Sustainable Churchs Continued
November 6th, 2009 | Project Showcase, Unique Trends
As a follow-up to our first Sustainable Church post, Tom R was able to visit with a few more in his area. All of them thoroughly believed in the benefits of Reward insulating concrete forms and the green building initiatives of the churches.
Tim Miller, who GC’d the Portage Community Chapel in Portage, OH was kind enough to share information on this proejct. The Portage Community Chapel was an addition to an existing facility but the addition dwarfed the original structure. Included in the new portion of the building is a gymnasium, 2 stories of classrooms and all-purpose rooms, all of which utilized Reward for the exterior walls.
Miller is a member of the Portage Community Chapel, and one unique aspect of the church’s decision was the ability to use volunteers to help in the construction. Similar to Habitat for Humanity, Portage uses volunteers, usually church members, to help construct not only their own buildings, but to assist in the construction of other religious and/or non-profit facilities as well. Miller was able to train the volunteers to help in building this project with relative ease, mostly due to the simplicity of Reward’s system. In addition, Miller had a heat-loss audit performed for the building long before construction ever started, and the energy savings inherent with Reward’s products versus traditional methods made it an easy decision for the building committee.
It makes sense that churches would look at Insulating Concrete Form construction. Churches have been and continue to be anchors in communities across the US, and as such, when they look to build they want their structures to last for generations of the congregation. ICF technology helps them do that.
Most churches and church building committees work on very tight budgets so they want the most bang for their buck. Again, Reward ICF’s help them achieve that with competitive first costs and ongoing contributions through reduced energy requirements throughout the life of the building (which is longer when built with Reward versus traditional construction methods.) When you add it all up, it’s easy to see why Reward is often the choice for new church construction.
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Sustainable Churchs with Insulating Concrete Forms
October 27th, 2009 | From the Field, Project Showcase, Unique Trends
One market where ICFs have had significant activity recently is in the construction of new churches and religious buildings. In a particular market area, we have 5 projects currently under construction and a number of others in the works. As of this writing, The Hopevale Church in Michigan, the New Beginnings United Methodist Church in New York, the Portage Community Chapel in Ohio, the Manheim Brethren In Christ (BIC) Church in Pennsylvania and the Celebrate Life church in Lancaster, PA have all started projects using Reward. Tom R, our regional sales manager, began to wonder why so many of these church building committees were turning to Reward insulating concrete forms for their projects and he got some excellent insights from a few committee members.
Tom spoke with Ed Denlinger who sits on the building committee for the Manheim BIC. Manheim had built its Youth Center last year using Reward and currently has its new Sanctuary under construction, also with Reward. Denlinger said that the main reasons they decided to go with Reward are competitive first costs, energy savings, sound attenuation and building strength.
“We are going to be here for a while,” Denlinger says. “When we evaluated the costs of Reward versus traditional CMU cavity wall with added insulation, cost in essence became a non-factor. With continuing increases in energy costs, the performance of the building became key and it was a no-brainer.”
The building sits close to the street in a commercial area, so keeping the sounds of the church activities inside and the noise of the nearby street out were also added benefits.
Finally, Denlinger noted that finishing the building has been a simple process because they weren’t limited in terms of what they could use. Drywall application on the interior is easy and whether it’s a brick or an acrylic finish, it didn’t matter because both work well with Reward ICFs.
The sustainability of ICFs shows immense potential for the religious building markets. Churches from hundreds of years ago are still standing tall, as they should be intended to- granted they took intense manual labor and YEARS to build (between 8-22 years in some instances). But now with uses of concrete in ICFs these structures will still be standing, and they have the flexibility to be designed with any old world architectural inspirations or new age trends as well. Either way it will house a congregational community for a lifetime.
We’ll update this project as it finishes up!
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Thermal Imaging of Insulated Concrete Forms
September 8th, 2009 | From the Field
It’s one thing to say that a house built with insulating concrete forms (ICFs) is energy efficient, but it’s quite another to be able to visually prove it.
Thermal imaging is a type of infrared imaging science. Thermographic cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum (roughly 900–14,000 nanometers or 0.9–14 μm) and produce images of that radiation. Since all objects emit infrared radiation based on their temperatures, thermography makes it possible to “see” one’s environment with or without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with temperature, and thermography allows one to see these temperature variations (hence the name). When viewed by a thermographic camera, the presence of heat stands out against cooler backgrounds, day or night.
A reference point, ’R’, is a temperature point on the building determined by the thermal imaging that is considered normal at the given time and conditions the image was taken. Based on the laws of physics (heat loss/flow), the reference point is then assigned a color. The change in temperature and color from the reference point indicates a thermal loss. A thermal loss of < 2° is acceptable. A thermal loss greater than 2° is unacceptable and shows some anomaly causing excess thermal loss.
Thermal Imaging of ICF vs “Stick Built” in same neighborhood.
The photos of the two houses above were taken in the same neighborhood within minutes of each other. The house on the left is wood framed, while the house on the right has exterior walls constructed with Reward ICFs. The ICF house shows less than < 2° temperature change. This indicates little to no heat loss. The yellow, orange and red colors indicate heat loss at >10° and up to 20° temperature change.
Thermographic photography provides us with visible thermal information, thus allowing us to identify distinguishing heat patterns. These heat patterns can then be measured to reveal building, equipment or environmental flaws (i.e. heat loss through the roof or windows). Ultimately, these thermal images show that an ICF structure delivers a significantly tighter enclosure than that of its wood framed counterpart.
The two photos below show the heating and cooling cost differences that can be directly attributed to the heat loss. The following pictures are merely a visual representation of heat loss. This is not scientific data
Further Thermal Imaging Comparison
| Stick Built Conventional Home | ICF Constructed Home |
|---|---|
| Shows heat loss through exterior walls | Shows NO heat loss through exterior walls |
| 800 sq ft ranch = Average heat bill $200 a month | 3,500 sq ft 2-story = Average heat bill $80 a month |
Even though the homes above are located in the same climactic region, the Reward built home (on the right), which is more than 4x bigger than the wood framed home (on the left), spends 60% less on an average heating bill.
“I have not seen any house that compares with the Reward ICF house for being thermally efficient as this one. Even the roof vents were cold when all other houses that we have inspected the roof vents were releasing heat from the attic, the ones on the ICF house were not.” ThermaScan Solutions photographer, Bryan Dring.
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LEED v3: ICFs and Materials & Resources
August 13th, 2009 | Lets Get Technical!
Materials and Resources (MR): This LEED topic covers recycling building materials, and reducing construction waste and using regional materials within a 500 mile radius.
| Credit | Title | NC | Schools | CS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MR Credit 2 | Construction Waste Management | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| MR Credit 4 | Recycled Content | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| MR Credit 5 | Regional Materials | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
Under the credit Construction Waste Management, Reward’s ICF product is designed so that the form reduces waste during construction. The amount of waste that is produced is often possible to recycle as the expanded polystyrene foam and the plastic ties along with the concrete and rebar are recyclable materials. Any waste that is generated is 100% recyclable. See website below for a list of all EPS recycling facilities for every state.
www.epspackaging.org/info.html
Reward’s insulating concrete form products contain recycled content and can contribute to the Recycled Content credit. The Reward plastic tie inserts are manufactured from 100% pre-consumer recycled first generation polypropylene plastic. One half (50%) of the calculated pre-consumer amount is included in the total value of recycled content for a project. The calculations and amount of recycled content that the iForm contributes is shown below.
For example, the 11” iForm tie weight is 188 grams
- 100%, (188 grams) is pre-consumer recycled content
- 1.5 ties per square foot
- 282 grams per square foot recycled content
- Foam Weight: 288 grams/square foot
- Total System: 570 grams/square foot
- Cost of System: $3.18/square foot
- Value of Recycled Content per Square Foot (282/570)($3.18)(50%) = 0.79
- % of product value recycled content $0.79/$3.18
Recycled Content of Reward Forms
| Form | Tie weight/sq ft | Foam weight/sq ft | Total Form weight/sq ft | Cost/sq ft | Value of recycled content/sq ft | % of product value recycled content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9″ iForm | 272g | 287.6g | 560g | $3.12 | $0.76 | 24% |
| 11″ iForm | 282g | 287.6g | 570g | $3.18 | $0.79 | 25% |
| 13″ iForm | 292g | 287.6g | 580g | $3.25 | $0.82 | 25% |
| 15″ iForm | 303g | 287.6g | 591g | $3.44 | $0.88 | 26% |
| 17″ iForm | 348g | 287.6g | 636g | $3.60 | $0.98 | 27% |
The Reward ICF walls can also contribute under the Regional Materials credit. The wall consists of formwork made from expanded polystyrene foam and plastic ties filled with concrete. Reward’s formwork products are manufactured in several plants around the country. Most areas will be within a 500 mile radius. Concrete consists of cement, water, fine and course aggregates and air. The water, air and aggregates are derived locally. The total value of materials that have been extracted and manufactured within a 500 mile radius has to equal 10% for one point and 20% for 2 points.
Reward will qualify as a regional material for projects located within a 500 mile radius of each of Rewards six manufacturing locations - Post Falls, ID; Colorado Springs, CO; Nixa, MO; Becker, MN; New Brighton, PA; Orlando, FL. Depending upon the location of the project relative to the manufacturing plant, projects located in the following states covered by the circles below should qualify.
For Tuesday: Indoor Environmental Qualtiy (EQ) LEED v3 ICF Summary
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NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames
June 30th, 2009 | Product Announcement
Reward Wall Systems designed and created NoricF4™ Custom Metal ICF Frames for doors and windows, to further enhance the building envelope required by commercial Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) construction. For your customized quote call Reward today, 1-800-468-6344
NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames
The NoricF4 is a pre-assembled, 14 gauge steel, 2-in-1 custom metal frame that combines the buck and the frame in one system, which eliminates waste, speeds door or window installation time, and is customized to fit any specification.
The NoricF4 comes with many exclusive features:
- Is pre-assembled & welded to specifications from the building plans
- Includes drywall returns
- Has an integrated continuous concrete anchor
- NoricF4 for doors includes a press in place weather-stripping.
- Comes fully prepped for door hardware
- NoricF4 for windows can be fabricated with mullions and integral glazing stops
NoricF4 for Doors
The NoricF4 door is custom designed and can be ordered to fit any door and hardware manufacturer or type or size. The NoricF4 is fabricated with the strike plate and hinge preps already in place at any location according to the project’s specifications. The standard NoricF4 will include a press in place door weather strip seal. The door seal is easily and quickly installed by hand with no tools. It provides superior weather stripping and can be easily replaced. It can also be made without the seal.
NoricF4 for Windows
The NoricF4 window is custom designed to any window opening size. The standard NoricF4 will consist of cased window head and jambs. The NoricF4 sill will have an integrated opening for concrete placement and consolidation. A sill filler plate is available that caps the sill opening after concrete placement.
The NoricF4 can reduce construction time by:
1. Eliminating the buck assembly
2. Eliminating squaring and stripping
3. Reducing bracing and support
4. Being ready to receive windows/doors of ANY manufacturer or size
5. Eliminating trade steps
The NoricF4 is designed and made to fit snugly around the EPS foam thickness of any insulated concrete form on the market.
(Pictures from left to right, top to bottom: Drywall Return, Side profile of Continuous Concrete Anchor, Prepped Door Hardware-Hinge, Prepped Door Hardware-Strike Plate Position, Press-in Place Weather Stripping, sFrame for Windows)
Options for Customization of the NoricF4
Door:
- ICF form size
- ICF EPS foam thickness
- Single or double rabbet
- Fully prepped for any door and door hardware type and locations
- Standard interior side return without the gypsum drywall return
- Brick mold return on exterior side or any other return style or dimension
- Side lights or transom windows incorporated into door frame
- Other gypsum drywall thickness return
- Gypsum drywall return on both sides
Window:
- ICF form size
- ICF EPS foam thickness
- Standard interior side return without the gypsum drywall return
- Brick mold return on exterior side or any other return style or dimension
- Other gypsum drywall thickness return
- Gypsum drywall return on both sides
- Window frame fabricated with mullions and integral glazing stops for ready-to-set window glass
- Cased window opening ready to receive window frame
We are proud to be the first and only ICF company to offer such a custom metal ICF frame with this extensive of a feature list. This item will give the entire ICF industry a product that can make it easier and more cost effective to build commercial projects, while providing a durable and customized frame profile.
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The Truth on Energy Efficiency and R-Value
June 26th, 2009 | Lets Get Technical!
Energy Efficiency is more than R-value. Superior walls are more than R-value. When people reference R-value in deciding on what types of building materials to use, ultimately what everyone is interested in is energy efficiency, and what impact certain materials will have on R-value.
Energy efficiency is determined by several factors such as the walls, windows and doors, roof or ceiling, mechanical systems; and internal loads such as lighting, appliance use, and number of people.
The first place to start when improving energy efficiency is the building envelope. The building envelope consists of the foundation, the walls, the doors and windows, and the roof. It’s difficult to have an efficiently conditioned building without controlling the enclosure. The overall performance of a well designed and energy efficient mechanical system is reduced, if the envelope is not efficient, thus costing you money.
WHY are insulating concrete form walls inherently energy efficient?
What is great about ICF walls is that they perform well in respect to the “Chosen Three” of energy efficiency- conduction, convection, and radiation. How so you may be asking?
Your Home Loses and Gains Heat in 3 ways:
-Conduction- def. The transfer of heat through two objects due to a temperature difference.
ICF walls have a consistent R-value that reduces thermal transfer through the wall assembly.
-Convection- def. the transfer of heat through circulation of heated part.
ICF’s are virtually airtight which reduces the “circulation” of heated air from one side to the other, which give a structure a consistent indoor climate
-Radiation- def energy that is transmitted through one side of an object and absorbed by the other side.
The thermal mass in ICF walls reduces the radiation of temperatures from one side of wall to the other.
There is not another wall system that can control all three of these elements of energy efficiency in one system. By the way did you notice R-value truly effects only one of the “Chosen Three”?
But why does everyone advertise and INFLATE the R-values of their product when that’s not truly what it is? We do not know. Our guess is that other ICF manufacturers or other wall systems or products in general use the highest number they can find, or create, to try to mislead customers into thinking their product may be superior. What they don’t tell you is that R-values are tested in a lab, so R-values may be different in different climate zones etc. Also, some folks use “Effective” R-value number instead of “Actual” R-value. Watch this couple minute video of Richard Rue, from NASA spinoff company EnergyWise Structures, truly explain the importance of the Chosen Three and the misleading R-values.
So, to try our best to break it down for you, and give honest values and representation of the R-value of ICFs, our Reward iForm has a steady state actual R-value of R-22 (Conduction!). This is the clear wall R-value, the whole wall assembly and all its materials from inside to the outside face of the wall (foam < concrete > foam). This is not like a framed (wood or metal) wall where insulation is placed into the cavities of the wall and they call it an R-18, when in reality its clear wall R-value is more like R-13 or lower. The wood or metal is not accounted for in the wall’s R-value, as a wood or metal stud by itself is an R-2 to R-6.
Secondly, the continuous EPS insulation and monolithic concrete wall provides an air tight envelope (Convection!). This is probably the biggest factor contributing to the excellent energy performance of an ICF building. Wood or steel framed structures need extra material and effort to even try to achieve this level of convection.
Finally, the thermal mass of the concrete in the ICF wall will moderate peak temperatures daily (Radiation!). The thermal mass performance is a function of the climate or region of where the building is located. A climate that has wider temperature fluctuations daily will get better benefits due to the thermal mass. Plus this will help to contribute to LEED v3: Indoor Environmental Quality points as well!
Once again R-value does not take into account Convection and Radiation.
So the ACTUAL R-values of Reward Insulating Concrete Forms is R-22, as are most ICFs. What is “Effective” R value? The effective R-value is the comparative R-value that a framed wall would need to be insulated in order to have the same energy performance as the same building built with ICF walls. It is not the R-value of the ICF wall. The effective R-value considers the actual R-value, the air infiltration rate and the thermal mass.
So you can see why some people will say “Effective R-value” of 32 all the way up to 60 for ICF walls. All of the other factors you cannot test in a lab, as it will vary on climate and other variables. It is a COMPARATIVE measurement, with everything else being equal in the comparisons. As an example we say an effective R-Value of 32+. That means in order for you to achieve that level on a non-ICF wall, you will need to insulate the framed wall to a level 32+ value.
Other areas of the envelope that will enhance the energy efficiency of the building would be to add energy efficient windows, to provide high quality design and construction of the openings, and to provide a well insulated roof and an energy efficient roof to wall connection.
Hopefully that gives you a better insight into R-values, green building and an overview of the building envelope.
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Sustainable Design Conference Recap
June 23rd, 2009 | From the Field
On May 19th, Cemstone Products Co and Reward hosted our first ever Sustainable Design Conference in Burnsville, MN, in order to educate the surrounding community of architects and building designers/planners on using insulating concrete forms (ICFs) to maintain the new green building standards of design. There is much buzz on that topic, so luckily I do not have to elaborate as one could turn on the TV or swing by YouTube to see what that the future of design is focused on building green. The event took place at the CineMagic Atlantis 15 Theater, which was constructed with ICFs.
CineMagic Atlantis 15 - Click to see project profile
For the conference we hosted a few professionals of the likes of Donn Thompson, the acting Director of the PCA; Richard Rue, previously from NASA and current founder of EnergyWise Structures; and Arol Wolford, from REED Construction Data, who’s visionary status pegged him as the pioneer of Building Information Modeling (BIM). For all of the sessions that day there were 6 AIA HSW and SD credits available for AIA members.
- Attendees in Theater
Architects and Designers at Lunch
We had a very solid turnout with local and regional designers ranging in scope and age and types of businesses. We had some outside vendors come in as well in support of Cemstone. Questions and answers were exchanged throughout the day on design methods, detail drawings, contributing to LEED credits, and the future of design with BIM…Yes, our ICF Revit models are available now! (shameless plug)
We’ve done our best to try to post a few videos on our YouTube channel, from this conference to share a few excerpts from each speaker, as there were 6 hours of conference and no one wants to sit through ALL of that. If you do, please contact us as I’m sure I can arrange it. So, it’ll take some time to get through all of the info and speakers to share with you, so check back often.
Do you have a large audience of Architects, Design/Build Firms, or Designer in general that would benefit from a conference in your area? Let us know! These take quite the effort to put on, but the information and conversations exchanged are extremely beneficial, so maybe your area could be next on the list.
Our insulating concrete form industry is still so young, yet is showing signs of explosion. The more people that are educated on the benefits of insulated concrete forms, green building, and Reward Wall Systems of course, the better. We are convinced the future is incredibly bright…so bright, make sure your glasses are tinted and polarized.
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