What Is ICF Construction and How Does It Benefit Me?
Introduction The construction industry is always coming up with new innovations and concepts that are designed to produce a better end product. Whether it is in the area of building materials and supplies, concepts or procedures, if it can improve the home building process in some way, they’ll try it sooner or later. One such innovation is called ICF construction, which translates to ‘insulated concrete forms’. This product provides benefits in a handful of important home construction areas.
What Are Insulated Concrete Forms? Insulated concrete forms are panels made from foam that are used in the walls and foundation of a building. The panels snap together in the correct spot and then rebar is added for strength and stability. Once the rebar is where it should be, concrete is poured into the forms. Naturally, the concrete will dry and provide even more strength to the structure. Anytime you hear the term ICF construction this is the general process that has taken place.
‘Green’ Elements Any homeowner or contractor loves to have the ‘green’ label attached to their home or the work they have done. When using concrete form as part of the building process, everyone involved in the project will boost their green image. One of the main issues with walls and foundations is either warm or cool air going where you don’t want it to go. When this happens, furnaces or air conditioners run longer and the structure is no longer quite as eco-friendly. Concrete forms act as insulation and an air and vapor barrier, which means that wandering air will no longer be such a problem.
‘Green’ Elements When you add high efficiency appliances to the concrete form building method, the result is energy savings that are passed down to the homeowner by way of lower heating and cooling bills. Industry estimates peg the numbers at close to 45% less energy for heating and just over 30% less for cooling with a concrete form-built house. One of the remarkable features about these walls is the ability to balance out the internal temperature by adding some warm or cool air back to the inside of the home, depending on what is needed at the time. This will also enable you to use your heating and cooling appliances less to save more.
Noise Reduction Most homeowners aren’t fond of excess noise coming through their walls, and this is another benefit of using concrete forms. They aren’t going to make your home totally soundproof, but they will muffle any exterior noises quite a bit.
Noise Reduction If you have small kids who are often disturbed by external noise when trying to sleep, or if there are any night workers in the house that need to sleep in the day time, the noise reduction quality of the walls will help. The panels will also help the noise stay inside the house that you don’t want to escape. This is good for when those little ones become bigger ones and want to play loud music.
Increased Strength Not many homeowners or contractors would be too interested in a home that was green and soundproof if it was also weak and fragile. Strength is a must for any new construction, and the concrete form method certainly fits the bill in that regard.
Increased Strength Most homeowners would like the option to leave the walls right where they are for years into the future, if that’s what they want to do. If they aren’t solid and stable, bad weather and general wear and tear will make this impossible. Using insulated concrete forms will help protect against severe weather in areas where severe weather is common, and will help with the general issues of keeping wind and water outside, where it belongs. Basically, wherever you live you can use this building method without having to worry about strength being an issue once the structure is up and running.
Construction Efficiency One more big benefit for both the homeowner and the contractor is the time that’s saved from using concrete form over the standard construction methods. Several construction steps are completed in one motion, which is obviously going to add to the efficiency factor of the project. The foam panels are removed from the truck, stacked up, filled and set in place in a way that saves time, but won’t take anything away from the quality of the finished product. This speed enables contractors and construction companies to complete more projects and save on labor, and it may even enable the homeowner to save some money, too.
Advice Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) technology is a green and sustainable building system that is growing in the market. With over 105,000 projects, ARXX Corporation has pioneered much of the ICF industry. Visit http://www.arxx.com/ for a solution to your building needs.