Hempcrete homes, like this one in California, will soon be easier to permit and build after the ICC approved hempcrete for inclusion in the International Building Codes. Photo by Lillian Clarke
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By Jean Lotus
Hemp building materials were officially approved for certification in US building codes at a Louisville, KY conference of the International Code Council last week.
The ICC approved hemp+lime (hempcrete) construction for inclusion into the appendix of the upcoming new International Residential Code (IRC), which will become official in 2024. The IRC is the basis for the residential code in 49 of 50 U.S. states (Wisconsin being the outlier).
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Hempcrete, a mixture of hemp stalk hurds or “shiv” and lime binder, creates a long-lasting fibrous insulation wall assembly that is fire-resistant, carbon-sequestering and repels mold and pests. Because hemp sequesters carbon in the walls of a building, hempcrete is an excellent zero-carbon building material that can offset the construction industry’s carbon footprint, supporters said.
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Hempcrete insulation has been used in Europe for about 30 years, but wasn’t officially included in US building codes because industrial hemp was illegal in the United States until passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The US Hemp Building Association’s non-profit foundation submitted an application for certification after raising more than $50,000 and working countless hours with a committee of experts, including civil engineers, hemp-lime builders from Europe and the USA, architects and code experts who helped straw bale builders become certified in the 2018 residential housing codes.
Henry Gage, Jr., the president of USHBA, praised departing acting executive director Jacob Waddell for raising money and moving the ICC application through multiple hurdles to achieve certification. “I would like to honor the work of [Waddell] for his leadership,” Gage said in an email. “With this vote, hemp-lime construction has moved to the mainstream, creating a new era of investment, research, architecture and construction,” Gage added.
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Including hempcrete in US building codes should cut red tape and streamline hempcrete projects, supporters said.
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Appendices in the IRC are voluntary unless specifically adopted by a state or local jurisdiction, said submission co-author architect Martin Hammer, who has worked on four other IRC code appendices.
Before official adoption in 2024, home builders working on a hempcrete project may still be required to obtain a “materials variance” from local building departments, Hammer said.
“On the other hand, even now, this well-developed ICC building code appendix can be proposed to a local building official for use on a project basis,” Hammer added.
“Code induction of a natural building material of any type is really big news,” said structural engineer Anthony Dente of Berkeley, CA-based Verdant Structural Engineers, who submitted structural engineering data for the proposal. “There are not many of these types of codes globally compared to other conventional materials. …The IRC Hemp-Lime Appendix is an excellent foundational document with a lot of really exciting areas of potential growth in the future,” Dente added.
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Pennsylvania-based architect Ana Konopitskaya of CoExistBuild, who helped write the application, called the certification “a groundbreaking achievement.”
“As an architect, including hemplime into the building code is of paramount importance,” she told HempBuildmag in an email. “It will allow architects like myself, focused on sustainability, to specify this product in any municipality across the US,” she added.
Matt Marino, hemp builder from North Dakota-based Homeland Hempcrete said inclusion in the US building codes “helped add legitimacy to our craft. It is a tool for us to standardize our deliverable,” he added. “This is just the beginning, and I look forward to seeing where we can take this industry.”
Appearing in the residential codes will give a boost to builders of individual homes, but for hempcrete to be approved for commercial buildings without a variance, it still needs to be approved in the International Building Codes, which are renewed every three years and will be open for submissions in 2025.
ICC committee voters work for government agencies protecting the public’s health and safety and “have no financial stake in the outcome,” according to the organization.
Jean Lotus is publisher of HempBuildmag.com
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Originally published September 21, 2022 on Hemp Building Mag
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/home/hempcrete-approved-for-us-residential-building-code-update