Sticks or Stones? Should Your Home Be Built of Concrete?

The use of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) is one of the fastest growing sectors of the construction industry. ICFs are a lightweight and efficient forming system used to build solid concrete walls. After filling the forms with concrete, they are left in place providing a continuous insulation and sound barrier as well as backing for drywall on the inside and stucco, siding, masonry, or stone on the outside.

Home built with Insulating Concrete Forms in Pleasant View, Utah. The Utah Chapter of the American Concrete Institute recognized this home with an '2002 Excellence in Concrete' award.

When you consider the features that make a house a home, you¹ll discover that ICF construction is the best construction system available to build a SAFE, DURABLE, QUIET, COMFORTABLE, and EFFICIENT home.

Eco-Block Insulating Concrete Form home under construction in Bountiful, Utah (2003)

•SAFE -- homes built with ICFs have solid, cast-in-place, monolithic concrete walls. The concrete advantages utilized for years in the commercial construction industry are now available to homebuyers. Concrete homes have a proven track record of withstanding hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires when wood framed houses are left in ruins.
•DURABLE -- a home is the biggest investment most people ever make. Concrete is the most durable and widely used building material on earth because of its flexibility and durability. ICF homes are resistant to insect damage and mold because the system lacks organic compounds that promote insect and mold growth. Building your home¹s walls with ICFs and concrete are the best way to build a durable, lasting home.
•QUIET -- a properly designed and built home can be a sanctuary and haven. Compared to a typical wood frame wall, only about one-quarter to one-eighth as much sound passes through an ICF wall. Barking dogs, construction equipment, and garbage trucks will most likely not even be heard inside an ICF home.
•COMFORTABLE -- ICF homes are comfortable because drafts and temperature fluctuations are minimized. The ICF system provides a complete envelope of insulation both inside and out reducing ai rinfiltration and drafts. ICF walls provide significant thermal mass reducing daily temperature swings.
•EFFICIENT -- ICF homes are efficient and promote energy conservation. The integral insulation system coupled with high thermal mass reduce heating and cooling loads. Heating and cooling costs are reduced as much as 50% in ICF homes. ICF job sites are also cleaner and construction waste is minimized. ICF construction is also an environmentally sound method of construction. An average ICF home saves about fifty trees.

Ask your builder for ICF construction and you can build with the strength of concrete instead of building with "sticks." For more information about ICF construction, please visit www.concretehomes.com, www.eco-block.com, or Jack B. Parson Companies at (801)514-7881, www.jbparson.com. You can also see an example of ICF construction featuring Eco-Block at the Staker Parson Eco-House at the International Design Center in Sandy.


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