This insulating concrete form (ICF) is the first ASTM E2634 Standard certified form.
The luxurious four-story, 8800-square-foot house billed as the 2009 New American Home featured an ICF system and used 1000 cu. yds. of concrete.
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The Portland Cement Association (PCA), Skokie, Ill., recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Lake County, Ill., to help construct an insulating concrete form (ICF) home, one of two homes built side-by-side on 11th Street in Waukegan, Ill. More than 40 PCA staff members participated in...
Building a home that makes as much energy as it consumes requires extreme attention to detail and a willingness to do everything possible to minimize the building's power requirements for heating, cooling, hot water, and lighting. But some things just make more sense than others.
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Some people get so excited at the prospect of building homes out of concrete that they don't realize that there are several different ways to do it. These require different contractors and have different advantages and costs. To be rational, what the proj
Two single-family homes recently built in Yellowstone National Park achieved LEED certification partly by using insulating concrete forms (ICFs).
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Tom and Pam Moore thought their house in the hills of north Poway was reasonably protected from wildfires. It had concrete siding, a tile roof, covered eaves, a healthy defensible space around it and a fire hose.
More than 100 traditional stick builders took a detour from an enticing trade show floor to gather in the far corners of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2009 International Builders' Show (IBS).
There is nothing else like it in Las Vegas, but if Tyler Johns, president of Blue Heron Builders, Las Vegas, has his way, this house will be the first of many concrete homes that blur the line between indoor and outdoor living.
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In recent years, insulating concrete forms (ICFs) have been recognized as an energy efficient building product for both residential and commercial applications.
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For the sixth year in a row, New American Home is a concrete home.
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Homebuilders increasingly are turning to concrete wall systems, according to recent market research conducted by the Portland Cement Association (PCA).
For the sixth straight year “The New American Home”—the official home of the International Builders Show (IBS) owned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)—is a concrete home.
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The 2008 Concrete Technologies Tour, coordinated by the Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), highlighted the various uses of concrete for residential applications.
Contractors who build development or “tract” homes are concerned about the productivity that results from installing the same design and repeating the same procedures over and over again.
Building homes with abovegrade concrete walls is one of the fastest-growing methods of residential construction in the United States. Barely on the radar in the early 1990s, concrete homes now command an estimated 15% of the abovegrade single-family residential market as of 2006. Some of the...
Custom-built homes are commonly gracing glossy magazine covers. That's because people in the U.S. have been in love with the idea of owning a large elegant home. For architects and designers, there is more opportunity to present interesting ideas and work with unusual concepts. But with the decline...
When brick veneer is used as an exterior finish for an insulating concrete form (ICF) home, a cavity wall is recommended to manage moisture penetration.
While the use of plastics was spreading in the 1950s and 1960s, it is no surprise that someone came up with the idea of using rigid foam to both form concrete walls and then provide insulation, with the added bonus of not having to strip and clean the forms.
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The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005 H.R.6) created tax incentives for energy-efficiency measures in buildings or systems placed in service from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2008.