The Hempcrete Book: Designing and Building with Hemp-Limevolume 5

The Hempcrete Book is a detailed practical manual for architects, surveyors, professional builders and self-builders. It explains how to source and mix hempcrete and how to use it in new builds and restoration. In colour throughout, fully illustrated with beautiful photographs, this book provides a full explanation of construction techniques, highlighting potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. It includes a comprehensive resources section and examples of completed builds, with design notes.

Hempcrete is a building material with excellent properties. It's made from lime and hemp shivs (a waste product from hemp fibre growing) and can be used for walls, floors, and for roof insulation.

Hempcrete is breathable, absorbing and emitting moisture; this helps regulate internal humidity, avoiding trapped moisture and mould growth, and creating healthier buildings. It provides excellent acoustic and thermal insulation and thermal mass. It's light-weight, reducing 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.

The Hempcrete Book is a valuable tool for any eco-builder.

William Stanwix is a qualified building surveyor and founder of a growing UK company which specialises in new build and restoration with hempcrete and other natural building materials. Along with ongoing construction projects, Will provides consultancy, technical design and training for people interested in building with hempcrete and other natural building materials.

Alex Sparrow works for one of only a handful of companies working with hempcrete in the UK and the only one to work with self-builders. Alex works on the strategic development of the company but still regularly take the opportunity to get his hands dirty on the building sites. Beyond the day-job, he is also a freelance writer on natural building.