The hempcrete crew pauses for while working on Robin NeJame and Zach Zeiset's Salida home May 15. From left are Wamni Omni Little Thunder, Magaju Win Little Thunder, Donny Little Thunder, Ryan Fletter and Taylus Schley. (Photo by Cailey McDermott)
By High Mountain News
The first hemp house in Chaffee County is being built near the Monarch Spur Trail in Salida by High Desert Hemp Homes for Robin NeJame and Zack Zeiset.
HDHH co-owner Taylus Schley of Howard started the business with his brother Ryan Fletter after they built a hemp house for Schley in Howard in 2021. It was the fourth hemp house built in the country, and it features the tallest hempcrete wall in the country.
“We specialize in building in hempcrete, healthy, safe homes to live in. Using a product that is environmentally safe, that is both good for the planet and to build with,” Schley said.
The part of the hemp plant used in hempcrete is the inner woody core, chipped up like wood chips and then mixed with lime, water and volcanic ash, giving it stability and structure.
Schley said using hemp in home construction is not new – but just this year hemp was accepted into the international residential codes, making it a recognized building material.
By building with hempcrete, homes can be built with much less lumber and without exterior sheeting, Fletter said.
“With new energy codes, people will need to be using more and more spray foam, which is super toxic and off-gases for generations,” he said, adding that hemp homes do not require any spray foam or other types of insulation.
Another aspect that made all of this possible was passage of the Farm Bill in 2017, which legalized hemp.
Also, until three years ago, all hemp was sourced from Europe, which added quite an expense. For this project, all the hemp is coming from the San Luis Valley.
“Environmentally, here in Chaffee County, and with access to the San Luis Valley, we’re an ideal climate to be building with hempcrete and growing it,” NeJame said.
There are many reasons to use hemp, Schley explained. It has a great natural thermal mass; NeJame’s walls are a foot thick, which is an R30 – much higher than what building codes require. Hempcrete is also resistant to mold, mildew, fire, termites, rodents and insects, he added.
One of the most appealing characteristics of building with hemp, especially for NeJame and Zeiset, is the carbon sequestering element of the hemp plant.