A Massachusetts homeowner is turning a backyard apartment build into a small-scale housing and climate solution.
Maria Murillo’s accessory dwelling unit in Great Barrington is being insulated with hempcrete, a plant-based material meant to keep the space comfortable while reducing pollution linked to more conventional building products.
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Hempcrete is made by mixing water and a limestone-based binder with the woody inner core of industrial hemp. Murillo, a mom who works as a client care coordinator in in-home services, chose it for the exterior walls of the detached unit she is building beside her home, The Berkshire Eagle reported.
Murillo did not choose hempcrete as a structural substitute for concrete. In the wall system, it insulates the space, holds in warmth, and helps control moisture, and she said the decision also matched her personal values…