All Darc, I wrote most of this response, went to look up something, and completely forgot what.
When I searched again for ecological bricks I found this:
They are out of Brazil, which does not help me very much.
Interestingly, I specified U.S.
I read that it was not suitable for humid climates. Does rain erode the surface? Does humidity soften the bricks?
Both?
If it is the former, I wonder if stucco would compensate, or if you could seal it.
Doesn't Brazil have rainforests and stuff?
Sounds humid!
That led to an actual company in the U.S:
The website says that it produces 800 - 1,400 10cm x 18cm x 35.5cm bricks in eight hours.
If they are selling in the U.S., why don't we use measurements we understand?
3.94" x 7.09" x 13.98"
Lowe's cheapest entry door is 32" x 80" ($66)
It would require at least 1,400 blocks, which could be made in a day or two. How long would it take to stack? Run rebar, pour concrete around the rebar, and there are a couple different steps to waterproof the bricks.
Well, they charge $26,705 U.S.
That makes for a very expensive shed!
“It is recommended that the BP714 is sold as a complete system / success package, which includes a spare parts kit, a mixer, two weeks on-site training and a soil test kit.”
Please tell me all of that is included!
Two weeks of on-site training. This should take less than a week, so then what?
It takes seven days for the bricks to cure enough for construction, so you spend a day or two making them, earn a Associate’s in earth block construction over the next five days, assemble the house, and spend the rest of your week earning a Bachelor’s?
I found more brick makers for around $27,000. I just want a manual one! I found this, though:
https://permies.com/t/33406/built-Cinva-Ram-CEB-press
There are open-source plans for a manual machine and someone in the U.S. tried to make them, but everything was in metric, and it was not possible to just convert them. One reason was that he could not get plate in metric thicknesses, so he redid it in 1/4" plate, and had a company out there in Arkansas cut it with a water jet. He said that it cost $215, but did not include all of the bits. He also talked to them about cutting the pieces again for other people and he said you could contact the shop, say you want Mike Cantrell's press parts from March 2011, and they would mail them to you.
Three hundred dollars with shipping so that you too can play with dirt?
Here is a $30 design for making bricks for a retaining wall or raised bed gardens:
https://permies.com/t/13875/method-c...rth-blocks-CEB
This guy wrote that he built a number of small structures two years ago and they have withstood the rainy pacific northwest:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/...s-zmaz76mjztak
How much force would a manual soda can crusher exert? Someone suggested basing a brick maker on a can crusher, but a kid can crush a can, so would it have enough force:
https://permies.com/t/12286/Vertical...itter-converts
This guy argues for making non-interlocking bricks (and using mortar):
https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/w...t_to_Interlock