Insulated Concrete Form Homes (ICF)
Insulated Concrete Forms (or ICFs) are forms or
molds that have built-in insulation for
accepting reinforced concrete. ICFs have become
a preferred home building product worldwide.
These large, hollow blocks are filled with
reinforcing bar and concrete. The end result
leaves you with a high-performing wall that is
structurally sound, insulated, strapped, has a
vapor barrier and is ready to accept final
exterior and interior finishes. An Insulated
Concrete Form (ICF) Home can be multiple stories
high and have many design features of a typical
frame home. The ICF walls incorporate framing,
insulation, vapor barrier and shear resistance
into one step.
Insulating concrete forms result in cast-in-place
concrete walls that are sandwiched between two
layers of insulation material. These systems are
strong and energy efficient. Common applications for
this method of construction are low-rise buildings,
with property uses ranging from residential to
commercial to industrial. Traditional finishes are
applied to interior and exterior faces, so the
buildings look similar to typical construction,
although the walls are usually thicker.
Insulating concrete forms (ICFs) are
stay-in-place formwork for energy-efficient,
cast-in-place reinforced-concrete walls. The
forms are interlocking units that are
dry-stacked (without mortar) and are filled with
concrete. The forms lock together somewhat like
Lego bricks and serve to create a foam for the
structural walls of a building Concrete is
pumped into the cavity to form the structural
element of the walls usually, reinforcing steel
(rebar) is added before concrete placement to
give the resulting walls flexural strength,
similar to bridges and high-rise buildings made
of concrete!
ICF provide design professionals,
architects, home owners and contractors a more
efficient way to build Insulated Concrete Form
structures. Building with Insulated Concrete
Forms | ICF's allows concrete homes and
commercial buildings to be built stronger, more
energy efficient, more comfortable and
environmentally friendly. Building has Evolved
with Insulated Concrete Forms.
Insulated Concrete Forms provide
greater energy solutions for any structure
providing Performance Values up to R-50,
resulting in energy savings of up to 70% when
compared to traditional wood building methods.
The superior Performance Value of
Insulated Concrete Forms come
from the stable thermal mass that the concrete
provides.
ICF homes offer many benefits to the homeowner
including:
ICF homes
typically save upwards of 50% of utility costs
when complementary materials and methods are
incorporated into the structure during
construction.
ICF homes
provide quiet indoor environments.
ICF homes are
durable in that the structure is solid concrete,
unaffected by many of the problems of common
frame construction.
The insulation
value of the EPS foam never deteriorates and is
unaffected by moisture or settling.
The solid wall
construction eliminates drafts and air leaks
that attribute to dust and pollen buildup within
the home.
ICF homes that
incorporate proper heating and cooling systems
offer clean air environments for the occupants.
ICF homes don’t
incorporate cavity wall construction that can be
conducive to moisture and mold buildup.
ICF homes don’t
offer a “readymade” home for bugs and critters
to live unlike wood frame walls.
ICF Homeowners
repeatedly exclaim “We’ll never go back to wood
after living in our ICF home”
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