Insulating Concrete Form Home in Urban Chicago
January 12th, 2010 | Project Showcase
ICF Home in Chicago
The Sam Park and Mary Raines Residence in Chicago, IL is an interesting project. It is 5,550 sq ft of Reward Wall Systems Insulated Concrete Forms, constructed in a very narrow lot. This project was conducted by industry newcomer Cian O’Mahony with Leitrim and Mani, LLC. Cian received onsite training from Darryl U, our Product Application Specialist. With use of this service and Cian’s willingness to learn, this project was a great success in revitalizing the neighborhood and spurring further developments.
Cian said that he was a bit nervous to use a product that he knew little about, but after he got comfortable it became his construction method of choice because of the ease of installation, comfortable jobsite conditions, significant labor savings due to our 5 in 1 assembly process, and the overall energy efficiency of the walls. By the looks of the pictures, I think Cian got the hang of it.
Reward Wall Systems, Inc. congratulates Cian and his crew on a project well done.
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5 in 1 Construction- Why Reward Insulating Concrete Forms Can Be Built so Efficiently
July 28th, 2009 | From the Field
5-in-1 Wall Assembly
Sounds like a sale as it sounds too good to be true. Sorry we are not running a buy 5 get 1 free or anything like that. Instead, we are trying to get out to the world the efficiencies of building with insulated concrete forms. Usually we talk about the owner benefits of green building, energy efficiency, added strength, etc. However, the inherent 5-in-1 properties of ICFs can really affect the builder or general contractor or trades involved in erecting a building, which ultimately will trickle down to the building owner by saving construction time, labor, or by affecting the bottom line of the building by reducing extra steps and materials!
The inherent five properties of a Reward ICF wall is that it encapsulates 5 different trades or processes or functions of a wall, all into one product – the Insulating Concrete Form. By building with an ICF you are completing the 1) Structural Wall, 2) Insulation, 3) Air Barrier, 4) Vapor Retarder, and 5) Furring – all in one step.
Structural Wall
This is the main core component of ICF walls. By stacking the forms, placing rebar to code, and filling with concrete, it serves as the Structural Wall and can be designed for any structural wall as needed.
Insulation
This is the Main “glamor” feature of Reward Insulating Concrete Forms. This is where it’s easiest to see the benefits of the insulated properties by energy savings alone. But as far as construction steps, NO ADDITIONAL insulation is needed for the wall, this is included as part of the formwork and stays in place. This also reduces labor steps by not having to take away any of the formwork. There is plenty of info out there on this – “Insulate” is in the name of our product!
Vapor Barrier
Let’s be clear here as some folks ignore this inherent benefit of building with insulating concrete forms, yet this can save you substantial amounts of costs- both on product and on labor. In fact, I’m going to bold it, center it, slap a different color on it, and put it on its own line.
NO VAPOR RETARDER IS NEEDED
The building codes require a vapor retarder if the permeance rating is 1.0 or greater, to prevent condensation within the walls. The water vapor permeance of the Reward iForm wall system with 1/2-in. gypsum wallboard varies from 0.2 to 0.3 perms depending on the wall thickness, substantially below the 1.0 requirement. This eliminates the need of applying another layer of material after the ICF wall is constructed.
See our research done on the permeance of Reward’s ICFs (product manual login required). FYI this info is owned and copyrighted by Reward Wall Systems, conducted by a third party research group.
Air Barrier
The solid monolithic concrete wall is the air barrier. By eliminating the need for an air barrier, again you eliminate extra materials, more layers and further costs. Once again we tested the air leakage by a third party, and it showed Reward ICF or solid concrete wall has no measurable leakage of air. (login required)
Now you see why in our R-Value discussion we stressed the importance of caulking and sealing, as you don’t have to worry about the wall itself to achieve an excellent air changes an hour rating. Did you get to read the post on the Reward house in the Parade of Homes in Lancaster County? Measured and recorded .03 ACH.
Furring
- Look at all that wood…poor trees
Furring is long thin strips of material (usually wood or metal) used to make backing surfaces to support the finished surfaces in a room. Furring refers to the backing surface, the process of installing it, and may also refer to the strips themselves. This is where saving our trees comes into play, as 2×4’s won’t be needed!
Reward Insulating Concrete Forms have embedded 1-1/4″ furring strips 1/2″ recessed in the foam every 6″, PLUS our double bridging H-corner bracket allows for tighter finish connections all the way to the edge of the corner and in more places for better attachment. Screw drywall or attach any exterior finishes directly to the ICF
- Notice furring strips embedded 1/2″ deep- 6 in on center
Smarter Way to Build
Hopefully I was able to elaborate enough to see how the 5-in-1 assembly will save you time and money. It makes the most (dollars) and sense to build with insulating concrete forms. It will increase your bottom line and the long term benefit of any building. Any of these claims Reward can prove. WE have done the research which is why we are the leading Insulating Concrete Form Manufacturer.
Sign up or log in to our product manual section to see our full array of research papers conducted for Reward ICF’s.
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