FAQ's
Hempcrete is simply a combination of hemp shiv or hurd (the inner woody part of a hemp plant stalk), lime, and water.
At the projected price of $60/panel, a home could be built at a cost just 5-10% more than a traditional home. This means that if a traditional home would could $200K to build, with the Z panel it would be $210K-$220K. This price will be reduced as domestic hemp is sourced, and we aim to make a product that REDUCES construction costs 5-10%.
Besides being breathable, non-toxic, mold resistant, fire resistant, pest resistant, rot resistant, and carbon negative, hempcrete also has great thermal inertia. That means it heats up and cools down very slowly. It also has great acoustic properties. It dampens sound much batter than a regular wall.
Hempcrete is meant to be used above grade (above ground level). If continually exposed to moisture and not allowed to breath, it would eventually begin to rot because of the natural cellulose within hemp. It is not a foundation replacement.
The walls are finished with any breathable lime-based stucco or plaster. Many textures can be used as a matter of personal preference. The finished walls end up looking like many stucco/plaster walls.
We hope to be in production within the next 12 months. However, we would love to hear about your plans and interest in using Z Panels. Please email us at info@sativabuildingsystems.com
Hempcrete simply has the best combination of physical properties and functionality. It is a proven material that is easy to source and use. It has gained more widespread acceptance in the UK and France, and is beginning to gain traction in the US.
Wisconsin once led the nation in hemp production through the first half of the 20th century. With the legalization of hemp agriculture, we believe that our central Wisconsin location puts us in the heart of the emerging hemp industry.
We have a patent-pending design that simply no one else has. Our panels mechanically interlock with load bearing studs and each other both top and bottom. Our binder is also proprietary. It swaps out more expensive and foreign-sourced hydraulic lime with locally-sourced hydrated lime with a strengthening additive. The embedded horizontal structural wood cross-member is also unique in the way that it adds lateral strength.
This is simple, being able to locally source our hemp shiv. We are on the cusp of an explosion of hemp production in the US. In the meantime, our hemp is being sourced from France and the Netherlands, where 2/3 of the product costs are spent just on shipping!
Yes! The great thing about Z Panels is that the wood studs reside just below the surface of the lime plaster. That means that securing items to the studs is as simple as it would be in a traditional home.
The next product we are in the process of developing is a lighter weight version of the Z Panel with a higher insulation value, called Z Panel 2.0. The original Z panel has great strength and is high density for applications where superior strength is advantageous.