INSULATING CONCRETE FORM TECHNOLOGY (ICF)
What is ICF Technology?
ICFs are hollow blocks made of expanded polystyrene that construction crews stack as a component form system to create frost, foundation, and exterior walls for residential and light commercial construction. Workers then add reinforcing steel and fill the gap (typically 4 to 8 inches) in the foam block with ready-mixed concrete. After the concrete has hardened, the forms stay in place and provide a sandwich of insulation for the walls and backing for drywall (on the interior side of the ICF walls) and lap siding, brick, or other exterior finish systems (on the exterior side of the ICF walls).
Why Should Construction Professionals Care?
The perceived high value of ICF construction, and its documented energy efficiency, disaster resistance, indoor environmental friendliness, sound reduction properties, and tangible comfort characteristics, provide distinct, high-margin niche markets for savvy builders and contractors to serve.
Soaring energy prices, for example, have created a strong and growing segment of homebuyers and building owners interested in, and willing to spend more for, energy-efficient construction options. The thermal performance value of ICF structures can equal or surpass R-40 stud wall construction, providing real and significant energy savings.
The damage done in the southern half of Wisconsin (especially the Stoughton area) on August 18, 2005, when a record 26 confirmed tornado sightings were reported in the state, and the devastation in New Orleans and in Brett Favre’s boyhood Mississippi township, caused by Hurricane Katrina, have kindled a desire in many Wisconsinites for disaster-resistant buildings. ICF structures provide significant resistance to storms, fire, and wind-blown debris, and an expanding segment of homebuyers and building owners in Southeastern Wisconsin are now interested in, and willing to spend more for, disaster-resistant construction options. To see how one ICF home in Stoughton stood against the August 18th onslaught of storms and life-threatening winds, click here.
Similar high-margin market niches exist for homebuyers and building owners interested in structures providing:
- comfort characteristics and healthy indoor air quality
- protection from outside noise; and
- minimal harm to the environment.
These highly-desired, niche market characteristics are fundamental to every ICF project.
ECO-Block ICFs Form, Insulate, and Stud a Structural Wall In One Step
The Construction Supply Division of Schmitz Ready Mix carries the ECO-Block ICF System, the world’s most advanced ICF Technology. ECO-Block is easy to erect, eliminating several steps such as sheathing and insulating exterior walls, which are necessary with wood and most other framing technologies. Made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), ECO-Block ICFs stack and lock into place much like LEGO blocks and provide for all-weather construction, as the EPS insulates the concrete, allowing it to moist-cure as it hardens. After the concrete cures, plumbing and electrical installation can begin. The EPS foam is easy to cut and remove so electrical lines can be installed.
ECO-Block features a bracing system with unique alignment features to ensure a smooth wall finish. Basic construction tools are used to position and secure ECO-Block ICFs. High-density webs, integral to ECO-Block, provide furring strips for attaching standard wall-finishing products. The high-density plastic webs are recessed by 1/4”, providing a uniform exterior to which any stucco or EIFS material can be applied. Having such a uniform surface provides superior adhesion and crack resistance for these kinds of exterior finishes. Lap siding, brick, or other exterior finish systems can also be used on the exterior side of the walls. Radius and angled walls are constructed with ease, through the use of simple mitering techniques.
ECO-Block ICFs are Ideal for …
Safe Rooms; Apartments and Condos; Assisted Living Centers and Senior Housing; Health Care Facilities; Restaurants and Food Service Facilities; Low-Rise Hospitality Applications; Light Manufacturing; Military Housing and Offices; Low-Rise Municipal; and Low-Rise Office Buildings.
The energy efficiency and sound protection benefits of ECO-Block ICFs are also spurring market demand in high rise applications (exterior wall infill) and in tall wall applications, including theaters, schools, churches, and warehouses.
How Can You Learn More?
Contact Schmitz Ready Mix’s Construction Division Manager Todd Schulz: TSchulz@schmitzmix.com • 414.831.2437.
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