Cannabis is a threat to society. If plant utilization is not regulated in harmony.
The cannabis industry and utilization is growing and expanding globally, but Finland is trying to slow down its utilization. Better interaction and solutions are needed.
Our job is to find ways and work together to find harmony.
Although we speak boldly about cannabis. We offer and focus only on promoting the utilization of completely legal and drug-free Cannabis sativa products.
If our site arouses opposition or inspiration in you, please contact us. Together we can make the world a better place for everyone ..
Cannabis houses
By cannabis houses, we refer to hemp houses made using industrial varieties of Cannabis sativa.
Why are we talking about cannabis and not hemp?
Because we want to make it clear that this is the same plant. The word cannabis is feared for swamp and we want to clean up its reputation
Hemp concrete is the key to sustainable construction
Carbon-neutral hemp construction is becoming more common in the world. The use of ecological hemp concrete has also become more common in Finland in recent years. All you need for hemp concrete is water, lime and hemp head. Hemp head is produced from the stem parts of an industrial useful hemp variety.
Benefits of hemp concrete in a nutshell:
- Carbon neutral
- Energy efficient
- Breathable
- Mold resistant
- Non-toxic
- Recyclable
- Lightweight
- Refractory
- Waterproof
- Pest resistant
- Good insulation
- Lasts 100 years
Hemp is growing in popularity as a building material
Hemp grows in almost all climates and has once been the most common crop in the world due to its diverse uses. Now the popularity of cultivation and the processing of hemp into building material is on the rise again.
The use of hemp as a building material is not a new invention. It is known that the ancient Celts used hemp concrete as a material when building the bridge more than two thousand years ago. Since then, hemp has been a popular building material in Japan for centuries, after which popularity has also landed in Europe (1).
In Finland, hemp insulation has been used as insulation for log houses to improve energy efficiency. Most old log houses have hemp as insulation. Modern natural fiber insulation is less popular, as it can be up to three times more expensive than mineral wool insulation (2).
Hemp concrete is a better and more durable alternative to cement
Cannabis, or hemp, is very fast-growing and produces a large crop with little effort. Its cultivation does not impoverish the soil and does not require irrigation or plant protection and pesticides at all. The plant protects itself and other crops around it from insects and weeds. Hemp is also an excellent alternative to crop rotation, and growing it improves the soil, as well as increasing the yield of the crops grown afterwards. Hemp is more environmentally responsible and better than traditional concrete.
A total of about 1.6 billion tonnes of cement is produced each year. Portland cement is the most common type of cement made from finely ground Portland clinker and gypsum. The production of this cement produces a total of 7-10% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The largest emissions occur in manufacturing, which requires high temperatures of 1450 ° C and the energy used for this is usually produced using coal. That means about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every tonne of cement. In addition, the combustion of limestone in cement causes a chemical reaction that releases about 500 kilograms of carbon dioxide per tonne of cement (2).
According to an article by Concrete International, traditional concrete contains about 12% cement and 80% soil, amounting to 10-11 billion tons annually worldwide. The mining required for manufacturing, as well as the associated transportation, require huge amounts of energy and, in addition, it poses a danger to forests and water areas. The freshwater industry uses about one billion tonnes of fresh water per year (3).
In most cases, concrete structures are given an average lifespan of about 50 years. 50 years is not a very long time considering how much concrete loads the earth. Structures made of hemp concrete last for at least 100 years, but possibly also for much longer
Manufacture of hemp concrete
The currently known hemp concrete manufacturing technology was developed in France. In the technique, hemp head is mixed with lime and water to form hemp concrete. With different ratios and additives (such as sand), hemp concrete suitable for different uses can be made. In addition, hemp concrete needs a stiffening frame made of wood. The frame is surrounded by hemp concrete and the surfaces are finished with a lime leveler and a lime coating (4).
Lime allows water vapor to pass through and acts as a shield. If there is a small crack in the structure, the lime itself has the property of repairing it. At the cracked point, lime collects moisture, which lifts loose lime in hemp concrete to its surface. The lime on the surface then carbonizes and cures again, closing the crack. Hemp concrete is mold-resistant, as the lime in the ingredients makes hemp concrete very alkaline. Hemp concrete is also environmentally friendly and quite inexpensive to build (4).
The hemp concrete mix is mixed faster in special drums faster than a regular concrete drum. With a normal concrete drum, the mixing time is eight minutes, but with a hemp concrete drum, it takes three minutes. Methods for manufacturing hemp concrete structures have also been developed to be even more efficient, and hemp concrete can now also be sprayed or cast directly into elements. Machinery specially designed for hemp concrete has also entered the market (5).
The coating should be breathable, which is why lime fillers are often used. Lime leveler can also be made from the same lime used as a binder in the walls. Various color pigments can be mixed into the lime to give the surface color. Brick and wood can also be used as coatings. In wet rooms, the so-called “Tadelakt” technology, which has been in use in Morocco for hundreds of years. In the Tadelakt technique, the lime leveler is polished with stone, and the waterproofing is done using soft soap. In addition to bathroom structures, this technique also makes the basin, bath and other bathroom furniture made of hemp concrete (5.)
SOURCES:
- The Chill Bud. Hempcrete – The Revolutionary ‘Green’ Building Material made from Cannabis. https://thechillbud.com/hempcrete-the-revolutionary-green-building-material-made-from-cannabis/. Referenced on 26.03.2021
- Antti Lahtinen. Hemp concrete as a building material. Thesis. Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. 2014. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/77665/Antti_Lahtinen.pdf?sequence=1. Referenced on 23.03.2021.
- Concrete International. 2001. Reducing the Environmental Impact of Concrete. Website. American Concrete Institute. Referenced on 26.03.2021. http://ecosmartconcrete.com/docs/trmehta01.pdf
- Rhydwen. 2012. Building with Hemp and Lime. English. MSC Architecture: AEES
- Allin. S. 2012. Building with hemp. English. Seed Press.