Many nations around the world are increasingly looking for ways to adapt in using more sustainable building materials and hempcrete could be just what they need.
Hempcrete is an innovative material that is a combined mixture of hemp with sand and limestone. This material was first discovered back in the 6th century in France and it could see a re-birth in use and popularity as even more people today are looking to find sustainable materials.
Hemp is a bio-composite that is made of mixed hemp plants with a line-based binder. It is a great material at absorbing CO2 and releases oxygen while it is growing and it can also absorb CO2 thanks to the limestone and slow petrifying that takes place. This means that in the long run hempcrete could play a big role in reducing unwanted CO2.
One of the biggest complaints with this material however is that it isn't as sturdy or dense as traditional concrete. But you can use hempcrete for a number of projects, whether that is flooring or wall construction, to roof insulation, there is a lot that it can be used for. Not only that but the hempcrete is also fireproof and waterproof, so it sounds like a dream building product doesn't it?
It does more! The hempcrete material is able to breath naturally so this means that it is able to regulate moisture into the material and it will never become moldy or dry rot. This material is able to keep temperatures much more consistent. And once hempcrete walls are destroyed or taken down, they can also be used as fertilizer because they are 100 percent recyclable.
What's not to love about this material?
Unfortunately, the United States is still not too friendly about allowing such a plant to be produced. For our safety, of course. Many states have made the move to endorse the legalization of cultivating industrial hemp, but resistance from the DEA has prompted them not to follow through on the whole with cultivating this market.
see:
http://www.hempuniversity.com/hemp-university/growing-hemp/countries-growing-hemp/
https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/what-is-hemps-current-status-in-the-united-states
Please stop posting. You're killing your rewards!
Posts made beyond 4 posts in a 24 hour period will negatively impact the rewards that you receive. You are going to get much less than you should for this post, because you have posted quite a lot of articles today.
didn't understand how it worked/it worked like that!? thanks for the tip! ^_^ still learning :)
Was just about to say this, But you already got there. It's good to see such a helpful community :)
Here's the rule of thumb:
If it's something you made a while ago, or isn't your current thoughts and speculations, then wait on posting it if you've posted a lot that day. I think the rule is generally stupid as hell, but you can follow it if you want.
I say: post as much as you want.
The rule was implemented to cut back on spam... and we were getting quite a bit of it prior to the rule change. I wish it could be less restrictive, but it's a necessary evil for now.
Meh, take a back seat with the capitalist mindset, relax. he made money. So what if he didn't make more than he could have if so and so.
I'm probably the last person on this site that can be accused of having a capitalist mindset. Go take a deep dive through my blog and get back to me.
It makes sense. Countries have been making Adobe bricks for centuries. Using hemp as the structural fibre instead of straw should be a no-brainer.
@pierce-the-veil: Definitely the future, along with earthbag, superadobe and hyperadobe...
When it finally takes off, I'll be like:
Nice Post @doitvoluntarily.
Upvote for You.
@pierce-the-veil
Ok this is getting weird. You're on EVERY post I click on!
@pierce-the-veil: Lol. Yeah i've been super active in the comments section lately. I recently discovered analytic post software at steemtools, and have been burning the candle at both ends attempting to build a following and help other steemers do the same. Carrying the curators torch.
:P
Having done a lot of writing in the home improvement, DIY space, this topic is fascinating. I'm also interested in the development of smart concrete that may be able to heal itself, through the use of bacteria in the mix. Cool stuff, nice post,keep it up!
Very cool. Thanks for sharing!
we go into the future!
Great article thanks for this!
Hell yeah brother! you were one of my firsts subs, i'm stoked to see one of your posts get the attention it deserves!
thanks so much for the support man! :) much apprec.
The returning of the hemp is a part of our future. I'm excited how many usages has this plant. Thanks to sharing :)
thank you for a very interesting post. I wonder if hemp is easier to produce and if it requires less energy than regular cement and if it is as resistant as cement. For example, can you build a 5 storeys building with hemp or should we see hemp more of a substitue for wood?
I believe cement has a very high carbon impact as it needs high temperatures to make https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete
hemp is not load-bearing, so the limitation is set by the structural frame.
it is not beneficial to construction companies and manufacturers of building materials,and will remain isolated buildings
Unless someone makes it on an industrial scale
In addition to hemp in Russia use shavings, wood waste, adding to the concrete is the finished house on this basis.Statistics on the benefits or harm, and as yet not enough, given the service life, but the technology is questionable, since it is known that concrete has pores and capillary moisture can affect the strength of the concrete acting on the chips.So we will wait for at least some data about the benefits or harm:)
Seen huh ?! Keith adds $ 800)
Nice post. I remember hearing that hemp was used in construction massively until big corporations within the construction sector squashed it in order to profit off their own methods and tools etc. It was also make illegal largely due to this too I think. Lobbyists with a lot of money outlawing it so they could push their own construction firms agenda. But as people become more aware of the benefits of using hemp both economically and environmentally It will pick up as a mode of operation I'm sure.
Very nice post! We're happy to see someone sharing our same feeling about the almost unlimited benefits of cannabis. And that you can open people mind to not only think about it as a a drug or something you can smoke. Because cannabis is much more than just one thing, it is a million thing in one plant. People used to know that in the past, Napoleon de Bonaparte was using weed (so Cannabis) to make clothes, and things like that. Nice post! :)
I love hempcrete, along with all kinds of natural building materials and techniques. As a civil engineer into permaculture and ecological, sustainable lifestyles, you got my upvote. I'll be following you. :D
Industrialize it.
Seriously fuck the DEA, its because of them great projects like this one can't see the day
I really dig reading about better ways to make a dwelling... esp these low-energy high-community solutions like hempcrete, cob, rammed earth, even timber framing. I'll have to post some of my medium scale TF projects sometime. Keep it coming and esp the example photos, maybe some case studies?
Very interesting. I wonder if using re bar would help to strengthen the concrete.
Great article @doitvoluntarily! Be sure and post pictures when you finish your project. I was not understanding what you mean by the term "line-based binder". Are you talking about the hemp fibers?
Everyone American here at steemit should get behind getting industrial hemp back into production on American soil. We are having to source from Canada and China. The DEA has drafted a definition of industrial cannabis and more than a handful of farming states have made it allowable to farm. If everyone buys more hemp for food, clothing, bottles, paper, building materials, and home furnishing like carpets and draperies, we can support our farmers and reduce our need for synthetic materials. Hemp oil and hemp seeds are great tasting and have high protein and nutritional value. By rotating the crop with others, the need for weed killer is reduced or eliminated because the hemp will suffocate any weeds trying to grow. By definition, industrial hemp contains less than 1% THC making it a poor substance for recreational purposes but it does have life giving properties in terms of nourishing your body. You should bring hemp butter and banana sandwiches with a chocolate hemp smoothie for your construction workers to munch on while they build with hemp.
In Germany we have now about 2500 hectare planted with industrial hemp. Hope that is only the beginning.
Thanks for your post, very informative and I believe enough is yet to be said about hemp. Despite current positive progress I will make my comment below without holding back.
I'm not sure whether its really for your safety for the following reasons:
Safety, by definition...refers to protection from an existing harm or a potential harm. Many materials, natural and artificial, have been discovered and they are all free to use except for the best of them,why? What harm or potential danger is there with hemp? If I am correctly informed it's not you who is being protected but those enforcing the law protecting themselves and their business interests. Who today doesnt know that there is a difference between hemp, which is not narcotic and marijuana which is a narcotic given the later's higher percentage of THC?
Perhaps the DEA isn't good for you Americans and you should find ways to protect yourself from it. How many people have suffered enough because a natural commodity is being held back by a group of people who don't have the people's best best interests at heart? Why cant you plant a seed, let it grow and build your house with it? Make safe biodegradable plastic with it? Bring homeostasis to your body through its seeds? If the DEA really cared for your safety, why does it allow the smoking of tobbaco? How many houses have fataly burned down to ashes when hemp could have saved the day because of it's fireproof adaptability? How many babies, today, have itchy rushes caused by bacteria that a hemp based diaper could have prevented? Why are we even forced to wear cotton when 25% of the world's pesticides go towards growing this highly inefficient textile when hemp could have provided us with breathable clothes that lasts generations and never loose shape? I dont know what good job the DEA does for American people but im yet to be convinced of it's effectiveness...at best, as an outsider, the DEA has simply helped to fill up the jails over individual choices that do not infringe on any other person's rights.
I live in a developing country, Zimbabwe, that has litereally copied and pasted the law from other countries without taking considering people real rights to chosing how they want to live life. Maybe you are good over there? Maybe you got affordable houses to live in, maybe you all have affordable healthy food on your tables everyday, maybe the pollution does some good at giving you healthy babies and thwating cancer and other man made chronic illnesses. Maybe you don't need CBD and THC despite your bodies having an endocannabinoid system, nodes you are naturally born with which are natural receptors for what hemp contains. Maybe, the industries they are protecting are all good for you and you eat a piece of that cake. Just maybe, we all have little freedom to be truelly ourselves and to benefit from the planet's natural endowments. Here, we are in desperate need for hemp and all is 25 000 uses!