Every time I write about alternative construction materials, a commenter will ask: “What about hemp?” The main reasons I didn’t cover the hemp scene is because it reeked of the hippie aesthetic that we tend to avoid. More importantly, it wasn’t easy to find or use in the U.S. 

But in October 2022, hempcrete was added as an appendix to the U.S. residential building code, utilized by 49 out of 50 states, and will be in the 2024 International Residential Code (IRC).¹ According to the approval, “the committee considered that this is another technology similar to that of the straw bale and the cob wall construction. The industry will be able to provide safer building with uniform requirements being codified as an appendix as opposed to being an alternate method [where the architect or designer has to convince the building official that it is OK] This will make it easier for building departments to review plans for permitting this option.”

While many sources are saying that hempcrete is now approved for U.S. residential building codes, building expert Chris Magwood of Builders for Climate Action tells Treehugger that being in the appendix is not quite the same as being in the code.

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