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WITTENBERG, Wis. (WJFW) – Drywall is a common material used in home construction, but what about hemp? Sativa Building Systems, a business in Wittenberg, is pioneering the use of hemp-based building materials. Owner Zachary Popp has been working for years to develop safe and sustainable construction materials, and now his company is producing them.
“Our flagship product is the Z-Panel. It’s a hemp-based block panel used to construct exterior walls of buildings. It’s a very unique product made from a material that many know as hempcrete,” said Popp.
The process of making hempcrete begins with raw hemp hurd, a material similar to wood chips but derived from the stems of hemp plants. Popp explained that hemp hurd was traditionally discarded until its potential was discovered.
“Sometimes it was used for animal bedding or compost, but then they found out you can mix it with a binder. We use a lime-based binder, and what you get is something like lightweight insulated concrete—but not exactly. I don’t like comparing it to concrete,” said Popp.
Although the name “hempcrete” might suggest a concrete alternative, Popp clarified that it serves a different purpose.
“It’s not so much a concrete alternative. It’s meant for above-grade exterior wall construction, replacing insulation, sheetrock, and sometimes even vapor barriers,” said Popp.
To ensure the hempcrete products meet building code standards, Popp conducted an International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) report to verify its safety.
“We are the first hempcrete company in the U.S. to do that. It helped us understand the performance characteristics of our material. The big thing is that we can show, in a lab setting, that this is a fire-safe material. We have a Class A fire rating,” said Popp.
”}]] WITTENBERG, Wis. (WJFW) – Drywall is a common material used in home construction, but what about hemp? Sativa Building Systems, a business in Wittenberg, is pioneering the use of hemp-based Read More
