NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames
June 30th, 2009 | Product Announcement
Reward Wall Systems designed and created NoricF4™ Custom Metal ICF Frames for doors and windows, to further enhance the building envelope required by commercial Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) construction. For your customized quote call Reward today, 1-800-468-6344
NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames
The NoricF4 is a pre-assembled, 14 gauge steel, 2-in-1 custom metal frame that combines the buck and the frame in one system, which eliminates waste, speeds door or window installation time, and is customized to fit any specification.
The NoricF4 comes with many exclusive features:
- Is pre-assembled & welded to specifications from the building plans
- Includes drywall returns
- Has an integrated continuous concrete anchor
- NoricF4 for doors includes a press in place weather-stripping.
- Comes fully prepped for door hardware
- NoricF4 for windows can be fabricated with mullions and integral glazing stops
NoricF4 for Doors
The NoricF4 door is custom designed and can be ordered to fit any door and hardware manufacturer or type or size. The NoricF4 is fabricated with the strike plate and hinge preps already in place at any location according to the project’s specifications. The standard NoricF4 will include a press in place door weather strip seal. The door seal is easily and quickly installed by hand with no tools. It provides superior weather stripping and can be easily replaced. It can also be made without the seal.
NoricF4 for Windows
The NoricF4 window is custom designed to any window opening size. The standard NoricF4 will consist of cased window head and jambs. The NoricF4 sill will have an integrated opening for concrete placement and consolidation. A sill filler plate is available that caps the sill opening after concrete placement.
The NoricF4 can reduce construction time by:
1. Eliminating the buck assembly
2. Eliminating squaring and stripping
3. Reducing bracing and support
4. Being ready to receive windows/doors of ANY manufacturer or size
5. Eliminating trade steps
The NoricF4 is designed and made to fit snugly around the EPS foam thickness of any insulated concrete form on the market.
(Pictures from left to right, top to bottom: Drywall Return, Side profile of Continuous Concrete Anchor, Prepped Door Hardware-Hinge, Prepped Door Hardware-Strike Plate Position, Press-in Place Weather Stripping, sFrame for Windows)
Options for Customization of the NoricF4
Door:
- ICF form size
- ICF EPS foam thickness
- Single or double rabbet
- Fully prepped for any door and door hardware type and locations
- Standard interior side return without the gypsum drywall return
- Brick mold return on exterior side or any other return style or dimension
- Side lights or transom windows incorporated into door frame
- Other gypsum drywall thickness return
- Gypsum drywall return on both sides
Window:
- ICF form size
- ICF EPS foam thickness
- Standard interior side return without the gypsum drywall return
- Brick mold return on exterior side or any other return style or dimension
- Other gypsum drywall thickness return
- Gypsum drywall return on both sides
- Window frame fabricated with mullions and integral glazing stops for ready-to-set window glass
- Cased window opening ready to receive window frame
We are proud to be the first and only ICF company to offer such a custom metal ICF frame with this extensive of a feature list. This item will give the entire ICF industry a product that can make it easier and more cost effective to build commercial projects, while providing a durable and customized frame profile.
The New Standard of Sustainability. Tell the World.
The Truth on Energy Efficiency and R-Value
June 26th, 2009 | Lets Get Technical!
Energy Efficiency is more than R-value. Superior walls are more than R-value. When people reference R-value in deciding on what types of building materials to use, ultimately what everyone is interested in is energy efficiency, and what impact certain materials will have on R-value.
Energy efficiency is determined by several factors such as the walls, windows and doors, roof or ceiling, mechanical systems; and internal loads such as lighting, appliance use, and number of people.
The first place to start when improving energy efficiency is the building envelope. The building envelope consists of the foundation, the walls, the doors and windows, and the roof. It’s difficult to have an efficiently conditioned building without controlling the enclosure. The overall performance of a well designed and energy efficient mechanical system is reduced, if the envelope is not efficient, thus costing you money.
WHY are insulating concrete form walls inherently energy efficient?
What is great about ICF walls is that they perform well in respect to the “Chosen Three” of energy efficiency- conduction, convection, and radiation. How so you may be asking?
Your Home Loses and Gains Heat in 3 ways:
-Conduction- def. The transfer of heat through two objects due to a temperature difference.
ICF walls have a consistent R-value that reduces thermal transfer through the wall assembly.
-Convection- def. the transfer of heat through circulation of heated part.
ICF’s are virtually airtight which reduces the “circulation” of heated air from one side to the other, which give a structure a consistent indoor climate
-Radiation- def energy that is transmitted through one side of an object and absorbed by the other side.
The thermal mass in ICF walls reduces the radiation of temperatures from one side of wall to the other.
There is not another wall system that can control all three of these elements of energy efficiency in one system. By the way did you notice R-value truly effects only one of the “Chosen Three”?
But why does everyone advertise and INFLATE the R-values of their product when that’s not truly what it is? We do not know. Our guess is that other ICF manufacturers or other wall systems or products in general use the highest number they can find, or create, to try to mislead customers into thinking their product may be superior. What they don’t tell you is that R-values are tested in a lab, so R-values may be different in different climate zones etc. Also, some folks use “Effective” R-value number instead of “Actual” R-value. Watch this couple minute video of Richard Rue, from NASA spinoff company EnergyWise Structures, truly explain the importance of the Chosen Three and the misleading R-values.
So, to try our best to break it down for you, and give honest values and representation of the R-value of ICFs, our Reward iForm has a steady state actual R-value of R-22 (Conduction!). This is the clear wall R-value, the whole wall assembly and all its materials from inside to the outside face of the wall (foam < concrete > foam). This is not like a framed (wood or metal) wall where insulation is placed into the cavities of the wall and they call it an R-18, when in reality its clear wall R-value is more like R-13 or lower. The wood or metal is not accounted for in the wall’s R-value, as a wood or metal stud by itself is an R-2 to R-6.
Secondly, the continuous EPS insulation and monolithic concrete wall provides an air tight envelope (Convection!). This is probably the biggest factor contributing to the excellent energy performance of an ICF building. Wood or steel framed structures need extra material and effort to even try to achieve this level of convection.
Finally, the thermal mass of the concrete in the ICF wall will moderate peak temperatures daily (Radiation!). The thermal mass performance is a function of the climate or region of where the building is located. A climate that has wider temperature fluctuations daily will get better benefits due to the thermal mass. Plus this will help to contribute to LEED v3: Indoor Environmental Quality points as well!
Once again R-value does not take into account Convection and Radiation.
So the ACTUAL R-values of Reward Insulating Concrete Forms is R-22, as are most ICFs. What is “Effective” R value? The effective R-value is the comparative R-value that a framed wall would need to be insulated in order to have the same energy performance as the same building built with ICF walls. It is not the R-value of the ICF wall. The effective R-value considers the actual R-value, the air infiltration rate and the thermal mass.
So you can see why some people will say “Effective R-value” of 32 all the way up to 60 for ICF walls. All of the other factors you cannot test in a lab, as it will vary on climate and other variables. It is a COMPARATIVE measurement, with everything else being equal in the comparisons. As an example we say an effective R-Value of 32+. That means in order for you to achieve that level on a non-ICF wall, you will need to insulate the framed wall to a level 32+ value.
Other areas of the envelope that will enhance the energy efficiency of the building would be to add energy efficient windows, to provide high quality design and construction of the openings, and to provide a well insulated roof and an energy efficient roof to wall connection.
Hopefully that gives you a better insight into R-values, green building and an overview of the building envelope.
The New Standard of Sustainability. Tell the World.
Sustainable Design Conference Recap
June 23rd, 2009 | From the Field
On May 19th, Cemstone Products Co and Reward hosted our first ever Sustainable Design Conference in Burnsville, MN, in order to educate the surrounding community of architects and building designers/planners on using insulating concrete forms (ICFs) to maintain the new green building standards of design. There is much buzz on that topic, so luckily I do not have to elaborate as one could turn on the TV or swing by YouTube to see what that the future of design is focused on building green. The event took place at the CineMagic Atlantis 15 Theater, which was constructed with ICFs.
CineMagic Atlantis 15 - Click to see project profile
For the conference we hosted a few professionals of the likes of Donn Thompson, the acting Director of the PCA; Richard Rue, previously from NASA and current founder of EnergyWise Structures; and Arol Wolford, from REED Construction Data, who’s visionary status pegged him as the pioneer of Building Information Modeling (BIM). For all of the sessions that day there were 6 AIA HSW and SD credits available for AIA members.
- Attendees in Theater
Architects and Designers at Lunch
We had a very solid turnout with local and regional designers ranging in scope and age and types of businesses. We had some outside vendors come in as well in support of Cemstone. Questions and answers were exchanged throughout the day on design methods, detail drawings, contributing to LEED credits, and the future of design with BIM…Yes, our ICF Revit models are available now! (shameless plug)
We’ve done our best to try to post a few videos on our YouTube channel, from this conference to share a few excerpts from each speaker, as there were 6 hours of conference and no one wants to sit through ALL of that. If you do, please contact us as I’m sure I can arrange it. So, it’ll take some time to get through all of the info and speakers to share with you, so check back often.
Do you have a large audience of Architects, Design/Build Firms, or Designer in general that would benefit from a conference in your area? Let us know! These take quite the effort to put on, but the information and conversations exchanged are extremely beneficial, so maybe your area could be next on the list.
Our insulating concrete form industry is still so young, yet is showing signs of explosion. The more people that are educated on the benefits of insulated concrete forms, green building, and Reward Wall Systems of course, the better. We are convinced the future is incredibly bright…so bright, make sure your glasses are tinted and polarized.
The New Standard of Sustainability. Tell the World.
17” iForm ICF Available Now: Eliminate your Block Envy
June 18th, 2009 | Product Announcement
Hello everyone, as you may have already known our 17” iForm straight and extended corner are ready to go. We told everyone through email first…do you get our emails? Well you should sign up, but make sure to come back and continue reading….
Reward’s newest size of Insulated Concrete Form, features a 12” concrete core for additional strength and durability needed when designing and constructing large commercial projects and deep foundations.
The 17” iForm product line allows for the expansion of the available application uses of ICFs by allowing for taller walls (how big do you want to go?) and additional load bearing strength.
The 17″ iForm, featuring a 12″ concrete core, offers up to 20% additional pure axial or load bearing capacity, AND up to 24% additional pure flexural or bending strength than the a 10″ concrete wall.
“The addition of the 17” iForm increases the construction options for our customers and their projects, while also maintaining the quality and the sustainable green building properties our customers have come to expect from Reward’s products,” said Ed Storm, Reward Wall Systems’ President.
Available as both the straight and 90-degree extended corner iForm®, the 17” Straight is 16 inches high and covers 5.33 square feet of wall, and the 17” iForm Corner will be an extended corner covering 7.33 square feet of wall (holy moly that’s huge) and contain Reward Wall Systems award winning double “H” bridging corner bracket, which is the undisputed strongest corner in the Insulating Concrete Form market.
Do you have Block envy?
Welcome to aBlog By Reward
June 16th, 2009 | Common Troubleshooting, From the Field, Lets Get Technical!, Product Announcement, Project Showcase, Unique Applications, Unique Trends
Welcome everyone to the first post on aBlog by Reward…get it? It’s “a” “blog” but it’s branded as aBlog, like our insulating concrete form products iForm®, eForm®, etc. Never mind. A few things I would like to do for the inaugural post is to introduce myself as the official poster, I’m Troy.
I will be posting information from our corporate offices from our President, CEO, VP, Technical Specialists, Regional Sales Managers, and Marketing to showcase a little bit of everything we are doing, talk about some trends in the Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) industry and pass along some information and things we learn everyday while visiting our customers and greening North America 5.33 sq feet at a time.
My goal for this blog is to try to connect with people on another platform and maybe start a discussion, teach something new, or even be taught something new in the process. Our tone is casual, and my jokes are horrible, however we have to keep the flavor light or this endeavor won’t be as FUN as anticipated. This is not a discussion forum, with freedom to post abusive language or spam, as all comments will be moderated. And for the legal jargon: Reward Wall Systems Inc reserves the right to control and edit all postings. Furthermore all content written by Reward is all rights reserved 2009. By posting pictures, words, or content, you are verifying that you have permission to do so.
Also if you need in depth questions immediately answered, the best way to reach us is through our customer service department, not through aBlog. 1-800-468-6344
On to the topics.
There will be 6 major topics we will try to schedule routinely in order to cover as wide of a range as possible. Don’t see something that you think we should focus on more? Tell me please, just add a smiley face at the end of your sentence. :-)
From the Field
Common Trouble Shooting
Let’s get Technical!
Project Showcase
Unique Trends and Applications
Other
So we hope you find aBlog by Reward useful and informative and just a smidge bit entertaining. Feel free to comment, post follow-ups or even additional resources on a topic. There may be aBlog related contests and EXCLUSIVE information given out first to the community via aBlog throughout the year so be sure to come back often. We’ll talk to you soon.
Thanks and tell the world