Tools and equipment - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 150

The equipment needed when building with hempcrete varies slightly from project to
project according to a range of factors, including the specific application and con-
struction details, the type of binder used and the scale of the job (as well as how
much of the rest of the build you may be undertaking). However, the core tools re-
main the same, and a list of our standard toolkit is provided below.
Most of the hand and power tools required are commonplace and will already be owned by
most builders and keen DIYers, and the bigger power tools and plant can always be hired
for the duration of a project. But there are bound to be a few new purchases to be made
when building with hempcrete for the first time, and a little thought at the outset may result
in significant savings, especially when it comes to power tools. That said, there are some
tools on which it is worth spending extra money.
Quality versus cost
The relative cost of electric power tools has fallen dramatically in recent years, especially
with the proliferation of cheap generic models, which are churned out in the Far East and
stamped with the 'own-brand' label of the DIY store they end up in. The low price is a
reflection of the quality of the manufacturing, and often of the quality of work achievable
with them. Sadly, the cost of these inferior products has now fallen so much that we often
hear people talking of how it is cheaper, for example, to buy four cheap planers to do a job,
throwing each one away when it dies, than to buy a model from a good-quality brand.
Of course, even if we move up a level from throwaway tools, there is always a balance to
be struck between cost and quality when buying any equipment, whether hand or power
tools. With experience comes an awareness of which tools (for any given task) need to be
of high quality and which are less critical, so that a less expensive model will do the job
perfectly well and money can be saved.
Where quality counts
With the above in mind, it is worth remembering that when working with cast-in-situ
hempcrete you are using a construction system in which the structural frame (although not
usually visible in the finished wall) and the temporary shuttering around it are the main
determining elements in the straightness and plumb (or otherwise) of the finished wall.
When the shuttering is removed, the face of a hempcrete wall is a very flat surface with