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.

Are you clamoring for ICF building project profiles? Looking for examples of how insulated concrete forms have been used before? Or are you looking for Reward Wall Systems resume of building projects? Thousands of ICF construction projects and millions of square feet of our product have been installed across all of North America.We have many more profiles online!

Check out our online gallery as the following sections have been updated with new, notable projects: Custom Homes, Multi-Family, Government, Worship and Education.

Be sure to keep checking back as more ICF Construction projects are added and the  ICF building information is expanded.

Back in April we reported on an insulated concrete form apartment complex and compared it to neighboring identical buildings that were built with standard materials. Today I would like to share with you a major hotel chain that has been using our product over the years. We are now receiving energy data from this group of hotels and we are able to compare it to the similar hotels that used traditional construction methods. This continue to tell the “Why Reward ICF” for your next project.

ICF Performance Data

2 of the 3 hotels were built with Reward Insulating Concrete Forms, and as you can see by the chart below there was a major reduction in kBtus a year, as well as cost per square foot, by using insulated concrete forms. Those numbers are all inclusive  for total electric and gas energy use on each hotel.

Too be clear….

Next energy comparison will be of a national retail chain (Aaron’s rental) that is using Reward ICFs after years of building with traditional building methods. After all of these project highlights hopefully our points are well taken. All of these buildings use ICFs (at a minimum) and the building envelope was enhanced by doing so.

ICFs = Enhancing the Building Envelope = High Performance Buildings

A few weeks ago we gave a quick profile of some high rise ICF apartment buildings being built in New York (Queens). Since then we have done some digging of The Andrew, one of first high rises in the group that was occupied and has energy use data available. The great thing about this project is that The Andrew has an ideal comparison set of numbers, since the developer has older non-ICF buildings, built to similar sizes and specs down the street. The results so far have been amazing.

ICF Apartments Profile

The Andrew is a 45,000 sq. ft., 4-story multi-family apartment building with 50 apartment units. Reward 11″ ICFs were used to construct all exterior walls. The owner of the building is responsible for paying heating from the central unit, and each tenant has window A/C units that they are responsible for.

The Andrew is heated by natural gas that heats a boiler system that delivers hot water to a 85% efficient hydronic baseboard units in each apartment.  Each room is zoned separately and the boilers are shut off during the seasonably warmer months.

According to the owner, the construction costs of this building was the same as if they would have built using conventional construction methods and products. ICFs have proven to pay off with the amount of energy savings as well as the added benefits that sell themselves to prospective tenants.

Insulated Concrete Form Energy Data

Construction finished up in March of 2010 and the building has been occupied since then with the following energy operating costs:

• $0.23/sf/year to heat only (no cooling)
• Over 50% better than conventional non-energy star buildings
• 18.66 kBtu/sf/year to heat (no cooling)

$200 per apartment per year to heat
versus $400 to $600 for conventional construction

Apartment Comparison- Comparing numbers of the similar buildings down the street that were built with CMU and steel stud batt, they performed at $0.44 sf/yr to heat using 44.4 kBtus/sf/year.

ICFs helped to reduce energy use by 58%!

With green rating systems now required energy monitoring and reporting on new buildings Reward has been able to identify actually energy use of Reward ICF buildings, and all of the results have been great. Be on the lookout in the future for more comparisons like this for hotels, schools, public buildings, retail stores and more! The proof is in the numbers, and its apparent Reward ICFs serve as the best wall envelope material- incorporating energy efficiency AND countless other benefits all in one wall system.

Last week we were invited to a special grand opening of the Cascade Meadows Center up in Rochester, MN along with Cemstone. We were able to sit through presentations on what made this project unique, the design principles around it, and the unique construction materials and  used to construct a building that’s sole purpose is to educate and teach children on new and innovative ways to save energy and conserve resources. (View previous blog on the Cascade Meadows Center )

There was the full array of solar power, photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, radiant floors, geothermal heat loop, as well as passive day lighting with a beautiful view (or it will be once the wetlands grows).

A couple of highlights I heard was that the geothermal uses the ground water from the lake next to the building, to pump through the system for the heating and cooling. Its a continuous cycle that will occur every day as its below the freeze line for the water. Also, the aggregate mix for the concrete in the ICF wall all came from the lake as well  as they were digging it out to expand the wetland, they pumped all the sediment to the nearby ready mix facility and they in turn used it for the concrete mix design! Hows that for regional materials!

Sustainable Strategies

Numerous strategies were in place for the construction of the Cascade Meadows Center. The site and the design was based all around the concept of water, deliberately using the form of water and the natural watersheds in the area. The construction manger identified 5 different strategies for Storm water management.Some other notable features:

• Insulating concrete forms and sips were used for the walls and roof line respectively, along with hollow plank floors.

• Basement ceilings stuck out of the ground and had green roofs on them

• Roof overhang served as a rainwater harvesting system to ruse for non-potable uses, fire mitigation, and or to send back to the lake.

They used the integrated design approach to get the general contractor, owners and the architect all involved from the initial phase in order to make decisions together  so construction will go smoothly and so the owner would be satisfied with his building.

Insulating Concrete Form Nature Center Pictures

Here is a selection of photos from the Cascade Meadows Science Center, one showing the construction phase and the other showing the exterior completed from the front. There are so many elements to this nature center I want to share in later posts, including the thought process behind the design of the building and highlights from the construction waste recycling program they implemented, as well as some of the interior displays and goals the center has for the public.

More photos viewable at banksphotos.com

Come back soon for further posts on this project.

Carleton College is up for the 2010 annual Greensite awards in the Institutional category. We have blogged numerous times on this project, its sustainable properties and the efforts of the college to to receive a LEED Gold certification. So along with an ICFA, ICF Builder, and Minnesota ARM award, this project wants YOUR votes so we can add to its trophy case!

(Catch up on this ICF dormitory)

To read about the Greensite awards and to view Carleton College entry go to the official Greensite page.

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To skip reading over everything, and just trust us that this is the best project of the bunch just go ahead…

VOTE for Carleton College

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Once in a while natural disasters come around and we get an amazing story from an insulated concrete form homeowner. Usually its stories about the homes surviving tornadoes and turning their cheeks to hurricanes- saving family and friends while reducing damage to irreplaceable possessions. This time however is a story of the immense confidence and peace of mind having a concrete home can give a homeowner under dire circumstances.

Over the last few weeks areas in Colorado have been riddled with major wild fires. The fires would go up the mountain and destroy everything in its path, entire neighborhoods, acres of wildlife and vegetation…but not P. Brady’s Reward concrete home. You may recognize the house from a previous post on insulated concrete forms in Colorado. He was able to hunker down and protect his land and home from the flames with a couple garden hoses, with help from his son and his previous fire mitigation techniques.

Below is the video from the local news station.

ICF Construction- Inside Ledge Corner

Line up the ties and allow for room to make a cut

Draw 45 degree angle from the ledge and draw cut lines

Make the Cut

For the perpendicular Ledge Form that will connect the corner- measure the 45 degree to the outside corner apex. Next, make a square cross cut on the outside panel at the inside core wall.

Once corner is cut you will have to remove the teeth directly in the corner, so a 90 degree can fit snugly on top.

No need to dig out the corbel or bend xLerator as concrete will flow correctly and ledge will be properly reinforced

And Congratulations you have completed the Mitering an ICF Ledge Corner Tutorial. If you have any questions leave us a comment or give us a call!

xLerator Ledge Reinforcement

The xLerator is used to reinforce the ledge form and must be cut and bent to form 90 degrees.

1. Cut the tab that sticks out from the spreader bar on the corbel side & eliminate about 1 ½”.
2. Jump over that spreader bar on the same side as you just cut and cut between the cross piece you save and the next cross bar removing approximately 5” of material.

Bend the cross piece  45 degrees. See detail 6-05 in the Reward ICF Product Manual for further description.

Repeat those steps on another xLerator, on the opposite side so they fit nicely on top of each other and provide reinforcement everywhere there is concrete.

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Finished Insulated Concrete Form Ledge Corner

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So our final post on the ICF Corner Ledge series we be showing how to do the inside miter cut for insulated concrete form ledge corner walls!