Green Home Construction: First Florida Hemcrete Project
Green Home Construction: First Florida Hemcrete Project
American Lime Technology, the North American leader in sustainable hemp and lime-based green building construction materials is proud to announce installation is underway at the first green home in Tarpon Springs, Florida utilizing Tradical Hemcrete.
Located just blocks from the coast, this green home will offer extraordinary benefits to occupant health, comfort, fire resistance, pest resistance, sustainability and energy consumption, as well as protect its occupants from Hurricane force winds. With a design typical of single family homes in Florida, this house is subtle, practical and quietly makes a bold statement about green construction for mainstream consumers.
Hemp and lime-based binder are cast over a largely conventional wood frame. Lime render (think breathable stucco without portland cement) exterior finish will be directly applied to the Hemcrete walls. The interior of the Hemcrete walls will be a coated with a thin layer of breathable natural hydraulic lime plaster which allows the beautiful organic Hemp aggregate texture to show through. The plaster will be finished with a limewash color coat.
This green building is not intended as a one-of-a-kind project, it will be available for sale. This project is also a prototype (designed in typical Florida ranch style) showcase for affordable green home construction projects planned across the state. The developer making this project a reality is Bob Clayton, a retired mechanical engineer with a deep interest in creating awareness of sustainable building technologies.
All of the materials including the Hemcrete are hygroscopic, fire-proof, and breathable. The exclusive use of lime and natural minerals in the building envelope materials ensures that no VOCs will off-gas and pests will find the wall absolutely unappealing. All construction will comply with the currently adopted Florida Building Code 2007 with Florida Building Code Supplements 2009 as well as Florida Fire Prevention Code 2007. In addition the house is designed to withstand wind speeds of 123 MPH.
Mario Machnicki, president and CEO of American Lime Technology will visit the construction site Tuesday August 13, 2012 to review construction progress with the developer, general contractor and architect. His visit will include a demonstration of lime render and lime plaster application.
Chicago, Il based American Lime Technology offers a range of construction materials and services to support forward thinking architects, engineers and building owners in their efforts to develop sustainable high performance residential, commercial and industrial building envelopes. Learn more about Tradical Hemcrete and other sustainable building materials.
