Houses Made Of Hemp Are Termite-Proof
It seems that termites are capable of eating through any type of home building material. Any type of lumber can become infested with termites at some point, even if the lumber is pressure treated during processing. However, if you want to build a home that is truly termite proof, then you don’t need to build an eyesore of a home made of tupperware plastic. You can always turn to hemp. Well, maybe not here in America, as the cultivation of hemp is highly regulated, and can only be cultivated for certain purposes. But in Australia hemp-constructed homes are already a reality. In Australia, the legality concerning hemp cultivation is also sketchy, but so far, twenty four termite-resistant hemp houses have been constructed in the country.
In Australia, as long as THC content is low, large hemp crops can be cultivated. The newly constructed hemp houses are not only termite-resistant but they are also fire-resistant, and they can prevent the growth of mold, as well as reducing the need for heating and cooling. The hemp-based construction material is made by grinding the hemp plant’s woody stems with a lime binder. The resulting material has been called “hemp paste”. Lumber is still used as a construction material, but the hemp paste is used to coat a standard wooden house-frame. Once the hemp paste is applied to a wooden frame, an additional coat of lime is applied to the outermost exterior. The timber contained within the hemp coat is inaccessible to termites. Once a hemp house has been completed it is indistinguishable from other houses made from timber.
Business professionals Angela Knock, Rowan Woodburn and Vicki Woodburn are the entrepreneurs behind hemp houses. According to Knock, the material is cheaper than bricks, and although the labor may be relatively expensive, the labor costs will decrease as hemp houses become more commonplace. These business pioneers will likely have solar panels installed within future hemp homes in order to promote sustainability.
Do you think that the economic costs of termite damage could be reduced if hemp was used for constructing houses and buildings?
