Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
The Complete Guide to High-Performance Hempcrete Building
Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials series, Essential Hempcrete Construction is the definitive step-by-step guide to designing and building with hempcrete—an energy-efficient, breathable, low-carbon insulation material for walls, roofs, and floors.
What You'll Learn
- Fire-safe, Healthy, Breathable Walls: Hempcrete offers exceptional fire resistance (0 flame spread), indoor humidity buffering, and mold-resistant performance.
- Energy-efficient Thermal Comfort: High insulation value and thermal mass help maintain stable indoor temperatures year-round.
- Lightweight, Low-carbon Material: Made from renewable hemp hurd and lime, hempcrete dramatically reduces embodied carbon compared to synthetic insulation.
- Step-by-step Building Guidance: Tools, mix design, testing, formwork, installation, and finishing for reliable, high-quality results.
- Design and Detailing Confidence: Material specs, climate data, detail drawings, building science insights, and complete code references.
- Plan, Budget, and Build Efficiently: Labor estimates, cost planning, and practical advice for residential and commercial applications.
Written by Chris Magwood, one of the world's foremost sustainable building experts, this guide blends rigorous building science with decades of practical experience to help you confidently incorporate hempcrete into any project.
Discover the full Sustainable Building Essentials series to explore natural building techniques that deliver measurable performance and environmental benefits.
Chris Magwood has designed and built some of the most innovative buildings in North America, including the first off-grid, straw bale home in Ontario which became a fifteen-year research project into the implementation of sustainable building materials and technologies. He is a director of the Endeavour Centre in Peterborough, Ontario where he teaches hands-on workshops and is a lead instructor for the Sustainable New Construction certificate program. Chris is co-editor of the Sustainable Building Series and author of several previous books on sustainable building, including Making Better Buildings , More Straw Bale Building and Straw Bale Details . He is a regular contributor to Mother Earth News , Home Power and The Last Straw Journal .
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Rationale
Chapter 3: Appropriate Use
Chapter 4: Building Science Notes
Chapter 5: Material Specifications
Chapter 6: Design Options for Hempcrete
Chapter 7: Design Notes for Hempcrete
Chapter 8: Hempcrete Mixes
Chapter 9: Construction Procedure
Chapter 10: Finishes
Chapter 11: Maintenance and Renovations
Chapter 12: Building Codes and Permits
Chapter 13: Experiments and Future Developments
Chapter 14: Tools
Chapter 15: Conclusion
Resources
Index
About the Author