Unafraid to follow his dreams, Michael Ryan Leinweber is currently focused on helping others realize their dream of having a healthy, energy efficient home.
Over the past couple of years, when not doing construction work, the Eagle Bay resident has been working to spread the word about hempcrete insulation, a mash of natural lime (calcium oxide) and hemp hurds that, when cured, can be formed into blocks used in place of fibreglass and mineral wool.
Leinweber works with the product through his business, , with the motto "Dream it, Build it, Live it."
"I got into it about 2-3 years ago," said Leinweber of his current venture. "I香蕉视频直播檝e been doing general construction since I was 14 and I got tired of hanging drywall and learning about all of these toxic materials that we make our houses out of."
Searching for natural building materials, Leinweber kept coming back to hempcrete, impressed by its many attributes including resistance to fire, mould, pests and rot.
Fire resistance is of particular importance to Leinweber, who took his first hempcrete course just prior to the devastating Bush Creek East wildfire rolled through North Shuswap and Adams Lake Band communities.
"I was out there to do my thing, I learned what I learned, all these wonderful things about hempcrete, and then I came home and everything burned," said Leinweber. "And here I was sitting on this product that I realized is a solution and remedy to living in a forest fire zone. I香蕉视频直播檝e spent the couple year trying to figure out how to get the word out there without being too much of a disaster capitalist. It香蕉视频直播檚 not about taking advantage of the issue, it香蕉视频直播檚 being ahead of the issue before it becomes a problem."
In addition to hempcrete's fire resistance (evidenced in numerous blowtorch test videos shared online), Leinweber said the product is exceptional for insulation. He likened a home insulated with hempcrete to a log home, where once heated, the walls hold and radiate heat.
"It works in thermal mass香蕉视频直播� once you get that mass warm, it stays warm," said Leinweber. "Because now your entire wall system is warm when your furnace turns off, rather than your house immediately starting to cool down because the only thing you香蕉视频直播檝e been heating is air. The wall starts to relay that energy back into the living space香蕉视频直播�"
When it's cold out, Leinweber said a hempcrete insulated wall creates a balance between the cold air outside and the warm mass inside, "and it actually uses that wall mass to balance the heat and humidity inside the building, so it香蕉视频直播檚 warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
"I like to say it香蕉视频直播檚 like living in a cave above ground that you build yourself."
Leinweber and Gnome Homes works with Hempcrete in two ways. One involves use of pre-cast DaVita Blocks, made to order in Westlock, Alta. The other is a cast-in-place method "where we form against the walls of the house that香蕉视频直播檚 sitting there."
"We 'pour' the entire mash in the whole house all at once," said Leinweber. "The only thing with that is once you香蕉视频直播檝e poured it, you need six to eight weeks for that material to cure before you can finish.
"The blocks that are on my website and the idea of a pre-cast product is we create these blocks and let them cure香蕉视频直播� then we bring them to the site and install them. The advantage there is that once they're installed we can plaster and finish them the next day."
While not yet in Canada's National Building Code, Leinweber expects that will change in the next few years.
"In the meantime, it香蕉视频直播檚 become prevalent enough, especially in central B.C., that the building code building inspectors, they香蕉视频直播檝e learned about what it is and how it behaves, and it香蕉视频直播檚 getting to the point where you香蕉视频直播檝e got to tell them that you香蕉视频直播檝e used hempcrete as my installation, and they香蕉视频直播檝e got a couple of stipulations of the engineering of the building along the way香蕉视频直播�. It香蕉视频直播檚 totally permissible, it just takes a few extra steps at this point."
Born in Calgary, Leinweber started working in construction while still in school, but upon graduation made his way to Kelowna for arts and technology training to follow his childhood dream of working in film.
"At that time they were making all those Hallmark Christmas movies in Kelowna so I popped into a few of those and got scooped up by the special effects team on one of them," said Leinweber, who would wind up in Vancouver doing special effects on various projects including the 2019 Casey Affleck film Light of My Life and the series Snowpiercer and The Flash.
Leinweber's work in film lasted about 10 years until the industry was shut down by the COVID pandemic.
"I was kind of disenchanted by the film industry by that time too, because it gets to a point where it香蕉视频直播檚 chaos," said Leinweber. As cool and as fun and as interesting as it is, it香蕉视频直播檚 15 hour days for eight months a year, thankless work and crazy people.
"It was definitely one of those follow-your-dreams-and-get-it-done kind of moments that really was part of my experience," said Leinweber.
Returning to construction, and hanging drywall, Leinweber came to the conclusion that if this was to be his next career, "I'm going to do it my way." His way involves helping people do it their way.
"I love to help people build their dream home however they want it done," said Leinweber.
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