Placing hempcrete - The Hempcrete Topic: Designing and Building with Hemp-lime - page 369

100mm probes allow testing at depth within the wall.
Moisture readings
Judging the readiness of a hempcrete wall to take a finish is a decision best left to an ex-
perienced person, and if in any doubt, material manufacturers or suppliers will be able to
offer guidance.
The judgement of readiness involves taking a number of dynamic factors into account, but
to assist with this, the progress of hempcrete drying can be monitored using an electronic
moisture meter of the type commonly used to test the moisture content of wood. This is
appropriate for the material because, like hemp, timber is a hard cellulose-based material.
However, these devices are calibrated for timber, and are supplied with a table showing
variances in the expected reading for different species of timber. This means the readings
given don't necessarily bear a direct relation to the actual moisture content of hemp, but
they do provide a useful relative scale with which to monitor drying. The experimental