Should I use Hemp to build my House?
Did you know that buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the world?
Hemp can be used to make many things including furniture, walls, shelves, and Hempcrete which is an alternative to concrete. Hempcrete is non-toxic, energy-efficient, and resistant to mold, insects and fire. This mixture has been used over many years in throughout Europe and Hempcrete buildings twelve stories high have been built.
First off, what is Hempcrete? Hempcrete is a building material that incorporates hemp into its mixture. Hempcrete is very versatile as it can be used for wall insulation, flooring, walls, roofing and more.
Hempcrete is made from the shiv or inside stem of the hemp plant and is then mixed with a lime base binder to create the building material. This mixture creates a negative carbon footprint.
Hempcrete is much more versatile, easy to work with and pliable than concrete. Since lime is the binding material, builders do not have to heat up the lime as much as a supplier would need to in the industrial creation of concrete. This results in a lot of energy conservation when producing Hempcrete vs. concrete.
During its growth process, the hemp plant sequesters over 15 tons of carbon.
It takes just 2.5 acres of hemp to produce enough hemp shiv to build a 1,250 sq. ft house. Hemp can grow up to 14 feet in just 14 weeks, requires NO pesticides, minimal fertilizer and irrigation, and is an excellent rotation crop. In fact Hemp can help purify previously contaminated soils.
If 900 traditional homes were built using industrial hemp, over 45,000 tons of CO2 would be saved during the building process.
The advantages of using Hempcrete : -
- Environmentally more friendly with less use of petrochemicals.
- Low maintenance.
- Very lightweight.
- Exceptionally quiet from exterior and interior noise.
- Cost effective.
- Potential carbon neutral construction.
- Aesthetically pleasing with other materials (stone, wood, tile).
- It is breathable and airtight, unlike most other building materials. As hempcrete is a vapour permeable wall system it regulates internal humidity — this eliminates condensation on the inside.
- Plaster invented thousands of years ago creates a waterproof, breathable shell around the house.
- Thermal mass assists temperature control in low and high temperatures - Hempcrete is a great insulator.
- It is mould and rot resistant. This is because Hemp absorbs water — one square metre of Hemp can absorb up to 14 litres of water.
- Hemp is sustainable to grow, harvest and process and is a carbon negative material. This means that hemp removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Approximately 108kg of CO2 can be locked away per cubic metre of hempcrete for the lifespan of the building.
- While the average home lasts 80 years, and ends up in our landfills, hemp houses can last 300 to 800 years, and can be recycled back into the earth.
- Previously used Hemp can be recycled and added to new mixes — thus having the potential of being a zero waste material.
- Insect, microbe and rat resistant.
- Fireproof and earthquake resistant.
- Hemp construction can be low-tech and simple and has the potential to create a new industry and job pool.
With most conventional wall types you will find different materials in many layers — each performing one specific function. A brick wall will need an insulation layer and a vapour barrier layer. A timber or steel framed building will also need a breather membrane and sheathing layer plus the exterior and interior cladding among others. A wall made out of Hempcrete can perform all these different functions, so saving a lot of construction costs.
A hotel known as the ‘Hemp Hotel’, is the tallest building made with industrial hemp materials and has recently opened in Cape Town, South Africa. The Hotel was developed by Hemporium in association with Wolf+Wolf Architects and Afrimat Hemp. It has 12 storeys and about 50 apartments.
Hemp and marijuana do come from the same plant species, Cannabis Sativa L, but they are very different products. Marijuana is cultivated to contain high levels of THC — the stuff that gets you high. Hemp, on the other hand, is cultivated to contain little to no THC. Marijuana plants contain on average 12% THC, while hemp contains less than 1%.
Hemp can also be used to make cosmetics, durable, comfortable and organic textiles, pressed for highly nutritional but non psychoactive oil and even made into an alternative to plastics.
Hemp is a remarkably versatile material, using it in construction will significantly reduce our carbon footprint and our reliance on coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.
There are some interesting videos below. The Hemp Round House video is quite long, but worth it.
I love Architecture. I think it’s vital to talk about all aspects of Architecture — whether it be planning, construction, design or green building. I have written 3 E-Books & over 110 articles. Please feel free to let me know if you have any queries regarding architecture, planning & construction & I will assist you.
I am originally from the UK and moved to South Africa in 1999. I started Blue Designs in 2004 after working as a driver for Avalon Construction on a luxury home in the Featherbrook Estate. In my spare time I am an artist and writer (The Naked Architect).
Phone- +27 82 399 0180
Email — clairecardwell@gmail.com
Website- www.bluedesigns.org
Follow me on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-cardwell-ab438a17
Other Articles I have written include :-
https://medium.com/the-naked-architect/will-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-fall-over-d9488f24fefd
https://medium.com/the-naked-architect/copycat-architecture-is-booming-in-china-87b2f4b9f628
https://medium.com/@clairecardwell/green-buildings-are-healthier-5ed1471344b2
Sources :-
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/legislation-hampers-hemp-scheme-1560748
https://positive-impact.africa/hemp-is-where-the-home-is/
https://wolfandwolf.co.za/materiality/
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