Tools of the Trade - The Humble Plastic Bucket

While a plastic bucket post may appear a bit vapid, they are in fact the most indispensable tool a natural builder has. I don’t say this lightly or altogether too easily. As a natural builder, I have a complicated relationship with fossil-fuel products, and the humble bucket is the most simple and pure form of plastic on a natural building construction site. It’s also the most important one.

In hempcrete, a bio-composite is made by mixing hemp hurd, a lime-based binder, and water together. This moderate-weight wet mix is carried to the wall, then placed into a form. The form varies in size and space depending on the needs (and whim) of the designers, builders, and engineers. Once placed, this material dries into a hard, stone-like shape matching the form.

While the material can be mixed in anything - a humble bucket, a specialized mixer, barrel, or a mortar tray, getting the wet hempcrete from point A to point B is an essential task, requiring a simple yet effective tool. Behold, the new and improved plastic bucket, perfect for the distribution and placement of hempcrete.

What I love about these buckets is their flexibility. These 26 liter/6.5 gallon tubs are perfect for hempcrete. The bucket bends easily to make one hand carry a breeze, and unlike with a traditional 5 gallon bucket, doesn’t get in the way of free and comfortable movement as you walk.

The buckets are tough: UV resistant, food-safe, durable and flexible.

These buckets can’t be beat for moist materials: hempcrete, light clay straw, plaster.

For carrying water, it’s truly a toss-up about what is better - 5 gallon traditional hard-sided bucket, or these flexible tubs. The tubs will be more comfortable to carry, but can’t be filled as fully and don’t offer a tight-fitting lid. But they also won’t knock against your legs as you move about and their ergonomic flexibility means that your arms will thank you at the end of a long workday.

One drawback of these flexible tubs is that the measurement marks are basically useless. I recommend buying light-colored buckets, and using a permanent marker as needed to make quick-reference lines for volume.

These buckets are especially handy for hempcrete placement, as the material must be placed into forms of various sizes and shapes. These tubs can adjust to any size opening. We find them indispensable, and we think you will too!