Tulum
Hemp Technologies worked with Heaven Grown in Mexico early January, 2016 to help some Mayan and Spanish construction guys retrofit a typical mayan hut in the jungle and show how cool it is without any mechanical HVAC system.
The idea being that we strip back the thin layer of cement stucco applied to a steel mesh tacked to the inside of the wooden stick frame attached to 4 x 8" timber poles stuck in the ground to about 2' and embedded in the ~12" (30cm) cement foundation. We would apply 4" Hempcrete to the inner structure and 8" to the outer, thus encasing the wooden frame and give 14" thick Hempcrete walls. We would need to extend the foundation to accommodate the added thickness of exterior wall using site-harvested rock and local cement.
If pictures tell a 1000 words then look thru these shots below to see how a team of Spanish and Mayan speaking locals who have never seen Hemp before let alone worked with anything other than concrete, sand and limestone, handily put their skills to work on insulating a small thatch-roofed hut in the hot and humid jungle of Tulum, in the state of Quintana Roo.
This was the 12' x 20' hut before we began retrofitting with Hemp/Lime
View from inside the hut showing open thatched roof and cement stucco layer applied to wooden poles leaving air space above 6 feet
extending the foundation another 8" to accommodate the Hempcrete
Stephen and his trusty dog carry hemp to the truck to take to job site
removing the cement layer and metal lath ready to Hempcrete
water brought in for mixing
PVC piping for water brought in from another source
hand mixing the Hemp/Lime and water
outside cold water tap
ingenuity +
recycling old, rusted nails for framing and forming
anything used for forming
pretty good, straight walls for first timers
notice the wooden windows - no glass
local scaffolding - worked well in the jungle but not recommended for suburbia
after 3 days
the crew
Dinner
Desert car
spiders that live rocks - what?