amount of carbon than trees as it grows .
Keith says , “ Anyone interested in building with hempcrete really needs to be looking at a new build situation .”
Hempcrete walls are fairly thick . 240 mm for Keith . “ The interior and exterior walls can be plastered . Along with the installation of the hempcrete itself , this can become very labour intensive ”, he warns .
Keith suggests , “ The biggest obstacle is finding a builder that can do it properly . I only know of one building company in the North Island and one in the South who specialise in hempcrete . These types of houses need to be built by someone that understands the process and really care about the product . You don ’ t want a spec house builder just throwing something up .”
He goes on , “ Because the walls are thicker then normal the build is more like a straw bail or a rammed earth build . You have to use a shuttering system on the inside to hold the hemp in place . Which is completely different to a conventional build .
“ There is a new hemp fibre processing plant in Christchurch now and that will help bring the building costs down , so people don ’ t have to source their hemp from overseas . The processing plant in Christchurch has partnered with a wool processor , so going forward ; I expect to see hemp and wool together in consumer products like curtains , carpet , etc ."
Keith ’ s advice is :
“ This is not the type of build where you would do it to save money .
It ’ s really the type of home you would build for ecological reasons , and to last a lifetime .”
Visit www . haweagrove . nz for more information and to watch the web video series about the whole process . q
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