CEMENT AND SOAP BUBBLES (UPDATE)

Today, I repeated the tests on my aircrete samples.  The first tests were done at 1 week of cure time, and it has now been curing for a full 4 weeks.  Please remember that these tests are a bit crude and not at all conclusive, just a way for me to get enough information to decide whether to use it for a house or not.

The compression strength test is a little better.  It failed at 8 strokes of the press as opposed to the 7 strokes required 3 weeks ago.  This is in comparison to the 10 strokes required for failure of the side wall of an old concrete block.

It still dented and broke apart under heavy hammer blows, though the dents were not as deep and it took more blows to break it.  Subjective I know, but being a blacksmith, I have a pretty good feel for hammer blows.

This stuff is still not bullet proof, so in the event of a tornado, small hard objects might be thrown through it, though larger pieces would probably not (no guarantees here, just speculation).

As a side note, the piece that was floating in a bucket of water finally absorbed enough water to sink last week.  So much for the house boat consideration.

Considering that these tests were done on 3in. thick samples, I am convinced that an 8in. thick wall, reinforced with steel, will have the strength and durability needed for a small house.  Since people don't normally shoot at my house and hopefully nobody will be beating my walls with a hammer, I am seriously considering aircrete as the material for my new off grid cabin.  Unless, of course, some new material comes along for me to play with before I get started.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and I look forward to your comments and questions.