Hempcrete offers sustainable solutions when you’re looking for building options with excellent insulation and low environmental impact. As more people flock to construction materials, prioritizing aesthetics and eco-friendliness, hempcrete seems poised for a breakthrough in the building world. There is, however, one crucial question. Can you paint hempcrete?
The answer is yes but with a caveat. The breathable nature of hempcrete requires a breathable paint like Real Milk Paint that lets moisture pass through rather than become trapped in the material.
Understanding Hempcrete: Composition, Benefits, and Uses
Made from a combination of woody hemp plant fibers, lime and water, hempcrete marries sustainability with function for a thoroughly modern building material. The strong, flexible blocks it creates work well for everything from interior walls to exterior facades, imbuing exceptional insulating properties for heat and sound. Hemp helps with carbon capture projects for added eco-friendly credentials, and it’s often created with pulp from hemp grown for industrial purposes, thereby lessening waste.
Beyond those benefits, cured hempcrete naturally regulates humidity and mitigates moisture problems for a more comfortable living and work environment. It resists mold and pests for a safer setting free from the need for chemical treatments or pesticides. Its versatility makes hempcrete suitable for most climates, though proper curing is required in colder climates, and waterproofing measures may be necessary in areas with lots of rainfall.
The Painting Process
You can add color to hempcrete walls in several ways, including by adding pigment powder to a lime render or plaster for coating the material. Alternatively, wait for the lime render or plaster to cure on exterior or interior walls and then coat the area with Real Milk Paint. This guide walks you through the painting process when you want a beautiful, all-natural finish that complements the eco-friendliness of the hempcrete walls themselves.
Prepare Hempcrete for Painting
After your lime render or plaster has cured completely, look for any cracks and fill them before you start the painting process. Once you have a smooth working surface, prepare the hempcrete wall for coverage by cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner. Use a soft brush attachment that easily sucks away any loose dust or debris, so you have a clear canvas for the painted final result.
Select the Right Paint for Hempcrete: Real Milk Paint
Some paints work better than others for painting hempcrete, and that’s because the building material requires two things for quality adhesion and performance: a lime-based paint and paint that’s vapor permeable. Real Milk Paint has you covered in both regards in addition to being a completely natural paint. In tune with the sustainable nature of the building material itself, Real Milk Paint colors come in a ready-to-mix powdered formula, so you can customize the amount you make for each painting session to decrease waste.
Best Practices for Applying Paint on Hempcrete
The factors that make hempcrete such a sustainable building material are also why you must add extra coats when you paint it. The porous nature of hempcrete makes it an excellent material for insulating interior walls, but it also soaks up paint. Therefore, mix up enough Real Milk Paint for at least three coats to get the depth of color you want on your painted surfaces or walls.
Remember that you don’t need to prime hempcrete before covering it with Real Milk Paint due to the unique formulation. Also, the mixable powder format lets you experiment with different consistencies to get the best possible look for your space. Our all-natural paint mixes typically at a 1:1 ratio with water. Still, you may prefer a thicker consistency when working with a roller to get color into every crevice of a textured hempcrete wall or a thinner consistency when working with smoother surfaces. We also recommend using a sprayer to paint your walls to ensure an even color across the surface.
Considerations and Challenges
Now that you know you can paint hempcrete, you must understand this material’s considerations and challenges before starting your project. For instance, climate affects whether hempcrete is a durable option for your home. Though the material is more eco-friendly than standard concrete, it may have issues with moisture retention. Additionally, the newness of the technology may mean you have to perform repairs yourself and dig up information from other DIY hempcrete enthusiasts on the internet to get the answers you need.
Moisture Considerations
Though the ability of hempcrete to retain water makes it a great way to regulate humidity in living spaces, it may also create problems with moisture. Hempcrete is a porous material, so it also has the potential to retain too much water without the proper sealant. For this reason, consider drainage in your building space to keep hempcrete walls out of standing water and angle roofs so they shed rainwater away from areas with hempcrete construction.
Durability and Maintenance
Though hempcrete is solid and durable, you can’t use it to create a load-bearing wall, so you need other supplies to provide that critical support during the building process. Likewise, harsh conditions such as exposure to constant UV rays or freezing temperatures can affect durability levels. These factors also mean you should check hempcrete surfaces regularly for cracks and fill them in when you find them.
Color and Aesthetic Choices
Building with hempcrete and painting with Real Milk Paint gives you various options. Whether you want neutral color schemes for living rooms, vibrant hempcrete walls in bedrooms or rich hues to accent external features, Real Milk Paint has options that match your tastes. You can even mix Real Milk Paint powder colors together when you want to create all your own colors.
Paint Hempcrete Walls With Real Milk Paint
Besides enabling easy color customization, Real Milk Paint complements hempcrete with its all-natural, sustainable formulation. Safe for food contact and homes with kids and pets, our nontoxic paints help you craft a beautiful home that reflects your sense of style and environmental responsibility. Browse our selection today to find paints and finishes for your next hempcrete project.
