what Worked What didn't Pouring Air Crete Panels for Shed 

Hey, just an FYI... you should wear a mask when handling most sand products, but especially perlite. Even outside. the tiny dust particles are actually microscopic shards of processed volcanic obsidian, once you breathe them in, they stick into your lung tissue and are likely to never leave your lungs, causing silicosis. Silicosis symptoms are not often immediate and can present years later.

I have an idea, I am to old to start a new venture, but someone out there may want to pursue this idea. I would like to build aircrete logs. Based on the toys we all played with when we were kids, Lincoln logs. These could be pre-manufactured so really almost anyone could buy the logs and construct a building. There would need to be different lengths made say like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 feet etc. There would need to be some that had special ends with channels for doors and windows. There could be some that are pre wired with wall outlet boxes and switches. Logs could be pre-colored or surfaced in some cases. A building could be constructed permanently by bonding the logs together, or could be temporary and disassembled and moved. I think this could be an amazing new business that could revolutionize small buildings. And it would allow for any person to DIY.

Great video! It would be great to see a cost and time compared analysis of air Crete vs. stick frame construction.

This is brilliant. We built a house using tilt panels that was poured in two layers with insulation between the two layers of concrete held with fibreglass pins with a narrow area in the middle of pins to act as a grip within each layer of concrete. We needed a crane as the panel where heavy. Plumbing and wiring was in the insulation area mapped out to find it again. I couldn't believe these pins held the bottom layer as we lifted them but they never failed. They had steel mesh all over and rebar with extra rebar at lifting points.

Finally about to start my own aircrete journey. I'm not going to buy one of your premade foammates because I want to make my own, but I do want to donate a bit once I can afford to. You're awesome Darwin. Seriously, I say that because I got these ideas and then I discovered you'd already done my ideas before I even had them. One small difference is instead of a doghouse, I'm building a chicken coup.

Like always you do review and you telling us what's work and how to improve it. Love your video!

Hey good to see you back again! Thanks for the tips.

Loved the learning experience and the final results!

Love you both! Thank you so much for your detailed and well-done instructions!

Spot on and straight to the crucial points. Salute.

Nice family headed by a hardworker, Darwin GOD bless your family.

You have been honest on your project. Great program! The good and bad of the project. 5 million views shows interest on this type of materials. I’m sure many of the viewers are professional contractors observing you as the spear head for future projects. Once again congratulations on an excellent program of pure honest advice.

Darwin, This Do and Dont video adds so much substance to the original video! Thank you for all your efforts and for sharing. Would like more information, if possible, on the stucco sprayer you mentioned. Thank you!

Thanks for putting out a video. One of my faverite ways to build with aircrete.

I would have added 2” foam insulation to the outside with metal lathe for the stucco. That would have given at least a little isolation to the metal studs helping reduce thermal transfer to the inside from the metal.

What an awesome video. Much appreciated the notes about what didn't work. Probably saved me a lot of failed panels.

Man that´s what I call a brillant idea ! Congratulations!

Excellent video. Great channel and family. This is what I want when I come to RU-vid.

Man, building the shed you built one awesome family and couple of young men.

Hey Darwin. Thanks for posting this video. I have something you might try instead of stucco you might look into the Cork Spray which insulates, and can be sprayed on in different colors.

you are one complex builder and enjoyed every second!

Excellent example dude thanks for the tutorial it’s awesome to see the whole family getting involved me and my stepdad want to do something like this to

Thank you for the video. So helpful and inspiring!!

great video...thanks you guys...have a great day!

this was great! thank you

Thanks!

You are a genius!

Excellent aircrete ideas

Thanks so much for all the info & tips! 👍🏼

It looks great.

super helpful tips...thank you

Great Video, adding to my library. Looking to making raised planters.

Thank you for your great videos!

Awsome video. Thank you.

Nice work, thanks for sharing your tips. very helpful.

Loved the bit about the proper 'spin/vibrate" any cook could tell you not to 'blend' but to 'fold' foamy substances into solid mix. Who knew home economics class could be practical.

Love the video. I used to live in AZ. Most new homes are done in stucco there. The construction of stucco walls there are done as follows. 1) they attach semi-rigged foam sheet(1/2 or 3/4 inch) over the stud surface. 2) then they attach a thin foam sheet(1/8 or 1/16 inch) over the surface. 3) then they attach chicken wire over the surface. 4) then they spray on the stucco and 5) spray paint. Ever consider making this a full time gig? I would love to be involved in a LARGE SCALE aircrete biz. Building/selling low cost prefab homes(panels) and sub-out the installs.

Thanks for the video and all the info Love the hat brother 👍

im just following your vids & put highest respect for your hard work to share experiences. best regards from far east. Indonesia

Wow, awesome video. Excellent format and great information. I'm getting that can do attitude! Thanks. 👈😎👍💕

Very good job!

awesome vid thank you

Looking forward to using the FoamMate...going to be an exciting year next year up on the property.

Nice video, very interesting and informative.

just excellent

You can set your forms on top of plexiglass and it will leave a slick as glass finish.

giving a hell of a lot of thumbs ups

Two thumbs up my friend!!

Very Good!!!

THANK YOU! For the practical information, sans elevator music 👍

Thank you for your research. Looks really engineered

You are the best!

Great stuff..

On a building the problem with leaving the metal studs is that metal is a great conductor of heat and defeats the insulating properties of aircrete, if you are trying to maintain a comfortable temperature in the structure.

Cheers!

Great job, cant wait,,

doing good!

I LOVE Aircrete, you make it look like I could get a team together to create aircrete structures plus so much more. Because of Covid I have not made it back to Mexico, now my first grandone, a boy will be arriving in May. I still want the Mexican people to get aircrete!

The cement mixer apparently works well if you first weld in large mixing paddles, I saw someone who customized theirs and got a beautifully smooth mixture just using the cement mixer.

Just wondering if you could build a large house - maybe Spanish Adobe style - by forming walls and pouring the mix into 8” or 12” thick walls (what would the R value be on those babies?). Lots of potential here. Builders could have forms that go together like erector sets. The exterior walls go up. The interior walls would be just partition walls. Maybe for electrical there would be furring strips and drywall, or maybe conduit and boxes could go right into the pour?

I LIKE IT

Terrific work Darwin. In the age of instant answers on RU-vid, it is reassuring to see that you have done the hard work of experimenting to get the results. I see that a bunch of people are thinking of using a similar method to this for building a house, including me. Have you yet determined the limitations in size, strength and application for building using these types of panels?

I have often wondered about this. Glad to see it worked! It would also be possible to just trowel on concrete face too I guess.

Thanks, Darwin, I am now going to build my storage shed with this process. I'm deciding on the stucco finish but I do like using a trowel to finish off this stuff. Looking to put a flat pitched roof of 10 deg. pitch. Do you have any ideas as to what one should finish off the roof, what materials would work best? Thanks for any input you can suggest.

Nice Video. Here's a tip on cutting wire hardware clothe. I used an angle grinder with a cut off wheel, but cut it while it's still rolled up tight. You can cut all the way through if you rotate the rolled fencing.

Muy bueno lo que haces !!!!! Falta la traducción de los materiales que usas, así lo hacemos por acá también jaja. Felicitaciones 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

That's the first time I have seen a concrete garage. That would be a perfect tornado hideout.

I've been bouncing around the idea of building a home with aircrete, but I wanted to basically do a pole barn style with 10" posts and using either a double layer of chicken wire between the posts or rabbit wire like you used and simply screwing 3/4 inch plywood between the posts to act as the form. After seeing your video, I'm thinking seriously of using your panel idea for the interior walls. My question is, how do you connect one panel to the next with the metal stud frame?

The secret to using a cement mixer is as follows...…...Put in dry Portland...….then put water in slowly...….make it real dry and get it all just wet. Now run the mixer for a couple of minutes. The dryness of the mix lets any clumps trying to form be rubbed away....You are free to add water if you need it thinner. If you put too much water to start.....you get bad clumping. I hope this helps production. I am really enjoying your work and good ideas. Thank you all.

Hello, I think you are a visionary and I really appreciate your work.I'm a subscriber now. I;m a civil engineer and I have some questions regarding your project. Sorry if I haven't watched all of your videos where maybe the answers to my questions are. How do you interlock your pannels. Are they connected in some way other than the hurricane braces? The reason I am asking is the fact in some regions in the world where the seismic hazzard is high, it's a must for the pannels to be joined to form a rigid box. The second question is : how does the aircrete perform durring the winter. Concrete is susceptible to cracking and loss of properties due to degradation caused by the frost/defrost cycle during the winter. In your case I bet it's not an isue cause you protected the pannels but for the elements that are in the open like garden ones. Thanks and big thumbs up from Romania. Keep up the good work.

Reminds me of Tilt wall with foam to make "walls" lighter. Very nice

Cool!!!

I’m thinking sheds, raised bed gardens (reduces stooping and kneeling), storage under my tiny house, dog kennel, and maybe a patio to expand my outdoor area to a four season porch. A smokehouse and root cellar/storm shelter. Naturally, cost is a big consideration since I have no idea what this stuff costs to make. But I’m having fun thinking about what could be done.

Great video tutorial once again. I'm considering building a tiny house out of this majic mix you've created. But I think the cost is going to be to much. So then I thought maybe just the north wall. I dont know, just thinking. If you have any ideas I would appreciate it. But ease no smart mouths. Thank you Mr. Honey du!

Hi Darwin, As always, your video is informative and useful. On a side note, you are looking like you need a vacation or some rest. I hope you are okay. I will be using some of your information as I “retool” my company that I inherited, Poulin Domes, to build light-weight but super efficient, buildings. When I start producing these buildings, I would love to mention you and thank you for the inspiration to actually work with foamcrete. I really believe that (even though it has been used in Europe for many years) you have almost single-handedly made foamcrete a viable option for people to consider and use in the USA. Thank you for your tireless work on this. You really have no idea what sort of impact you have had to date.

Genial saludos cordiales desde Patagonia Chile.. Linda familia

Good video just need to get my foam mate from the Kickstarter I was # 22 to jump in on that only few more weeks until spring wooohoooo

I subscribed your video here I learned more then 20 other channels

I'm sold on this, I used to work PolySteel construction, (stack styrofoam hollow blocks up like Legos and fill them full of rebar and concrete) and I see this as a poor man's alternative to a high dollar building method, with very little difference from that of house framing, it is pure genius! I am going to get my experience from making raised beds first!

Great vid, so helpful. Much good advice. Did you have to get permits where you live? No. 1 thing - Hard hats when assembling - there's a reason the trades use them. No. 2 - can I buy you a pair of gloves? No. 3 breathing filter of some sort - don't abuse your delicate lungs. I saw your No 1 bad thing coming - sheers to cut the rabbit wire - saw that one coming.

Usually Concrete Will Rust Out Steel which it is in Contact with. This can Occur fairly Quickly. This is Mostly Caused by Different Expansion Coefficients of Concrete and Steel, Plus Moisture from Rain, Humidity etc. Good Luck to this Bloke.

We used cheapo orbital sanders (about $15-25) to get rid of voids. Works a charm. Just layer up some electrical or thicker duct tape over the pad.

5 million views because everyone needs more space and aircrete is easiest way to get that space and learn a lot and have fun doing it brings out the kid in us

Fascinating, Did you get any grief from the County as to permitting and inspections?

I've only just discovered your channel ... I LOVE IT!!!

I am so loving all of you . Just so appreciate so much that you show the things you dont use anymore & ones that work better for you . Makes my little projects so much easier . I got a old trampoline for free & was going to use it as a wood shed or even a camping dome tent that I could heat with a rocket mass heater - your version - We have bear around at times here I was watching this video &think I may try to make a form with air crete to match the circular shape of the trampoline shape Makes so much more sense to have that as protection than just the netting going around it May be over doing it but how often does a person get eaten by a bear . I can still camp till the forms I make are filled & cured You all just amaze me constantly

I think you have a good construction method..

You can use a cordless drill with a hammer drill feature to vibrate the panels; just set to hammerdrill, and touch edge of panel; works incredibly well in many vibrating applications.

Love that the vid is not more than 10mins long.

First of all, thank you for sharing so much information. Here I am thinking about making these panels as follows: on one side I place a drywall sheet (internal side), on the other side (external side) I place a cement board. That way you would only have to treat the joints. What do you think of this solution?

I would have put studs and cladding over the outside to match the surrounding buildings. But a great experiment no the less.

Hey mr D. Have you ever considered making your pannels like interlocking like flat Lincoln logs

Thanks for such a great video sir now I would very much like to have one of your foam maker how much does it cost and where can I buy 1 thank you

after i saw your original video on aircrete, i bought one of those stucco applicators - i have a huge bank in the front of my house, and it just screams WATERFALL... but rather than moving huge boulders around and try to the them balancing down a hill, i thought i could build some chickenwire forms and use aircrete to cover them... sort of a 'pimped out' version of paper mache. might take some experiments to see how many layers i need to make them strong enough i don't have to worry about my dogs falling through them, but seemed like a fun project.

It looks to me like there are better ways to build a shed, I would use wood since I live in a forest. It does look like you have done some excellend R&D through building this shed so that is a good thing, thank you for sharing your tips and tricks with us!

Great work! Where did you get your foam generator? What kind of cement do you use. I thinking about 6” panels on 2’ center to build a house on the farm. Ron

Thanks for this. Good video, as usual. Can you post a link to the spot welder(?) you used? Thanks!

How did it hold up to winter? Looks great.

Great video. Thanks! I'm not understanding the real value of the aircrete since you're using steel studs. Isn't it really just functioning as insulation at that point?

good luck.......................................................