Sustainable living was at the fore in tonight’s episode of Grand Designs: The Street. And, in a bid to build an eco-friendly family home, one couple, Paul and Blanka Troop, decided to build their new pad’s walls out of hemp and lime. While environmental concerns were a priority, the couple also hoped to carry out the creation for just £60,000. But, the Bicester build proved slow during the initial stages, with human rights lawyer Paul, who had put his job on the back burner in order to carry out the project, having to push the hemp mixture into the walls by hand.
Green thinking runs deeply through this build
Kevin McCloud
In the end, Paul ended up inviting his fellow neighbours on the street to the site, in order to hold a “hempcrete party”, presenter Kevin McCloud explained.
The pair bought the plot of land for just £100,000.
Unfortunately, Paul and Blanka ended up shelling out far more than they expected, spending far more than the £60,000 budget they had hoped to stick to.
And, with their rental costs putting a constraint on the budget, Paul decided to camp out in the unfinished home - while Blanka and their children ended up having a four-month stay at his father’s house.
Elsewhere in the episode, viewers got to see the installation of a cork floor into the home.
“Green thinking runs deeply through this
