By William Stanwix and Alex Sparrow, UIT Cambridge Ltd., November, 2014
Hempcrete is a building material with excellent properties. It’s made from lime and hemp shivs (a waste product from hemp fi ber growing); it can be used for walls, fl oors, and for roof insulation; it’s breathable, absorbing and emitting moisture to regulate internal humidity and avoid trapped moisture and mold growth; it provides excellent acoustic and thermal insulation and thermal mass; it’s lightweight and reduces construction costs; and it’s environmentally friendly—it locks up CO2 for the life of the building, and the hemp doesn’t require agrochemicals or insecticides in its cultivation.
This book is a detailed practical manual for professionals and self-builders, detailing how to source and make hempcrete and other hemp-lime composites, and how to use them in new builds and restoration. The Hempcrete Book provides a full explanation of construction techniques, highlighting potential pitfalls and how to avoid them, and includes a comprehensive resources section and examples of completed builds, with design notes.