CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE Contractor Sets Sights on Building Hempcrete Homes in Louisiana By Abby Meaux Conques
J
oseph Strong, Louisiana native, is a licensed contractor & owner of Strong Construction, LLC.
He holds various certifications and a construction degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He’s also an advocate of a construction material formed with hemp, called hempcrete. Strong’s post-graduation construction career working for builders in California planted the seeds of green building for the current business owner. *green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.* “My time spent there opened my eyes to a lot of different ways of doing things than how we’re used to doing them here in Louisiana...concepts like what kind of carbon footprint we’re leaving for future generations and building sustainable and environmentally conscious structures,“ Strong explained. “I attended many green building conventions and sought the new things businesses were implementing in order to lower carbon emissions in the building process and constructing sustainable subdivisions.“ Strong utilizes various concepts in his building specifications – namely solar panel use and the like. Then, one day in 2012, a friend introduced him to the concept of hempcrete. The concept is not a new one globally. It gained popularity in Europe in the 1980’s to remedy post World War II builds which used concrete which began to fail due to water permeation. The lime / hemp mixture yielded better results than concrete. Hempcrete was also the substance favored when used throughout France to restore medieval timber framed buildings, as it was the closest consistency to wattle and daub. In Japan, there’s a historical hemp house in Nagano that was found to be built in 1698. Today, it’s recognized as a Japanese National Heritage Site and has survived earthquakes and tsunamis. In India, the famous Ellora Caves (dated to be 14
1,500 old) have been preserved by hemp plaster walls. The fire-resistant hemp plaster also absorbed heat, kept insects at bay, and absorbed up to 90% of airborne sound, which made a perfect dwelling place for the monks who resided there. The Ellora Caves are a World Heritage Site. Strong was able to connect with various professionals in the hempcrete arena via various social media platforms. “These guys are elders in their communities and are eager to pass down their knowledge to people who want to absorb it. I’m lucky that I get to converse with these guys and use the concepts they’ve learned over decades of application.” In the United States there are only 50 to 60 Hempcrete-built homes. Five of those homes are built in Asheville, North Carolina. ”People may think they can read some books on the subject and do this. I’ve been in construction since I was 18 and I’m 43 now; I thought I could probably figure it out. I quickly realized you need proper training and hands-on building with the material to understand how to use hempcrete effectively.” Strong decided to make an investment in his own hemp knowledge and attend an extensive workshop in Asheville in 2017 with hands-on learning on how to build hempcrete homes. He was instrumental in the construction of the fifth Hempcrete home built in Asheville. One of the connections he made in Asheville was Henry Valles. Valles is a notable Hempcrete building consultant in Austin, Texas who constructed a homeless shelter on donated land to help individuals get back on their feet after facing tough times. Valles served on the early adopters speaking panel in October of 2019 at the US Hemp Building Summit. Valles’ contribution of building a sustainable shelter for the homeless community inspired Strong to make this one of his goals to do the same in Louisiana. Strong joined the Hemp Industries Association and after attending various hemp conferences, Strong and met builders that he was turning to for advice on the new (to us) concept. L OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
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