Building with Concrete Home

May 19, 2000

The ICF train is coming ... are you on board?
Contractors: costs are worth it for ICF technology

By ROBERT BERMAN
Northwest Quality Construction Alliance

Way back in 1775, James Watt powered the Industrial Revolution with his patent for the steam engine. This idea took existing technology, improved on it, and the result changed an industry.

Rarely in life do we have the opportunity to witness, much less participate in a true market shift, a major change in an industry.

Around 1930, a new concept was introduced to the building industry. A product that would become known as drywall, or sheetrock. The people that constructed walls at that time had never heard of it before. They said, "Walls are made with lathe and plaster, what are we supposed to do with this stuff?"

Needless to say, once this revolutionary product was able to be manufactured, distributed and marketed, it did nothing short of change an industry.

Architects and builders can use ICF for a variety of designs and finishes, such as vinyl or wood siding, stucco and brick.

There is a new technology on the forefront of building today. It is a massively superior alternative method to traditional "stick frame" construction. It is called ICF, or insulating concrete forms, and it will be the way houses and light commercial structures are built in the future.

When I first became aware of this "ICF thing" about five months ago, it immediately caught my attention. I did some research. Then some more research. Then put a team of people in my office on the research. After a couple of months I called everyone together and asked one question. "What’s the catch?" The interesting thing is, no one had an answer, including me!

Check out some of our data:

• Structures built out of concrete using ICF Technology are incredibly energy efficient. A study by Dr. Peter VanderWerf at Boston University found that homes built with ICF technology realized an energy reduction of 32 percent for cooling, and an astounding 44 percent for heating. The walls in these homes reach up to an R-50 insulation value, vs. the standard R-19 value in today’s wood homes. These are on-going cost savings for the end consumer for the life of the home.

• Concrete is also "pest resistant." In the words of Scott Erickson, president of Quality Concrete Store.com, a Formtech dealer in Salem, Ore.; "Termites can’t eat concrete!" Not only do ICF’s scare off the bugs and rodents, but dry rot is not a worry for builders and owners of concrete homes. Caused by fungi, dry rot is actually a disease common to timber. It does not affect concrete.

• Concrete builds quieter homes. As undeveloped land continues to become more scarce and structures move closer and closer to each other, as well as to noisy freeways, a "quiet" home is becoming a huge, value added selling feature.

"You truly have to go in to one of these homes to feel the difference," said Glen Warren, ICF Technical director for industry leading Aphis Concrete in Camas. Sound transmission is reduced in floors and exterior walls by more than 65 percent. This means noise from barking dogs, early morning lawn mowers, ambulances, severe weather and even airplanes are reduced. And, concrete means no more squeaky floors.

The benefit list keeps going.

"Even right here in the Northwest you can save 20 percent or more on your homeowners insurance for a concrete home built with ICF technology," said John Schukart, an underwriter for State Farm Insurance. "This is based on homes that use non-wood siding."

ICF technology is incredibly flexible and versatile. Architects and builders can design in any style, and ICFs will accept any traditional exterior finish including vinyl or wood siding, stucco and brick. Because custom angles and curves are easily created, it’s simple to build in bows, bays and radiuses. ICF systems will accommodate any of today’s most popular design features, such as tall walls, large openings, long floor spans and cathedral ceilings.

Although it looks new and different, anyone with construction experience can quickly get up to speed with ICFs. An ideal crew has a mix of concrete placement and carpentry experience. Once the crew has some practice, each ICF-built home requires less skilled labor and less total labor than a wood-framed home.

ICFs are also lightweight, and present no problem for the sub-contractors who come after the walls are poured. Since holes, chases and rectangles are easily cut into ICFs with a knife or saw, installation of mechanical systems is a snap. The fastening of drywall and lap siding is just as fast and easy. And mid-course corrections, such as moving an opening, are no big deal: just saw it out and re-form. It isn’t more difficult to make changes to an ICF wall - it’s just different.

ICFs are basically Mother Nature proof. In the event of an earthquake, ICF structures are zone 4 seismic rated. To put that in perspective, even the neighborhoods of the Northwest that are on active fault lines are only considered to be seismic zone 3 areas. Mother Nature friendly is another big plus. The research center for the National Home Builders Association (NAHB), combined with market research from the Portland Cement Association (PCA) determined that on an average 2,000-square-foot home, 47 trees are saved.

So what are the current obstacles? To answer this, we interviewed a builder, an architect and an engineer.

"The only down side I see is resistance," said Tom McKone, a builder and owner of Corner Stone Construction in Camas. "I believe the resistance is simply because it is a different process. When architects, engineers, builders, framers and end consumers become more educated about this technology, it will be much easier to grow the market, and reduce costs."

Regarding cost, McKone said ICF was more expensive on his first few jobs. However, once he became more comfortable working with it and had an experienced crew, the costs fell right in line.

"These homes will have a longer life, will be lower maintenance and will have higher re-sale value," he said.

Our architect interviewed was Terry Watson from Seattle. Cost is his largest concern with ICFs.

The initial cost appears to be currently about 4 percent higher than traditional wood-framed structures. Once direct and ongoing impact of cost savings on energy, insurance, maintenance, etc. are calculated, the value is strong.

"From an architect’s point of view, I see some design things that I like," Watson said. "Adapting from the current wood frame is not a problem, but it does need to be addressed. The quality of building method and structure is very high. It will be a valuable tool, and it looks good to me. I’d probably build my own house this way."

Over the last 10 years, concrete prices have been remarkably stable. Recent price increases in other materials, especially wood, have generated unprecedented interest in concrete building systems.

The engineer we spoke with was Tim Garrison of Skagit Surveyors and Engineers. Although Tim has been aware of the ICF technology since about 1990, his real baptism was in 1995 when he was summons as an expert witness to testify in a case where an ICF wall system failed.

"I found the wall itself was very impressive. It was a clear case of a poor installation job by the contractor," Garrison said. "I’ve been doing structural design for over 15 years. I am the type of person who has embraced, not feared, new technology. I think this product takes the best of everything I’ve seen and puts it all together in one package."

Garrison added that ICFs are extremely tough and durable when it comes to resisting all kinds of loads. If there is a drawback, he said, it’s that a contractor needs to understand ICFs are a different medium. It requires training, but that training is available.

The Northwest Quality Construction Alliance, for example, is a new group that aims to promote the use of ICF technology in home building, and light commercial applications right here in the Northwest. NWQCA is currently creating a web site that will facilitate training for builders, contractors, sub contractors, and the end consumer. Other information about ICF technology is available at www.concretehomes.com, www.forms.com, www.icfweb.com.

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Robert Berman is founder of the Northwest Quality Construction Alliance.

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