ICF Panel Article

This is an article from ebuild.com. I'm posting this article, since it's the materials that Paul Danna Construction uses to build homes. There are so many types of alternative construction, but this seems to be one of the forerunners.

Insulated Concrete Forms
ICFs are molded from expanded or extruded polystyrene into lightweight, interlocking foam blocks that serve as permanent forms for poured concrete walls. The resulting walls combine the thermal mass and strength of concrete with the energy-saving benefits of integral insulation panels. Sophisticated systems feature metal inserts that act like rebar within the blocks and as vertical, standard on-center nailing strips on both faces of the insulated wall structure.

Of the alternative structural systems trying to enter the mainstream of housing construction, ICFs have made the most headway. The NAHB has tracked the industry's trajectory from a 0.7% market share of above-grade walls for single-family homes in 1997 to a 6.5% share in 2006—equaling more than 103,000 homes in that year alone.

There are now about 60 manufacturers distributing ICFs across the country; the International Building Code accepts ICFs among poured-in-place concrete systems, enabling their use nationwide.

ICFs' most recent popularity is fueled by current events, primarily the Gulf Coast hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, as well as nationwide energy price hikes and the green building trend. "We're talking about a system that resists fire and high winds, creates an energy-efficient home, mitigates noise, and is highly durable," says Jim Niehoff, residential promotion manager for the Portland Cement Association in Skokie, Ill.

ICFs also offer production benefits. "Builders love them because they're easier and faster to use [than removable forms] and there's one less sub (insulation) to hire," says Frank Chambers, regional vice president of The Contractor Yard, a dealer in Nashville, Tenn.

Minnesota custom builder John Vogstrom took to using ICFs eight years ago, specifically to reduce the potential for mold- and moisture-related issues. Since then, he's further leveraged the energy efficiency of the system to get the most out of geothermal heating, among other green building practices; he also enjoys the ability to create larger window openings than he could with lumber.

Still, ICFs' 5 percent to 10 percent materials-only price premium over CMUs and poured concrete, not considering the labor savings of having integral insulation and permanent forms, is a tough nut to crack with price-sensitive builders. ICFs also suffer from regional building cultures that are married to stick framing and slabs and from a shortage of trained installers to meet demand.

To address the latter issue, the ICF industry is working with the NAHB and its Home Builders Institute educational arm, as well as the United Brother­hood of Carpenters union, to "transition them from stick-framing to ICFs and concrete," Niehoff says. Owens Corning, meanwhile, announced a training and certification program for its ICF system last year.

As for distribution, the ICF industry seems typically fragmented for a relatively young industry. While some manufacturers are actively initiating direct sales relationships with builders to help keep prices competitive, others are willing to suffer supply channel markups of up to three times the cost of a block to enable local support for the technology.