Canadian company Just Biofiber has developed a patented building system based on structural blocks made from hemp that outperform virtually all existing and alternative building systems.
These hempcrete blocks are a green building material made with a hemp-lime insulation mixture packed around a biocomposite structural frame.
The blocks are made with hemp hurd/shiv, –the woody core of the hemp plant, a proprietary mix of lime, sand and an internal structural composite frame. It’s this frame that enables the blocks to be stacked like Lego.
They can be stacked like bricks to build walls up to 30 feet high and they become the insulation and the structure of the building. All you need to do after the walls are built is plaster the inside and outside, and then add windows, doors, and a roof!
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The hemp plant sequesters carbon during its growth, and lime, as it dries, reabsorbs the carbon that was released when it was manufactured, which means the hemp-lime mixture is carbon negative (it sequesters more carbon than it creates in its life cycle).
Terry Radford from Just BioFiber says that these hempcrete blocks will sequester about 10 tons of carbon per house.
Not only is this an environmentally friendly building material, it also creates a comfortable living space. The hempcrete helps to regulate temperature and humidity, it reduces noise transmission through the walls, it’s fire-resistant, and it’s non-toxic.
This is an incredible green building technology and we can’t wait to see Just BioFiber ramp up their block production so that we can start to see hempcrete buildings popping up all over the world.
