided.
1. Versatile
Can be applied over many different types of surfaces including concrete masonry or wood framing
Can be applied seamlessly
Can be layered to creates a heavily textured surface
Can be used in new builds as well as renovations
2. Installs quickly
A conventional house usually requires between one and two days, including drying time
3. Energy efficient
Low U-value (or if you prefer the inverse, high R-value)
4. Durable
Expands and contracts as the temperature changes
Reduced risk of flaking, cracking or crumbling
Can last over fifty years with little maintenance
Rot, mildew and mold resistant
5. Enhances value
Earthquake resistant
Fire resistant
Sound dampening
6. Low maintenance
In warm and dry climates, little or no maintenance, except occasional washing to remove spots or stains
In hot and humid climates, little maintenance
In cold and wet climates, little maintenance provided
snow is cleared away from walls
eavestroughs direct water away from walls (that’s a Canadian word for gutters)
7. Reduced house insurance premiums (in North America)
My childhood home was clad in rockdash stucco. There are no rocks in it, only 3 – 6 mm pieces of broken coloured glass. It is a technique not favoured today, in part because it is extremely difficult to repair.
Pi House, 314 Ash Street, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. I last lived there in 1972. It looks as if the new owners have had to repair the stucco to the left of the entrance. Repairs are what makes rockdash stucco houses so problematic to own.
My wife’s childhood home was also clad is stucco, but in a form of roughcast, which is slightly less of a problem to repair because it adds stones to the mix, whereas rockdash puts them on top.
Despite the fact that there are numerous ugly stucco buildings, I still find it the most appealing method of cladding. It has only taken me forty years to come around to this view. OK, sixty five years plus. Wood rots. I’m not in a social class that uses stone – being neither a laird nor a crofter. I’m not brutal enough to appreciate massive concrete. Nor am I English, so brick doesn’t have much appeal either. I am stuck with stucco.
I had considered manufacturing cement fiber sheeting, but in order to make the sheets thin enough (4 – 8 mm), the process requires the use of expensive silica sand and even more expensive special purpose chemicals.
Wikipedia states that stucco is the predominant exterior wall material in both residential and commercial construction in five states: California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stucco
While many stucco houses use a subdued pallet, this does not apply in all cases. Personally, I would like to have our house continue to be bright yellow.
My preferred colour of stucco, here combined with stone and wood, in a climate warmer than Norway’s. (Photo: http://thestuccoguy.com/stucco-colors-which-one-to-choose/)
There are many other colours available, some even less subtle:
Another attractive colour for a stucco building. I grew up with pink inside the common rooms, as well as outside our house. My bedroom was blue. (Photo: http://thestuccoguy.com/stucco-colors-which-one-to-choose/)
There is not an excessive amount of information about DIY stuccoing on the net. Here are three important sources:
For restoration work: https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/22-stucco.htm
Text materials about contemporary methods: http://thestuccoguy.com/
Videos about contemporary methods: https://www.youtube.com/user/StuccoPlastering
My plan for the spring of 2018 is to use stucco as part of Project Pumpkin, the construction of a ca. 15 m3 gardening shed, to replace one expropriated.
A not-yet-famous historian reminds me that history is not a series of inter-related anecdotes. I am not going to let this or any other fact interfere in the telling of this vision of the future.
Anecdote #1
The story begins at the dawn of the current millennium, when three students taking their teaching qualifications had to find a project. The project selected resulted in the construction of a presentation program that systematically showed the process of making ciabattas using pictures, a few words and audio tracks. It should be noted that the baker for whom this presentation was made, had some learning issues.
Before the existence of the presentation program, the baker would be helped by one of a group of teachers (for lack of a better word) who could remind the baker of the steps to be followed. Unfortunately, there could be some procedural inconsistencies between the different teachers, that the baker found disconcerting.
Using the presentation program, inconsistencies were eliminated in the mind of the baker. More importantly, after three months the presentation program itself could be eliminated, because the baker had managed to implement the procedures into her brain.
For some consistency is a more important attribute than for others. It is an extremely desirable characteristic in robots.
Anecdote #2
Building a shelving unit for the gardener, I am trying to follow the spirit of the accompanying instructions. The instructions are more literary than most novels, relying on descriptive paragraphs, rather than bullet points, to inform. The next sentence gives a possible explanation for this approach. It reads, “Remember the mid-shelf braces.”
This instruction does not tell me, with any precision, what I am supposed to do with these braces. The braces have tabs at both ends, each has to be bent and inserted mid-shelf into the two shelf supports at the front and back of the unit, respectively.
Perhaps the most important skill computer programming has taught me, is to analyse what has to be done, and to implement it using code.
Anecdote #3
Billi Sodd is lazy, inconsistent and easily distracted. As a robot, Billi is a complete failure! However, since Billi is just about the only person who can actually make paving stones in our neighbourhood, I have to put up with his weaknesses.
I am considering giving Billi a new role. Rather than just using his labour, I want to use his knowledge of making paving stones to automate the production process. So, Billi has become not just head janitor, but paving stone informant.
Anecdote #4
The official chronology of Local Motors https://localmotors.com/heritage/ is interesting, not so much in terms of what is presented, but what is missing. Back in 2012, LM was interested in two types of production facilities – Minifactories, such as one built in Phoenix, Arizona, and Microfactories, in the form of 40 foot long containers that could be shipped anywhere, used to produce one or more vehicles, then moved on again. These microfactories have entered Local Motor’s “forgetting book” (Yes, that’s a Norwegian expression, Glemmebøken, which is where all forgotten lore ends up).
Reboot
A potential micro paving stone factory.
10 foot high cube container, Something like this could become home to a micro paving stone factory. (Photo: containertraders.com.au)
Why would anyone want to house a paving stone factory in a container? The main reason is that each residence only needs a limited number of paving stones. So, after x square meters have been made, the equipment can be given or sold to others.
The inside of the container would contain hoppers filled regularly with cement, sand and water. The content would be transported inside the container at even more frequently intervals, to a mixing area, where 30 kg batches would be prepared, mixed then poured into forms.
I envisage the production facility of consisting of a 1800 x 1800 mm surface, divided into nine 600 x 600 mm work areas, as shown in the following diagram. As before, station 1 is used to prepare the forms using a release agent, potentially Pam or vaseline. Station 2 is for the filling of the forms, with concrete as well as rebar, along with vibration. At stations 3, 4, 6 and 7 nothing happens. Waiting is a virtue. At station 5 the surface of the paving stones are textured. At station 8, the paving stones are removed from the forms. They must still be stored and allowed to cure, for up to several days.
7
8
1
6
Mixer
2
5
4
3
Sand hopper
Water hopper
Cement hopper
Here are some specifications for a 10 foot (3 meter) container:
This spring we added more gravel to improve the driveway. It cost about NOK 4000. As expected, it required a lot of work to move (position, is the polite technical term), Yet, it effortlessly produces potholes, and in general doesn’t work perfectly.
What is needed is a driveway surface that would still allow grass to grow, and cars to drive.
No. This is not what our driveway looks like. This is an ad for Grassarmering. It shows what Asak Miljøstein wants us to buy, at a cost of NOK 75 000 (plus labour). Sorry, Asak. It just isn’t going to happen. Photo: Asak Miljøstein.
Asak Miljøstein produces a large variety of paving stones, including this model, “Gressarmering”. Photo: Asak Miljøstein.
This is “Gressarmering” from Asak Miljøstein. It is 400 x 400 x 100 mm and weights 22 kg. There are 6.25 stones per square meter. I’m not sure that one needs this quality of product for a driveway, and I would consider using stones with only half the height. Many other paving stones only have a height of 40 mm. Regardless of the size, paving stones need rebar. One approach is to make smaller and lighter stones, for example a 3 x 3 arrangement of exactly 9 stones per m2, with an aim of reducing each stone’s weight to about 7 kg, and the square meter weight to 60 – 65 kg. for a total weight of 12 – 13 000 kg, for an estimated 200 m2 (or 1800) paving stones on the driveway.
The retail price of Gressarmering stones is NOK 60 each, or NOK 375 per square meter, or NOK 75 000 for the driveway, labour excluded. Cement can be purchased for about NOK 1 a kilo, and sand for even less. Thus, the raw material costs should be considerably under NOK 60 per square meter, or about NOK 12 000 for the driveway, for an alternative product. This is consistent with other information presented in some Youtube videos, that state that the material costs of building one’s own paving stones are about 20% of buying them.
Youtube videos
The first step for many DIYers is the inspiration phase, known more correctly by spouses as the procrastination phase. This is where countless Youtube videos are consumed. To begin with all of the ones I found about making concrete paving stones used rubber molds.
The process of making a rubber mold from an existing concrete paving stone is described. It was interesting, but I decided that it was not my job to keep the plastic industry profitable. The one part of the video that was important was the use of a vibrating table to ensure that the concrete occupied all of the mold, and didn’t leave air gaps.
Professional Communications – Week 7 Presentation, is an unusual title for a DIY video. It was also labled, Making your own concrete pavers. This is obviously some sort of student video. Technically, it has a lot of issues, including low quality sound and not much better video. Yet, it is the most important video that I watched today.
The mold used was made out of scrap lumber and plywood. Pam, the non-stick spray found in every American food store, was used as a release agent. They provided information on mixing concrete, putting it into the mold and adding rebar. One waits 30 minutes, then gently uses a brush to give texture to the surface. One waits yet another 30 minutes, and the stone can be removed from the mold.
This video shows a simple vibrating table made out of a sheet of plywood. The plywood is attached to an old car tire, as well as an electric motor with an eccentric shaft. This system creates a lot of vibration, however improvements could be made so that paving stones in their molds don’t simply vibrate off the table.
This vibrating table is interesting, but the mechanics of it are too complex. The table top does do a great job of keeping the paving stone forms in place.
Workflow
One of the challenges is that neither a single paving brick nor a square meter of them, may be the ideal manufacturing unit. Sheet material is most often 1200 x 2400 mm. This makes 600 x 600 a useful size that could allow 2 x 2 = 4 paving stones to be manufactured simultaneously, with a material handling weight of somewhere around 30 kg. One sheet of MDF or plywood would make 8 separate units (for 32 paving stones).
This looks like too much work for one person, about right for two, ideal with three (probably with the third person only working at intervals) if breaks can be staggered. This allows the production of 24 paving stones an hour. Given a 7.5 hour working day, only the first six hours can be used to initiate stone production. The last 1.5 hours goes to clean up, and waiting for the last stones to cure sufficiently to be removed from their molds. That results in 144 paving stones a day. The total production of 1800 paving stones would require 12.5 working days.
Another approach is to binge produce with shifts of workers. The production of 1800 paving stones would require 76.5 hours of continuous activity, 3 days 4.5 hours.
Driveway with fresh layer of gravel. The trailer can legally carry 1600 kg of paving stones (or anything else). It can easily hold 5 x 9 = 45 paving stones per layer, weighing 315 kg. This would allow 5 layers (225 paving stones) to be carried. Photo: Billi Sodd
One of the fun things about DIY is finding cost effective solutions. Anyone can buy an expensive release agent. When Billi Sodd repeated the suggestion of using Pam, this crossed some inbuilt environmentalist barrier in Precious Dollar, who was then challenged to find other solutions that don’t involve sprays. Moral: Make offensive comments, and someone will be motivated to find a better solution!
