Happy New Year
December 31st, 2009 | Holiday
Reward wants to wish everyone a safe an Happy New Year. Please don’t Drink and Drive.
ICFs for the New Year
PCA Leadership In Sustainability Award- Highland Library
December 29th, 2009 | Marketing, Project Showcase
Congratulations to the Highland Sam J Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center in Highland, CA for winning the Portland Cement Associations Leadership In Sustainability Award for the City of Highland.
LEED Gold with Insulated Concrete Forms
The Highland Sam J. Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center is a new 32,000 square foot library located in Highland CA. It opened on May 31, 2008 and is designed to meet LEED Gold certification. The library has many interactive displays and activities to help teach children about the nature, recycling and the environment.
Rooftop Garden
The exterior walls of the library were built with Reward Insulating concrete forms. Another measure of sustainable design, besides the ICFs, is evidenced by the library’s rooftop garden. This not only beautifies the structure and substantially increases the amount of green space, but also mitigates stormwater runoff and contributes to energy efficiency by absorbing the sun’s rays.
Concrete Used for Sustainability
The project was built with insulating concrete forms to maximize the energy efficiency of the exterior walls. The parking lots were built with recycled concrete. Concrete is used extensively throughout the facility and is featured prominently in exterior columns, the rooftop areas, a large amphitheater space, and exterior finishes
“Using concrete elements throughout for sustainable benefits contributes to our overall goal of making this library one that continues to educate the community about our environment and sustainability over its lifetime, ” said Highland Mayor.
Opened to the public in May 2008, funding was provided by a state grant from the Library Bond Act, the city Redevelopment Agency, San Bernardino County and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the tune of more than $16.5 million.
Insulating Concrete Form structures are winning awards nationwide and getting the recognition they deserve. Cities, school districts, and homeowners alike are witnessing the savings for their municipality or homes and achieving environmentally conscience goals when building with ICFs. It’s getting easier to see why we are The New Standard For Sustainability.
Becoming a Successful ICF Distributor
December 22nd, 2009 | Distributor Spotlight, Marketing
Insulating Concrete Forms(ICF)as a building material are somewhat unique in how they get to market. Unlike 2 x 4’s or sheets of drywall, which you can pick up at any home improvement store and install yourself, Insulating Concrete Forms typically require a significant amount of support before and during construction. While the industry has grown through the first decade of the 21st century, ICF’s are still relatively unknown and as such, need a significant amount of local support.
Most ICF manufacturers don’t have the infrastructure to support every ICF job on a national scale so many have partnered with distribution firms to achieve market penetration and enhance its local presence. Early on in the ICF industry, builders or contractors were set up as “Distributors” in order to get as much market coverage as possible. This proved to not be a viable long term strategy because of the amount of proactive selling and training required. While there are still many successful builders acting as agents for ICF manufacturers, the industry is trending toward true “buy/sell” distribution to achieve market coverage.
The trick is finding those distributors who can:
-Provide value to the end user (local rep, stocked material and accessories)
-Effectively cover their markets with home shows, trade shows, architect presentations, etc
-Offer training and site support to new as well as existing installers
- Be competitively priced in the market
Seems a bit more complex than selling gray block or plywood but there are numerous examples of successful distribution in the ICF industry. We will discuss a few of the common traits found within our successful distribution customers over the next few blog entries.
Do you have a unique traits that make your ICF distributorship successful, leave a comment!
Next Post: Promotion and Education of ICF Distributors
Are you interested in becoming an authorized distributor of Reward Wall Systems ICFs- increasing your margins and expanding your product lines? Give us a call or shoot us an email!
ICFs and Cold Weather Concrete Part IV
December 15th, 2009 | From the Field, Lets Get Technical!
Here is our final post, for now, on insulating concrete forms and cold weather concreting. This is a testament from our regional sales manager, Thad. The pictures and story was described from a Colorado school job site in November, where insulating concrete forms were used as the exterior shell of the building and CMU blocks were used for the restroom areas. These notes and the pictures show a real life scenario of the benefits of ICFs.
Three observations of using ICFs and CMU
Thad points out three huge observations that communicate cold weather benefits of insulated concrete forms in relation to CMU.
- The General Contractor has to pay for any cold weather material that is used for CMU construction- including heaters, plastic tenting, blankets etc . If it is windy they will have to repair all of those elements as they whip around and become damaged due to the weather. The GC spends more money in order to continue to keep the job on schedule and for safety of the workers. The tent is heated so that they can grout the walls, which ICFs no grout is needed so tenting is eliminated.
- The mason contractor can bid both ICF and CMU packages.
- The masonry workers had to shut down the day Thad was there because it was too cold and the tent was destroyed throughout the day by high winds. Generally the crew would have to be sent home and a day of work is wasted. The ICF portion of the building was not effected by the cold or the wind and construction was still moving forward.
For more information on cold weather and concrete see our previous posts or access our insulating concrete form product manual where you can see all of the research and testing done on our product lines:
Insulating Concrete Forms and Cold Weather Concrete Part I
Insulating Concrete Forms and Cold Weather Concrete Part II
Insulating Concrete Forms and Cold Weather Concrete Part III
ICFs and Cold Weather Concrete Part III
December 10th, 2009 | From the Field, Lets Get Technical!
So far we have discussed the basics of using insulating concrete forms in cold weather, as well as broke down the main reactions and ideal temperatures for concrete to cure properly. Now we’ll go over how the insulating properties effect the minimum temperature concrete can be placed at. Also we’ll summarize some tips to result in strong concrete during cold weather.
Insulating Concrete Forms in sub-freezing temperatures
In order to keep the concrete at the desired temperature for the protection period, the concrete must be covered or insulated. This is where ICF construction in cold climates becomes an obvious benefit. The R-value of one panel of Reward iForm EPS is R-10. Assuming a cement content of 500 pounds per cubic yard and a wall thickness of 6 inches and interpolating from the graph below for R-10, the minimum ambient temperature for placing concrete would be around 10º F.
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Thermal resistance (R) of insulation required to maintain the concrete surface temperature of walls and slabs aboveground at 50º F or above for 3 days. Concrete temperature as placed 50º F. Maximum wind velocity: 15 mph.
Thermal resistance (R) of insulation required to maintain the concrete surface temperature of walls and slabs aboveground at 50º F or above for 3 days. Concrete temperature as placed 50º F. Maximum wind velocity: 15 mph.
Insulating Concrete Forms
Using ICF construction in cold weather means that vulnerable corners and edges are consistently covered and protected. Forms are left in place to keep moisture and heat contained for an extended period of time, improving the curing condition of the concrete. Additionally, the consistent insulation from ICFs allows for even heat distribution.
Not only is it important to insulate the top of the Reward ICF wall after concrete placement in cold weather, there are three other areas to be concerned with. These include footings, bulkheads and embedment steel. Placing concrete on top of a cold footing and around cold steel embedments can affect the concrete temperatures in those local areas. Precautions should be considered or taken for these areas. Bulkheads, much like the top of the ICF wall must be insulated as well.
Tips for strong concrete
• Keep forms covered before concrete placement if any precipitation is expected. This will prevent snow and ice from forming inside the cavity of the ICFs.
• Cover the top course after concrete placement in order to contain the heat produced and to insulate the top of the concrete wall. Rigid or batt insulation blankets of R-10 or greater work well for both covering the forms before concrete placement and for insulating the top of the wall after concrete placement.
• Work closely with a local ready mix supplier to determine concrete mix requirements for the specific project and climate.
• Do not rush a concrete pour late in the day or if bad weather is approaching. This can lead to problems.
CMU vs. ICFs during Cold Weather
Next week we will highlight a specific ICF school job we were at about a week ago, where they used CMU for a portion of the building and ICFs for the other. The pictures will tell the story.
insulating concrete forms
ICFs and Cold Weather Concreting Series Part II
December 8th, 2009 | From the Field, Lets Get Technical!
For Part two of our Cold Weather Concrete for ICFs series there are some key areas that effect chemical reactions when concrete cures.
Heat of Hydration
Concrete generates heat as it hydrates through a chemical reaction of the cement reacting to the water. The heat generated is affected by the dimensions or mass of the concrete, the air temperature, the initial concrete temperature, the water-cement ratio, the cement composition, the amount of cement and admixtures. The heat of hydration sometimes generates enough heat to provide adequate curing in cold weather.
Concrete Mixture
Concrete mixtures may be adjusted in cold weather to accelerate the curing time by using one or a combination of 1) Type III Portland cement – high-early strength cement; 2) additional Portland cement of 100 to 200 pounds per cubic yard; 3) chemical accelerators such as a maximum of 2% by weight of calcium chloride and 4) air-entrained concrete to help the concrete absorb stresses due to ice formation.
Temperature of Concrete
The recommended temperature of the concrete as mixed and as placed should be not less than what is shown in the table below. Mixing concrete to temperatures higher than 70º F can have adverse effects of shrinkage and cracking.
In order to get the proper concrete mix temperature you are trying to achieve, the aggregate, cement and water temperatures must be known and accounted for.
The concrete should be placed into the forms before the concrete temperature drops below 55º F as indicated in the table above. That temperature should be maintained for the duration of the protection period indicated in the table below. This maintains durability against exposure to freezing and thawing.
For Thursday we’ll address how the insulation effects the temperature of the concrete and explain exactly why ICFs are ideal for cold weather applications.
ICFs and Cold Weather Concrete Series
December 3rd, 2009 | From the Field, Lets Get Technical!
Since we are heading into the winter months now, we receive stories and pictures from guys in the field on how wonderful it is to build with ICFs during the winter months. If certain precautions are taken when building with insulating concrete forms (ICFs), concrete can be placed properly throughout the winter months even in cold climates.
ACI 306 is the standard used for placing concrete in cold weather. ACI 306 defines cold weather as a period when for more than 3 successive days the mean daily temperature drops below 40º Fahrenheit (F). Normal concreting can resume once the ambient temperature is above 50º F for more than half a day. Fresh concrete that begins to freeze can reduce the strength gain and its durability.
The next few posts in this series will look a cold weather concreting form a technical standpoint, showing pictures and proejct examples in the field, and will highlight the extra steps needed to do CMU construction during cold weather.
Cold Weather Concreting
The concrete mixture and its temperature must be adapted to the construction procedure during cold weather. This means making preparations to protect the concrete’s temperature from the cold air. The insulating concrete forms, reinforcing steel and concrete embedments must be clear of snow and ice when the concrete is placed.
Concrete strength gain is a function of the temperature at which it cures. Typical concrete compressive strengths are based upon the concrete curing at an ideal temperature of 72º F the entire 28 days. Temperatures higher than 72º F will shorten the curing time and temperatures lower than 72º F will increase the curing time. Concrete gains very little strength at low temperatures.
The concrete must be protected against freezing effects until the degree of saturation of the concrete has been sufficiently reduced by the process of hydration. This time corresponds to the time that it takes the concrete to attain a compressive strength of 500 psi. During normal temperatures, this time is usually within the first 24 hours of concrete placement. Significant strength loss of up to 50% can occur if concrete is frozen shortly after placement or before it reaches a strength of 500 psi.
Yes that it snow, not a white sand beach. This is an Air Force Base Reward did a few years ago in Alaska.
For Tuesday we will talk about the chemical reactions and properties of concrete that play a role curing concrete in cold weather.