Planning the build - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 186

as well as walls, this creates the opportunity to construct super-insulated buildings, with
hempcrete as the insulating material throughout the whole thermal envelope, as long as de-
signers understand the advantages of this and consider the concept at an early stage.
Another key aspect of the design process is to research the different binders available, and
to get a feel for how the different options could affect the design of the building, especially
with regard to:
the thickness of wall necessary to achieve a required level of thermal performance
expected drying times and other characteristics of the material that may affect the
schedule of works
the types of finishes that are specified by the manufacturer.
Given the limited choice of binders currently available, this research should not take long.
However, you would be surprised at how often we encounter people who are all set to start
building in a couple of weeks' time but haven't yet chosen the binder they will be using.
Practicalities
For careful planning of the build stage to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as pos-
sible, it is worth keeping in mind two key aspects of working with hempcrete that can have
an effect on the timing and success of the build.
Workforce factors
The skill of the workforce is essential to the success of the cast material and to the smooth
progression of the build, so it is important to ensure that the people responsible for the
building works are trained in the use of hempcrete, and have sufficient knowledge and ex-
perience to be able to undertake the work they are doing.