This brand new house is to be primarily framed with large exposed timbers – Timber Framed. The house is positioned lengthwise to capture solar energy. Large Timber-supproted eaves protect against moisture, and help keep the building cooler during the summer. A wrap-around porch - partially screened-in – also allows summertime cooling. An attached greenhouse is the perfect place to start plants from seed, and to be “outdoors” with lots of light in the middle of winter.
The skin of the house is to be of a thick insulating material called “Hempcrete”. Hempcrete will not get you “high”, but it will keep you warm and comfortable. Hempcrete is not nearly as hard or strong as concrete so cannot be used to support large loads, but it is strong enough to support itself and provide protection from the elements - when coated with lime plaster. Unlike typical insulation material it has many properties that contribute to a comfortable safe house - it has thermal resistance (R-value), thermal mass, buffers against variations in humidity, absorbs indoor CO2, is fire-resistant, repels mold and pests, and is great at buffering sound. It is also one of very few products that is carbon negative. Widely used in much of Europe, recent relaxation of US laws governing the growth of hemp are allowing it to become more locally.
This project is currently in the early design phase.
