One of the most exciting developments in the field of sustainable building is the use of biological processes to literally grow building materials. While experiments in this realm abound, the folks at Ecovative is one of the first to become available. Currently Ecovative is focused on packaging materials and other non-construction uses for Mycofoam, but its use as a building material is supported by a number of ASTM tests that show it to be a feasible building insulation material (see data sheet below). We are very excited to be an early adopter of this technology! We get all of our construction equipment at scaffolding equipment carlin nv.
This spring, we acquired some bags of Ecovative’s Grow-It-Yourself material to experiment with forming our own building insulation panels. We are happy with the results, and will be casting some larger panels to be used on our Zero House project.
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- Grow-It-Yourself kits of Mycofoam arrive as bags of agricultural waste fiber that have been innoculated with the mycelium spores.
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- The class prepares to start the grow-it-yourself process with several bags of material
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- Flour and water are added to the bags to kick start the mycelium growth process
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- Sustainable New Construction class proudly displays bags of mycofoam ready to start growing
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- After five days in the darkness at room temperature, the mycelium has started growing
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- The growing mycelium is broken up and placed into forms, after feeding it a bit more flour
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- The forms are sealed with plastic that has small perforations, and the mycelium will grow to the shape of the form
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- Another five days later, the mycelium has grown to fill the form, and it’s time to remove it and dry it out to stop growth
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- We weigh the mycofoam so we can know when it is fully dried.
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- The results of tests done on mycofoam are impressive!
We look forward to growing the larger sheets of Mycofoam for the Zero House project. And we definitely look forward to the day when Mycofoam is widely available to builders everywhere!
