Variations on the hemp–lime mix - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 120

Hemp shiv and binder waiting to be mixed.
At the time of writing, Tradical ® HB is the only hempcrete binder that has been tested for
LABC (Local Authority Building Control) pre-approval within the UK. It has been tested
together with Tradical ® HF hemp shiv as part of the Tradical ® Hemcrete ® walling system,
so is pre-approved only when used with the specified hemp shiv. Using a product that has
not been through pre-approval testing for building control does not necessarily mean that
you will not be able to get building control to sign it off, however; it just adds an extra stage
to the process. In practice, we have never had any difficulty getting hempcrete approved
by building control, especially since it is a non-structural element of the wall build-up.
In France, where the hempcrete industry is more developed, there is a wider range of es-
tablished sources of hemp shiv for building than exists currently in the UK, and these are
not exclusively tied in to binder manufacturers. This has led to a situation where hemp
shiv manufacturers have had their own shiv tested for French building control pre-approval
with each of the available binder products. The result is the availability of easily accessible