In this episode of Ask the Expert, we prove It’s perfectly practical to build natural buildings to meet code, and guide the way to achieve high performance construction with hempcrete and lime plaster assemblies.
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Few building materials leave you in suspense for the big reveal the way that lime plaster does! Catalyst explains why this house is shrouded in canvas and burlap, and when you should expect the BIG REVEAL!
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Lime plaster is simple to apply and a joy to work with. Widely available around the world, lime is a natural solution as a healthy, clean, and robust wall finish.
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Catalyst enjoys a bit of a love affair with lime plaster. Easy to make, simple to use, healthy and enduring, there is a lot to love about this timeless material. For the next several weeks, HempStone will immerse you into the joyful world of lime plaster.
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Hempcrete Frequently Asked Questions: A HempStone Primer into this natural, resilient, carbon-beneficial material.
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Beyond the basics of lime plaster come a variety of lustrous craft finish techniques, including tadelakt. A delight to see and feel, this ancient way of making lime plaster water resistant is a beautiful and sustainable solution in kitchens and baths.
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While plaster accessories may not seem exciting to discuss in a natural building assembly, these details provide a robust foundation for long-term durability, air tightness details, and a clean drip edge for water to safely shed off the building. Good design here translates to a building that will survive whatever weather comes their way.
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Embodied carbon is all the rage at the moment among leading edge designers and builders. Yet the stumbling block tends to be foundations. Carbon-beneficial buildings must include carbon-conscious foundations. In this article, we offer a typical assembly and material sourcing and supply options to develop carbon-conscious foundation solutions.
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Materials, and how they combine to create assemblies, are a fundamental aspect of holistic design and robust construction. We advocate for sustainably sourced, local and regional materials that are appropriate for your building site and climate. Our Natural Materials Sourcing and Supply Resource Guide illustrates a comprehensive palette of natural materials for use throughout a building assembly.
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In this Ask the Expert series, HempStone engages in some primary research to asnwer the question: Are high performance tapes appropriate for hempcrete assemblies, and if so, in which conditions? In the process of answering this question, we provide the building science you need to know to follow us on this journey.
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Dive into the essential details of hempcrete you won’t want to miss!
In Hempcrete 201, Alex Sparrow of UK Hempcrete shares robust detailing while Tom Rossmassler of HempStone provides the latest information on hempcrete in the US industry. We’'ll post additional resources to accompany the presentation which aid the adoption of this material in the industry.
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Catalyst invites you to enjoy 5 beautiful productions - offered in video, voice, story, image, and song - illustrating the wonderful world of Hempcrete.
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Known for its acoustic value, this natural building material has a bonus ability to readily accept lime and clay plasters as part of a complete vapor active assembly. Combined with hempcrete and plaster, this offers a seamlessly consistent interior finish. What’s not to love?
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Get down to the brass tacks of hempcrete with Alex Sparrow of UK Hempcrete and Tom Rossmassler of HempStone on Friday, August 14th. In this continuing education series, we dive into the details you really need to know to design and build with this bio-composite material.
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Sit back, grab some popcorn, and check out this Video Production of the first hempcrete home in Massachusetts. This Virtual Tour and Talk is fun, informative, and jam-packed with multiple perspectives!
In 70 minutes, you’ll dive into this project, and hear from the building owner, the construction crew at Village Carpentry and Landscaping and the hempcrete consultants at HempStone. Discover the triumphs and challenges of this 'radically responsible' project!
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Cob construction is about to become part of the 2021 International Residential Building Code. This is an exciting time for local, natural materials.
Hempcrete aspires to join the ranks of strawbale, light straw-clay, and now cob as a legitimate natural building material throughout the US and beyond.
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What’s the moisture level of your hempcrete?
We guide you through the hempcrete drying process and explain how to determine what a hempcrete wall is doing beyond what your eye can see.
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Join us on July 8th for a Virtual Tour and Talk, hosted by the US Hemp Building Foundation.
This one-hour webinar showcases a new timber framed, hempcrete home in Goshen, Massachusetts.
Experience an in-depth look at this project from multiple perspectives: designer/owner Shelby Howland, the Village Carpentry and Landscaping construction crew, and HempStone natural building consultants!
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Join Alex Sparrow of UK Hempcrete and Tom Rossmassler of HempStone for an introduction to a natural, carbon-beneficial building material. Hempcrete is a bio-composite walling and insulation material that has captured the attention of the construction industry in the US to address embodied carbon in buildings. Alex has been working with Hempcrete for over a decade in the UK, and co-authored The Hempcrete Book: Designing and building with hemp-lime.
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Does the name search for this bio-composite continue, or can it finally be put to rest? In this article, Alex Sparrow and Jennifer Martin explore the nomenclature behind hempcrete / hemp-lime and invite thoughtful dialogue on this evolving question.
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