STRUCTURAL BUILDING BLOCK DEVELOPMENT – Balzac, AB

After staying in contact Michael and following the development of Just BioFiber Structural Solutions through the summer, as well as meeting with a few architects to judge the interest in the product (it was really good!), I decided it was time to go out and meet the President, Terry Radford, and get a better understanding of what they are working on.

Terry was a fantastic host! He picked me up at the airport, drove me out to meet Mac and the team, showed me what was going on there, and got me back to airport for my flight in the evening. At this point, they are set up with a nice-sized garage workshop with drying room to make test blocks on the bench in preparation for lab testing and understanding future production processes. Their engineering is being done by Read Jones Christofferson Consulting Engineers and the structural figures for the block are looking very good. With a special shear sleeve that is designed to tie the blocks together, it is calculated that buildings may go as high as 800′ using these blocks. They are doing everything to make sure the buildings last for hundred of years, and the blocks can be used in all types of buildings. They passed their 1-hour fire test with flying colours, as the stuff really doesn’t burn (they showed me using a blow torch while holding a piece in their hand!) It is really an impressive development and will change the way we design and look at sustainable buildings in the very near future. They are hoping to have a plant designed and being set up in 2016 and be at full production in 2017. I’m looking forward to seeing their first demonstration buildings in 2016!

16 comments

Hello Delbert, what kind of blocks have you been making for 40 years? It would be great to discuss more. Do you want to send us an email with more information and questions, and we can discuss from there.

Are those building blocks available now? How easy is it to get building permits approved? What is the cost?

Hello Christine, thanks for your questions. They have been in development for a while and there are a few projects built, but it can be hard to get the blocks right now. I think this will be changing soon, but you will need to contact Just Bio Fiber directly to find out. They can advise on building permits for their blocks as well as give you pricing.

Dear Brua,
We apologize for the delay in our response. We understand that it is frustrating, but we had some website problems that took a while to resolve.
We don’t have the information ourselves for these blocks. The info can be found on their website, but the are not currently in production.
We hope this helps in any little way that it can.
Regards.

Hello Maris,
Thank you for your interest in hempcrete products.
Unfortunately, we don’t believe the blocks are available currently. Once they are available, we believe that permits should be possible for many areas, but it might depend on local officials and code bylaws.
As for cost, I don’t know that there are any specifics, but we believe the cost will be comparable or better than other high-performance wall systems.

Hello Selim,
Thank you for your inquiry on the Just BioFiber blocks.
We don’t have that information specifically, but we are pretty sure they have attained a 1-hour fire-rating and were looking at getting 2-hour certified. I don’t think that has happened yet.
Regards

Witam Mieszkam w Polsce i jestem zainteresowana budową domku mieszkalnego 150 metrów kwadratowych – czy bloczki można kupić w Polsce ? Pozdrawiam

Hello Ewa,
Thank you for your inquiry. These blocks are not yes for sale in Europe, but I believe the company is working on finding partnerships over there. We will keep you posted when something is up and running.
Cheers.
Witaj Ewa,
Dziękujemy za zapytanie. Te bloki nie są tak na sprzedaż w Europie, ale wierzę, że firma pracuje nad znalezieniem tam partnerstwa. Będziemy Cię informować, gdy coś będzie działać.
Dzięki.

Hola me llamo José, le escrbo desde Málaga-España tenemos un proyecto de camping, podría pasarme información y disponibilidad
Gracias

Hello Jose,
Thank you for your message and interest in hempcrete walls.
Can you explain more what you mean by a “camping project”? Also, what are you hoping to achieve. Maybe we can point you in the right direction.
Regards,
The Hempcrete Walls Team
Hola José,
Gracias por su mensaje e interés en las paredes de hempcrete.
¿Puedes explicar más a qué te refieres con un “proyecto de campamento”? Además, ¿qué esperas lograr? Tal vez podamos orientarte en la dirección correcta.
Saludos,
El equipo de paredes de Hempcrete

Hola de nuevo soy José, le escrbo desde Málaga-España tenemos un proyecto de campamento y utilizaríamos para los muros de las edificaciones comunes, tenéis disponibilidad en España.?

Hola José,
Gracias por tu comentario adicional. Le enviaremos un correo electrónico directamente para ayudarlo en todo lo que podamos.
Salud,
El equipo de HempcreteWalls

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