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Title: Building With Hemp

Author: Steve Allin,, Anthony Cohu (Contributor),,

Description: With the move towards construction techniques that satisfy the energy conservation requirements of both their manufacture and use, many different systems are being promoted to produce what might be described as an eco home. Of these the hemp system has the widest variety of applications from the housing estate to the one off individual dwelling or structure.

As this is the first book on the subject, the reader is introduced to the material; its history and production, and the ways in which it can be used in the construction or renovation of ones home. With 295 colour photographs and 56 illustrations and diagrams, the book is as equally of interest to the home owner, architect or interior designer, as it is to the self-builder or ecological activist.

Written in a straight forward manner but referring to expert reports and data, the facts and figures for the performance of the hempcrete material are given together with knowledge gained by the author during his nine years of using the stuff himself. Methods developed by builders and architects in France are described and illustrated, as are examples from Ireland, Great Britain and Switzerland.

The forward written by architect Anthony Cohu RIBA, a past president of the Cork Environmental Form in Ireland, introduces us to the basic aims of the ecological building world. The author then takes us through the subject step by step beginning with the hemp plant; its history, agriculture and processing, he then explains how the concept of mixing the hemp-wood (hurds) with lime was conceived of and how it developed into the material now known of as hempcrete. With its light-weight and insulating, but also heat storing qualities, this hempcrete is shown to be the novel answer to many of the requirements of those who wish to create a new healthier way to construct a home.

The basic alternative ways of designing a hemp house by combining timber frames and hempcrete are explained and illustrated with diagrams by the author, as are other systems using blocks or hemp clay mixes.

Throughout the book the author presents the information, whether gained from experience or drawn from scientific tests, in a way to be easily understood by the layperson as well as those more expert, with a combination of pictures, diagrams and text.

Lime, as the building material used in the mixture, is also discussed and compared to Portland cement and gypsum as regards to its origins, manufacture and ecological qualities and for its suitability for combining with hemp.

Interior designers will get inspiration from the unique shots of hemp rooms in the chapters on hemp plaster and finishes. Self-builders or those of a have a go tendency will get help from the How to section in the rear of the book.

Colour photography is a feature of the book, as is the clean layout and high quality binding, there are many full-page pictures of the interiors and exteriors of hemp buildings, or buildings that have utilised hemp materials in some way.

Steve Allin sums up this introduction to Building with Hemp by outlining some of the issues concerning hemp, its production and viability and the certifying of this new building system so it can become more easily available for everyone.

A stylish, informative and inspiring addition to any bookshelf.

About the Author

Steve Allin, environmental design consultant, has pioneered the use in Ireland of building with hemp, a breathable natural material that is stirring up considerable interest in the eco-building and conservation worlds. With over 120 different projects in the last nine years having used the material in Ireland and many hundreds in 16 years in France, this revolutionary but simple system has now come of age.

191pp 238x250

Subtopic: Materials: Other

Year: 2006

Code: 6503

Price: €35.00