By Jean Lotus, Hemp Building Magazine
Hemp Blocks Get Attention As Lumber Prices Surge
The cost of U.S. construction timber is skyrocketing, and a national concern is growing for the carbon emitted by the construction industry. As homebuilders look for solutions, the nation’s small-but-growing number of hemp builders wonder if building with hemp will finally break through into the mainstream construction consciousness.
The cost of framing lumber, OSB plywood and other wood building materials are adding an average of $36,000 to the cost of a new build, an April study showed — and costs have kept rising.
As a result, homebuilding solutions that don’t require framing timber, or need less of it, are getting a second look. One solution is the hemp-lime block.
The U.S. construction industry is notoriously resistant to change and innovation, frustrating those who want to introduce hemp building to the United States, as it has been used for the past 30 years in Europe.
But ‘hempcrete’ blocks are being noticed because they have been used in European builds for decades, and provide a green, carbon-sequestering, insulative wall solution.
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