Noun:
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Synonyms:
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cannabis - marijuana – hashish
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The Stem clearly visible with fibre on.
- Hemp is categorised as a bast fibre crop.
- It has a stem consisting of an outer skin containing long strong fibres surrounding a hollow wood core.This woody core is of a very open sponge like structure.
- A hemp crop can be grown without the use of herbicides or insecticides.
- Hemp produces up to four tonnes of material per acre per year.
- It is especially suited to organic sustainable agriculture.
- After processing the stems, two materials are produced; hurds and fibres.
- Both hurds and fibres have properties that make them useful in building construction.
Hurd after processing
- Hemp hurds are mixed with a combination of lime products to produce a light weight, insulating, breathing material.
- The mixture of lime to hurds varies with the type of construction application and prevailing climatic conditions.
- This hempcrete is cast around a timber framework.
- This is achieved by tamping down between shuttering, or it can be sprayed against a formwork (permanent or temporary).
- Internally a variety of finishes are possible. In this example the framework has been left exposed and the hempcrete finished with a natural paint.
Here the framework is clearly visible but this can be painted as well.
The benefits of using hemp throughout your building:
- Hemp masonry is naturally fire resistant so you can be sure that your hemp built house is safe and will protect you and your loved ones.
- Hemp buildings are naturally sound proof so you can enjoy the silence in your acoustically insulated home.
- A House of Hemp dramatically improve the air quality inside the building and reduce the amount of airborne moulds and toxins that can cause respiratory disease. This means you can be sure of a healthy environment for you and your family.
- The lime/hemp building material is naturally resistant to rats and miceso you don’t have to worry about pests and diseases.
- Hemp masonry has excellent thermal insulation properties which means you will see lower heating and cooling costs compared to conventionally built properties – more money in your pocket.
- When built to our recommendations, we believe your hemp building is possibly cheaper than the cheapest form of project homes- ie. brick veneer, yet the hemp building is far superior in many ways.
- Our hemp masonry does not need to be subjected to high temperatures. In fact, hemp building with hemp, meaning it takes more carbon out of the atmosphere than it adds.
- Using our hemp building techniques, you will find that the costs of building a house of hemp are much lower because you can use the whole stalk and avoid the expensive hemp fibre separation process.
- Hemp masonry is attractive so you don’t need to render, plaster, paint or insulate if you don’t want to.
- You can grow your own hemp and using only simple machinery, process the stalks to provide enough material to build your own house of hemp only metres away. You do not need to grow to use this hemp building method, but may buy direct from the farmers.
Houses constructed from Hemp:
"America's first house made primarily of hemp has been built. Using a product known as Hemcrete – a mix of industrial hemp, lime and water – a team of 40 volunteers, sub-contractors and designers have recently completed construction of the hemp house in Ashville, North Carolina. Eco-friendly design and construction company Push Design has gained the support of community members and local officials alike and now plans to build more of these houses, which offer exceptional strength and longevity, breathability, unsurpassed indoor air quality and two-pronged carbon sequestration attributes."
"Houses constructed from straw and hemp could become commonplace following the unveiling of a prototype scheme at the University of Bath. The BaleHaus@Bath, officially opened by Kevin McCloud, is constructed from prefabricated panels made of a structural timber frame infilled with straw bales or hemp and rendered with a breathable lime-based system. It is the creation of White Design in Bristol and Integral Structural Design in Bath and will be assessed by researchers at the university’s Centre for Innovative Construction Materials over the coming year to see if the materials can be used more widely in the industry for housing."
This new technique avoids the
expensive hemp fibre separation process… meaning building your own hemp home is more affordable and environmentally friendly than ever!
If this is the case, why are we still constructing the heavy brick buildings of today trying to cut down material costs and 'saving' wherever we can.
I seem to find this very strange that the method has not popped up earlier.
Check this video out that was featured earlier this year on Top Billing revealing South-Africa's first 'Eco friendly Hemp Building'... I was amazed!
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