Win a copy of 'The Hempcrete Book'

If you’re a fan of green building then you are going to love this recent book release from Green Books. The Hempcrete Book is a detailed practical manual for architects, surveyors, professional builders and self-builders. This is an amazing book certain to dispel the myth that building with hemp is only for ‘hair shirt’ hippies. The book provides a full explanation of construction techniques for use with both renovation/extension/retrofit and totally new build projects. It also provides a comprehensive resources section and examples of completed builds, with design notes and construction details.

What is hemp?

Hemp is a general name given to products and foodstuffs from the ‘Cannabis sativa’ plant which provides food and fuel products on every continent. Products from the plant are refined into many everyday resources such as hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper, and fuel. the fibres which are actually a byproduct of the fast growing plant can be used for walls, floors, and for roof insulation or made into hempcrete.

What is hempcrete?

Hempcrete is a breathable construction material made from the combination of hemp fibre with natural lime (in much the same way that you might combine gravel with cement to make concrete), However because of the ‘naturalness’ of hemp fibre and lime, the resulting composition is fantastic at absorbing and emitting moisture; this helps regulate internal humidity, avoiding trapped moisture and mould growth, and creating healthier buildings. It also provides excellent acoustic and thermal insulation as well as thermal mass. It is light-weight, reducing construction costs, and it is by its very nature, environmentally friendly as it locks up CO₂ for the life of the building.

In new build hempcrete is usually used to form walls in combination with a timber structural frame but it can also be used to create an insulating floor slab or roof insulation, allowing the entire thermal envelope of the building to be formed from hempcrete.

Because it is vapour permeable it is ideal for upgrading old buildings too. Its ability to form itself around any shape then set and support its own (very light) weight. Hempcrete is the ideal material for upgrading the thermal performance of older, or historic buildings. It is particularly suitable for replacing timber frame infill panels, or adding insulation to solid masonry walls, and works in harmony with the original building fabric in traditional buildings to prevent moisture from becoming trapped in the wall.

The Hempcrete Book is a valuable tool for any eco-builder and we are giving a copy away free to one of our site visitors. For your chance of winning this book, all you need to do is visit and ‘like’ our Facebook page then share the post about this competition on your own facebook page.

We will choose a winner from those who share the post on the 1st October and announce it here and on Facebook.