What are ICF’s (Insulated Concrete Forms)?
Recently, I have had the good fortune of working with Design Concrete Builders, out of Harrisonburg, Virginia in helping them to sell a pretty amazing house that they have built. On top of being beautiful, spacious, quality built, and warm and homey, this house was built with a green advantage utilizing many green features and technologies, but the one that I want to talk about today is: ICF’s, or Insulated Concrete Forms. These large, hollow blocks are stacked right off of the truck and 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. These walls leave you with a R 50 Insulation rating and may lower your heating and cooling bills significantly. One source, ICFhomes.com says, ” Homes built with ICF exterior walls require an estimated 44% less energy to heat and 32% less energy to cool than comparable frame house
