New option for building house
Boards made from particles of the stem from the hemp plant, mixed with a binder made from hydrated lime, can be safely used as a material for building houses! However, it needs a frame structure, made of wood, steel, brick or concrete, as the fibre boards from hemp called "Hempcrete" is not strong enough to be load bearing! Otherwise, it is a good insulator, for withstanding hot, cold and even wet weather, being waterproof against persistent rain and the damp environment associated with it.
Though the boards are porous to some extent, there is no concern regarding any attack of mildew or molds. The material is not susceptible to mold even when kept soaked in water for days during tests of this house building material!
A company in USA has started manufacturing these boards, which will shortly be coming in the market. They are offering modular homes, based on this hemp board, which will also be exported. This will herald an era of low cost green housing, which can be installed in a week or two! The houses are cool inside, and have quite attractive finish inside and a nice look from the outside!
I wonder if we can modify the binder used for the manufacture of particle board from jute stalk in Bangladesh. The aim will be to make the particle board water proof, and hence suitable for external use, which is not possible now. It could then be effectively used as a cheaper building material instead of the expensive brick, cement mortar and plaster needed for the walls. The load bearing frame structure can be built from locally rolled steel structures or bricks as desired.
This development can usher in a new and cheaper option for house building, and will replace the fuel used in burning bricks and the expensive cement now used in building and finishing the outside and inside brick walls of the house. It could also replace the cement floors inside the house. Our BCSIR laboratories in collaboration with jute particle board manufacturers can take up this research project in overall national interest.
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