Don't smoke it - build with it!

What a brick!
It's been a compliment for many years, used to indicate someone of good, solid and trustworthy character. These days, it's somewhat outdated, but could do with being brought back into use...
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In this day and age, there's an increasing emphasis on using more eco-friendly materials to build things with. Up until recently, the main emphasis has been on been on wood and other renewable sources. Then, having got that out of their system, the designers and architects moved onto reclaimable metals - they're easy to melt and re-shape, you see.
In all this, bricks were seen as pretty much a necessary evil. You can't do much with a brick once it's been made, apart from break it up. Bricks are made from clay and fired in a kiln. This is a one-way process, much like cooking an egg. Once it's done, that's it - it's either used or it's dumped. In all this rush to find better materials, bricks were left behind. At best, they were reclaimed from other building and had the mortar chipped off at great expense in time and money.
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Of course, there were always going to be those who advocated a return to more traditional materials, such as wattle and daub. This was never going to work, because there were very good reasons fer moving on from them in the first place - most notably the weather.
Obviously there needed to be a radical change in thought on building materials.
With that in mind, say hello to 'Hemcrete'.

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I know, I know. Considering I was just having a go at traditional materials, it seems a bit rich that I'm advocating an essentially revived method, yes?

Well, yes and no. Hemcrete works along similar lines to many previous materials, but the twist is in the treatment. Thanks to modern technology and industrial processes, the shredded hemp stalks are bound with a lime-based mix and can now be used in the same way as the more familiar concrete.

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It's got a few bonuses too. Like the more familiar clay bricks, Hemcrete is fireproof, waterproof and - as long as long as it's above ground - utterly resistant to rot. Furthermore, it's recyclable. Should a building need to be demolished, Hemcrete can be broken down and used as fertiliser for the agriculture industry.

Oh, and talking of that side of things, Hemcrete is actually a carbon negative product. This means that, unlike normal bricks will add to the atmospheric carbon during the course of their manufacture, AND unlike many new products that claim to be carbon neutral (ie add no carbon or offset it by planting trees), Hemcrete actually removes carbon and locks it away. Even better, when the hemp is grown, there are no unnatural herbicides or pesticides used.

One problem. The species of hemp used to make Hemcrete is illegal to grow in the USA. You can buy the product, but not the plant, so that's going to be somewhat pricey for import and on the environmental impact of the haulage.

You can find out a little more about Hemcrete at Limetechnology and Tradical.

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And finally (what - is this the 6 o'clock news, then?), if you want to be ecologically minded with your bricks in a different way, why not build your home using some bricks that have been specially designed to help some endangered species?

Quick - to the Bat-box!

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Pipistrelle bats have been on the endangered list fer quite some time now. The main problem was that houses were being built without the beamed eaves. Bats aren't the only ones to have this problem - and to have it solved in a similar fashion - have a look at the swift brick.

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It's simple, unobtrusive and it provides a home for bug-eating wildlife. Yeah - because you were thinking about wasps too, weren't you?

Go visit Ibstock for more details.