Meeting like minded hempcreters

We have recently had the joy of visiting some like minded people. Grant and I visited Neil and Sandy at their hempcrete home property in Violet Town. As a side note, their property was recently published in an article from ATA's Renew Magazine. You will be able to find out a lot more from the ATA article.  We visited them during the Sustainable Day open day, apart from the fact that we arrived at their house a week early everything worked out swimmingly. Neil and Sandy have used a lime render on the exterior of their house and traditional ceiling insulation. Neil created a very useful tool out of guttering to give the edges a rounded look.

Render finish at Violet Town

Exploring lime render colours in Violet Town

Hempcrete with some lime render, Violet Town. Apparently lime
render is much easier to apply on hempcrete than on straw bale.

You can see the rounded edge of the hempcrete and
 lime at the top of window, Violet Town.

Last week we also visited Joe and Deb at their hempcrete renovation in Kyneton. Attached to their very old property is a 2 story hempcrete addition. Jo is a builder and plans on building in hempcrete for others. Jo became very interested in the product many years ago yet only recently has he found the right property to explore the world of hempcrete. Like any other 'club', those that have experience in hempcrete become total converts and enthusiasts, happy to share their experiences. It is a small but inclusive club that we are happy to become part of!

Joe and Deb's property uses timber cladding on the outside, lime render on the inside walls and MgO boards for both the ceiling and the upstairs floor. Jo has found the MgO boards very easy to work with and is impressed by its breathability.The boards also have very good fire retardant properties.

The ceiling has also been insulated with hempcrete, this creates a really good seal for the inside space.

Timber reveals to complete the window, Kyneton

Downstairs area is still used as a workroom, Kyneton

View from the upstairs room, Kyneton.

Deb and Joe out the front of their hempcrete renovation.