Local home will be built of recycled
Styrofoam materials
That Styrofoam coffee cup you threw away
yesterday could become part of a wall in someone's house.
Rastra, a building material which is gaining in popularity due to its
environment-friendly nature, consists of recycled Styrofoam mixed with cement. It is a
four-hour fire rated material which can withstand winds up to 200 miles per hour and is a
high-rated insulator.
Bernd Knemoeller is building a house on Kimbrough Road using Rastra. He says
that when he came to the United States from Germany and saw how houses were built here, he
made up his mind to find a way to build a house that would last a long time.
"I was looking for an alternative method, and this seemed like a
really good way to go," he says.
Though the idea of mixing Styrofoam with cement seems new and progressive,
Ian Fultz of 3E Industries, sales representatives for Rastra, says that s Styrofoam-cement
mixture was being used as a building material in Europe 30 years ago....... |
 ......Knemoeller praises the insulating properties of Rastra. He
doesn't like fiberglass insulation because the particles can be inhaled, and the particles
are harmful. As a matter of fact, Fultz adds, fiberglass insulation was outlawed in
Germany. Rastra has a high insulation rating, and can even insulate against noise and
bullets. Fultz says that a .38 caliber bullet cannot penetrate a Rastra block.
Concerning Rastra's bullet-absorbing properties, Knemoeller says, "I
hope this never has to be tested, but it makes me feel safer."
......
......Knemoeller says that putting the walls
up will only take about a week and a half.....
......"This house is going to
hopefully be maintenance free," Knemoeller says.
Knemoeller and Fultz have discussed having an open house so the community can come and
look at the construction, but no date has been set yet. |
