Homeland Hempcrete

04/26/2026

Check out these thoughtful designs by the Root Down House Plan Co. team!

Contact us about getting your h**pcrete build project started ✌️ 🌱

04/03/2026

Exciting news! 🗞️ 👂

As some folks have already seen and contacted us, we wanted to make it official… We are excited to now have fully designed ‘Ready-To-Build’ homes available on our website!

These first three designs were done in collaboration with the team . They know their stuff when it comes to **pcrete so it was a pleasure to work with them on these, and we are looking forward to one of these coming to life. Regardless of whether you want to pursue a fast and easy build, or other h**pcrete installation methods, they can help you out!

Check out the designs, click the link, and get your next project started today! ✌️ 🌱 🎉

04/01/2026

Last week we had the opportunity to go to the **p event in . It was refreshing to see many familiar faces, and reinvigorating to see new faces and the enthusiasm entering the industry.

It’s easy to keep our heads down and grind, (there is so much to do!) but you gotta look up every once in awhile to enjoy the ride. We truly appreciate events like this, the idea of “coming together” to reengage, learn, and grow. ✌️ 🌱 **p **pcrete **plife

03/24/2026

1 in 5 new homes have mold issues before residents move in. This can be from moldy lumber being used during construction (very common), or exposure to the elements and being closed-in/sealed up while still wet.

That is not a great start! H**pcrete is naturally mold resistant due to the lime binder’s high alkalinity.

We hand-select our lumber to mitigate the risk of mold from the get-go, and as you can see, the lumber is then surrounded and coated with lime in our process.

03/17/2026

“Can plaster still be used on the exterior of a building if there is exposed framing?”

Yes, yes it can!

It all comes down to detailing. The h**p lime (h**pcrete) IRC appendix lays out the criteria for instances in which framing (or any dissimilar substrate) is exposed. This detailing was adopted from strawbale because strawbale construction has had a formal IRC appendix much longer than h**pcrete and has proven out the process. The process includes protecting the surface of the wood and adding a bridging material, such as lath, to create a mechanical bond with the plaster.

The bigger question of “Why does our panel system have wood on exterior in the first place?” was a choice we made long ago.
There are numerous reasons why we build the way we do, but all of them lead back to this…
“How do we provide a h**pcrete solution with the lowest cost to the customer”.
Why this is important to us is because:
LIVING IN A HEALTHY HOME SHOULD NOT HAVE TO COME WITH A LUXURY PRICE TAG!! 📣

Lime plaster is arguably the most ‘prescriptive’ finish for h**pcrete, but it can be very expensive. If you can afford plaster finishes that is great, but for many individuals it puts the whole building material out of reach. Having a system that caters to accessibility/affordability while being easily adaptable for plaster is what makes most sense to us.

You can review the H**p Lime IRC sections BL104.4, BL104.5 (mentioned above) and other building details by searching for ‘APPENDIX BL HEMP-LIME (HEMPCRETE) CONSTRUCTION’

**pcrete

03/11/2026

When Matt heard it was his first instinct was to run to the tool shelf and find his favorite red tool ( ), it was decided that when it comes to tools our most consistent and versatile choice is something that we typical just find laying around the job site or in the shop, wood scraps!

Wood scraps are great. You can find them all over the place, if you lose one you just go grab another, no big deal. You don’t always need fancy tools, sometimes it’s best to keep it simple.

Pictured- Tamping sticks to hand pack **pcrete, makeshift ‘trowel’, form spacer to create proper thickness for h**pcrete, and a notepad!

03/05/2026

Lime plaster is arguably the best, most ‘prescriptive’ exterior finish for h**pcrete. The issue we see a lot of the time though is that it can be challenging to implement compared to more conventional products, for a variety of reasons, and therefore it is frequently foregone.

Our mission is to make natural building materials accessible and attainable, for everyone. This is what initially led us to panelization where we can remove and/or reduce many of the (hurd)les 😉 associated with natural building while being cost-effective. As we go further down this path, this mission is now leading us to exploring the idea of “how to make choosing a natural plaster finish easy(er)”

Thanks to the help of Ryan at Earthaus plaster we have been vetting a variety of mixes and ratios suitable for h**pcrete, and now stress testing to ensure we can deliver a quality product. There is still work to be done before this is a standard offering, but we are heading in the right direction. We hope to see some pre-plastered h**pcrete on a jobsite soon!

**pcrete

02/26/2026

to a cabin install we did last year to share a little more on the install process!

People often ask how our panels get installed. The answer is, it depends on the resources available, but more times than not we prefer to use manpower! With the right crew, this is the fastest method of installation. In this way, with a crew of 4-5, we can install about 900cu ft of h**pcrete per day! (A normal length day, not a 12-14hr hand-cast day)

The reason for this is the ‘agility’ that comes with manageably sized panels. We can keep people moving, and not worry so much about clearing all of the space around the entire foundation, or waiting for the equipment to grab the next component.

**pcrete

02/12/2026

Some great info for those interested in exploring h**pcrete, and by a team that knows how to design h**p homes! Root Down House Plan Co.

Curious about h**pcrete homes? Learn how this natural wall system creates healthier, energy-efficient, sustainable homesteads.

02/10/2026

As we make plans for our 2026 build calendar we review what worked well and what didn’t from past installs.

Every single build/project we find new ways to be more productive, saving time, and energy. On this build last year in KY we were able to have a pallet jack onsite which turned out to be extremely helpful. Instead of grabbing one SHIP at a time from the staging area and taking it to its position on the foundation, we were able to pickup a bundle of panels to place on the foundation, then use the pallet jack to grab just the one we needed and get it to the right position quickly.

It’s these small iterations of growth and refinement over time that lead to a well-developed product, and that’s what we are after!

**pcretebuilder **pcrete