Another World of Concrete has finished up last week. One of the years biggest shows and the show where every ICF brand out there comes too, well the ones with money anyways. Nothing out of the ordinary this year, its a great time to catch up with some of our customers and hopefully snag a few new ones for the coming year.

All of our sales staff and upper management comes to the show, they even let me out of my marketing cage to travel to the show. Setup begins early on Monday, so it can turn into a long week if the show is slow. Luckily this year it was a bit more steady of traffic compared to last year, although overall it was about the same. Couple observations:

• Concrete paving area was crazy busy all the time,which is indicative of the times where there are large scale road projects and funding throughout the country.
• We are pretty confident in saying we truly did see the bottom of the downturn so going forward here’s to (raising my coffee cup) slow and steady growth. We understand it takes time, and nothing will get better overnight. It takes time and investments, and leaders to push innovation and to educate the marketplace.
• It’s very clear the folks are familiar with the concept of ICFs, well as far as the World of Concrete market goes. Just 3 years ago I was explaining the whole feature/benefit routine to people. It’s good to see the awareness and general education has increased to the point we can have more in depth conversation such as- thermal and dew point properties of an ICF assembly, or the most important things to consider when using ICFs on projects.
• I celebrated my 29th birthday in Vegas.

Below is a quick little clip I threw together of the show floor and out booth. If you couldn’t make it out this year we hope to see you guys next year hopefully with some big surprises. Until then we will be at the CinemaCon show in April and the AIA National show in May!

Our search tool above has proven to be very useful for our readers in finding topics, projects and regional issues specific to the reader. If you ever want a topic/project covered or think there is something that everyone should know about insulating concrete forms, green building, premium envelopes etc feel free to contact me (Troy) directly by calling 800-468-6344. On to the list!

Flooring Options with ICFs Series

We reviewed different types of flooring, builders use in conjunction with ICFs, and listed the pros and cons of each one.

The Truth on Energy Efficiency and R-Value

This post has pulled its weight through the years, as it was one of the first posts I wrote when the blog started in 2009. Leads me to believe R-value is still misunderstood and companies that post misleading numbers are not helping the matter.

Getting Educated on ICF Building Science

Reward has made an effort throughout the years on consciously educating industry professionals on the SCIENCE behind why ICFs work. This post outlines the key courses we now offer, that are beyond the basic “using ICFs for commercial/residential/schools blah blah blah”. These educational presentations have exclusive information, some of it one of a kind in the industry. By this post being on this list (and the shear number of training presentations we do), its apparent AEC professionals are yearning for this type of information.

Insulated Concrete Form Wall Estimator

This post rolled out our new all-inclusive estimating program. We brag about it because WE wrote it with OUR 30+ years of insulating concrete form expertise and the info you get is thorough enough to confidently bid all components of an ICF job.

Concrete Placement Heights

One of the most common questions on ICFs and pouring concrete I the placement heights. Some people play it ultra-conservative, some go more “aggressively, however we go on record with our recommendations and go over what the ACI says as well about free falling concrete in regards to quality and compressive strength.

There you have it, and to cap it off the most recent popular post not on this list is the post on why

ICFs are Zombie proof

icf

Happy New Year

2012 with bring some exciting changes/additions to Reward and we are looking forward to continuing to grow the industry and creating better building envelopes, WORLDWIDE.
Reward Wall Systems wishes you a happy new year!

I am by no means up to speed on lingo of politics and the processes in order to take a  proposed sponsored bill and turn it into a law(or Act, or Measure), so forgive me if i use the wrong words. The goal of this post is to share these news stories to you,so you can do you own research and maybe contact your local government official to make these initiatives pass.

Tax Credits for Insulated Concrete Forms

There are some generally basic tax credits for builders when using ICFs. You can read more about that per sq. ft. tax credit on our website, but those tax credits do nothing for the homeowner. While you get a tax credit for an Energy Star refrigerator or putting in low-e windows, there is nothing to give the homeowner a credit for building their home incredibly tight, energy efficient, and indestructible to forces of nature like ICF construction does.

Wisconsin Insulating Concrete Forms

Wisconsin is leading the way with a proposed bill that will give tax incentives for using insulated concrete forms in construction- home or commercial. My hope is this passes soon so other states, most notably Minnesota, would follow suit and give and extra incentive for folks to build. The link below links you to the .pdf of the official bill that was introduced. It has since been amended to only building with ICF, not manufacturing ( After all the amendments pass let’s see if this bill gets watered down anymore)

Wisconsin ICF Tax Credit

Energy Costs Affecting Appraisals

This article was recently reported by the Washington Post. In summary, there is a bipartisan bill, called SAVE Act (Sensible Accounting to Value Energy) on the table that would put energy costs and savings into underwriting equations. This bill would force lenders to take those factors into consideration for insurance and guarantees and would require appraisers to adjust property valuations accordingly.

While this is an indirect effect on the insulating concrete form industry, it is good for us as our product directly effect the energy consumption of a home. We see apprasiers across the country failing to give any credit to the homes value even if energy saving are topping over 60%!

Wouldn’t it be nice to say with certainty because its a law, your home is worth more because it saves energy. Makes sense to me…isn’t a Prius “worth” more because you save gas? I guarantee you couldn’t sell one of those cars if they had 20 mpg. So why wouldn’t that logic pertain to homes and buildings? Link below is to the Washington Post article

Mortgage lenders could soon take homes’ energy costs into account

Big things happening

These are two of the many things out there that are really pushing the envelope on getting true incentives for homeowners and building owners to use ICF as part of their next project. If you know of more things like this on a statewide basis or locally for your town, let us know in the comments below and we will add to this list. The more people that are aware of whats going on can motivate and inspire your local government…or heaven forbid the federal government to copy these types of incentives.

Reward ICFs have become the building material of choice for families wishing to protect themselves from zombie attacks

You see Zombies everywhere- on TV, in magazines, in the news, online, walking the streets and in your home. It time to stand up and protect yourself from the imminent attack this season by fortifying your home with Reward insulating concrete forms. ICFs are the first line of defense separating you from the undead.

Many folks ask us, “How can foam blocks hold back thousands of hungry zombies, from tearing down the walls and dining on our flesh.”

Well it’s simple and very easy actually.

• ICFs are strong- If they can stand up to 200 MPH winds, they can withstand the incessant pounding of zombie fists. Also, with the superb blast resistance ratings, ICFs can limit the collateral damage, from say, your neighbor throwing a grenade in the street.

• ICFs are soundproof- Everybody knows zombies are attracted to loud noises. They have been conditioned to respond to noise as if there was food nearby- similar to how monkeys are conditioned to respond to the sound of a banana peeling. If the undead can’t hear you, they don’t know you’re there. Having a sound proof home allows for other benefits as well. Feel free to:
  • practice chainsaw wielding attack moves in the basement
  • sleep peacefully without the outdoor noises of moaning and gnashing teeth
  • blare Alan Parson’s Project “Sirius” to get pumped up to stay alive every morning

• ICFs are airtight- The solid wall of concrete and foam ensures no unwanted air comes in, and air won’t leak out. Why is that important? Part of that air is scent. Zombie’s smell horrible, obviously, so Zombies can smell the unrotten scent of humans, and especially so if their “prey” (you) is wounded. The ICF walls will prevent your natural human scent from escaping the walls and building.

• ICFs are Energy Efficient- You wouldn’t think this would matter, but with the added stress on the power grid and the possible zombie intrusion on the power supply as a whole, you need to make sure your safe house operates while using the least amount of energy as possible. Eventually power will run out and you want to be able to use a generator to supply the needed heating and cooling to keep you alive and comfortable. Let’s be serious here, you don’t want to hole up in a safe house with 5 other people and be sweating and splashing water to cool down or having to “hug it out” with the same folks to stay warm.

Bottom Line: Zombies Hate ICFs

Stay inside your ICF home and you should be in good shape for awhile… well at least until power, water, and sanity complete run out and you think its time to find the 8 hour away “safe-zone” that’s being reported over the emergency channel. Reward ICFs can’t do anything for you then.

A few months ago we met a group of architects and designers that attended our Green Building Enclosure Design Conference in Minnesota, and since then asked us to host the Iowa Chapter American Institute of Building Design monthly education seminar. So we set up shop upstairs in our office and were able to give our two newest presentations, hands on product demos, and they were able to meet our engineer (Kelvin D), our product application specialist (Darryl U), and our architectural presenter (John O).

New Advanced Insulated Concrete Form Education

These are the two other presentations we gave them, all which go deeper into specifically designing with insulated concrete forms and the science to WHY building with ICFs improves a building’s performance.

Design and Construction using Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF)

Summary: Attendee with become familiar with the basic concepts of using ICFs in the construction and design of a building, including installation techniques, structural performance comparisons, and explaining common details in regards to connections, penetrations, utilizes, finishes and waterproofing. AIA: 1 HSW and SD

Building Performance with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)

Summary: Attendee will learn how the inclusion of ICFs affects the performance of a facility, with an emphasis on thermal and moisture issues. Topics will cover air quality and condensation principles of ICFs versus traditional construction, introductions on specific energy modeling tools and familiarization of how finishes can affect the performance and life cycle costs of the facility. AIA: 1 HSW and SD

New ICF Professionals

After a couple hours in our office the Iowa chapter of the AIBD is now more familiar with ICF, how to design with them and how to better incorporate them in their current designs. If you and your firms would like to be educated in how to expands your expertise and being able to confidently offer your clients the access to insulating concrete forms call us and lets get it scheduled.

If you are looking more for an intro course to ICFs find our basic course online for free at AEC Daily.

It’s new! It’s best-in-class! Once again Reward has pushed the envelope in creating new tools for the ICF market and most importantly our customers. We created this tool to assist in estimating ALL aspects of ICF construction.

The Reward ICF Wall Estimator is the most comprehensive, straightforward insulating concrete form project estimating program in the industry. The Estimator was created by ICF installation and engineering professionals with a combined 30+ years of experience with insulated concrete forms. The Estimator will give a comprehensive look at estimating all aspects of ICF construction giving you more information on:

• Labor
• ICF bracing
• Waterproofing
• Ancillary Items
• Concrete Pumping
• Buck Material
• Plus Much More!

ICF Wall Estimator 1.0

(Excel Spreadsheet – Must have Microsoft Excel to open)

Its innovations like these as well as our design, in-field, and customer services that keep our customers coming back year after year  (without year long contracts).

To receive assistance on the proper application of this software, please call 800-468-6344.

© 2011, by Reward Wall Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this program may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior written permission of Reward Wall Systems, Inc. Reward Wall Systems, Inc. assumes no responsibility for your actual overall job costs or the results of the use of this program.

There have new features added to this blog in order to make it easier to peruse around and window shop for insulating concrete form information.

1. To the left we added a blog search tool on the column! You can now search through all 2 years of blog content for topics of interest, notable projects or to easily find a previous post.
2. Also it is now easier to view previous posts by clinking on the months below and to the left. Here you can scan through the titles of the posts for the month to find the topic that interests you the most.

Thanks for reading and if you have any other suggestions on how to make the blog better, either topics you are curious about or suggestion or improvement please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Its getting closer to the the special event of the year! Come see one of the most dynamic speakers in the industry speak candidly on building science principles every professional NEEDS to know- Dr. Joe Lstiburek!

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Register by June 17th and get the Early Bird Pricing – $99 a person. This gives you access to a day full of industry experts presenting information in logical succession when considering new building projects: Starts with  building science concepts, next covers actual design principles of enclosures, then in-field construction case studies and finally goes over the management of a new GREEN facility. Lunch will also be provided, AND there will be up to 6 AIA LUs available for attending all of the sessions.

Building Enclosure Conference Details

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When: June 22nd, 2011
9:00am until 3:30pm

Who Should Attend: Architects, Engineers, Facility Planners, Green Building Consultants, Future Building Owners, and Policy Makers

What: Green Building Enclosure Conference featuring

• Dr. Joe Lstiburek, “Adventures in Building Science”
  
• Jim MacDonald, “Sustainable Concrete Construction”
• Kim Bretheim, “Designing a Premium Building Enclosure”
• Timothy Geegan, “ICFs: A Welcomed Change in the Construction Industry
• Jim McClanahan, “Managing Your New Green Facility”
• Q & A Session to answer all of your question
  

Where: International Market Square | Minneapolis, MN
Studio 185, 275 Market Street

Click to view the complete conference brochure below and to read the full days schedule, as well as all of the speaker bios. Follow directions on back page to sign up through Cemstone or call Reward Wall Systems if you have any questions.

Act Now for $99 As Space is Limited – Group Rates Available!

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Click to launch the full edition in a new window

As a followup to a previous post from last year on the new insulated concrete form HUD developments in Waveland, MS, I personally had the opportunity to visit the neighborhoods while we were down in New Orleans for the AIA Expo May 112th – 14th. Thad, our commercial markets manager, and I drove around some of the highly devastated areas in New Orleans and then took an evening trip to Waveland, MS and Bay St. Louis.

Below are some pictures of the Oak Haven homes right after Hurricane Katrina. As you can tell with the amount of wood used in the original homes, everything was molded out and all homes had to be completely demolished – notice the waterline on the second picture.

We chatted with some of the residents in Oak Haven and they were very friendly and it felt good to know they were all aware of the type of wall technology they are lucky enough to have. They noticed right away you can’t hear anything the adjoining neighbors do, since the partition walls are ICF, and all of them recounted their energy bills to be half as much as the old houses- roughly about $90 a month for a 1,200 sq ft unit.

Classic Country Superstar

The video below is a quick overview of the pictures and video shots of the Oak Haven area, with a soundtrack supplied by classic country artist Norman Wade, who was one of the residents of the the homes. He was definitely a spirited man, and even belted a couple tunes for us. I can tell you one thing, sadly they don’t sing country like that anymore. Enjoy!

The event had many vendors with small booth set up, so the customers could mingle with representatives from all the products that Cemstone supplies. All of the attendees were treated to a tasty BBQ lunch and presentations from CEO/President Thor Beckon on the state of the Minnesota concrete industry.

On Weds. Night during vendor setup – Cemstone sales and customer service personal toured the vendor booths for educational opportunities on the vendor products. This was a great opportunity for Reward to meet and greet with many of Cemstone’s staff, and assocaited some names with faces. It was quite the successful event and Reward looks forward to continuing to  support one of our top ICF markets.