Earth Day and ICFs
April 22nd, 2010 | From the Field, Holiday, Marketing | Holiday, ICF Construction, tornado, WI
I know it’s Earth Day and all, however being in the ICF industry and trying to sell the world a better building product to reduce energy use every day seems like Earth Years at Reward Wall Systems. So, in lieu of a cheesy “save the planet” blog, I was going to re-post a blurb on an ICF home surviving severe weather. I was reminded of this as we are due for severe weather here in Nebraska in the next day or so.
ICFs and Severe Weather
Sandwiched between the “insulating” and the “forms” is Concrete. Steel reinforced concrete used in ICFs are perfect for homes and businesses where their top concern is occupant safety (shouldn’t that be everywhere?). Concrete homes have documented track records of withstanding all types of natural disasters including tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. ICF walls have been missile tested numerous times and shows the wall easily repelling projectiles without any structural damage, where as CMU, brick, and 2×4 construction fell apart and allowed penetrations. The house below, was in the process of being built when an F4 tornado went directly over its neighborhood.
Concrete Home Still Standing After Tornado Strikes Stoughton, Wisconsin
The ability of ICF homes to withstand hurricane- and tornado-force winds has long been known, but was made even more evident on August 18th when a tornado destroyed most of the homes in a Stoughton, Wisconsin neighborhood. When the air cleared, one home was still standing with almost no damage: a concrete home, currently under construction, built with insulating concrete forms (ICFs) from Reward Wall Systems.
The pictures are worth more than the words I can type. Happy Earth Day and be safe this severe weather season.
