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Conduit Development Expands Foray into Eco-Friendly Building Movement

Architecture, Earth-First Sustainability Unite in Stunning Ocean-Bluff Long Beach Home

Long Beach, Calif., October 1, 2010—Conduit Development, a leading Southern California sustainable builder and developer, has embarked on yet another benchmark endeavor in sustainable green building. Perched high atop the oceanfront bluffs along the Ocean Blvd. historic district in Long Beach, Calif., their latest project—a brand new, 8,000 sq. ft., two-story home currently under construction–is already setting a new standard for eco-friendly construction.

The owners originally worked on plans that called for a traditional, type V wood-frame structure. After a series of meetings with Conduit, they came to realize the remarkable opportunity to create not just a house, but a fully sustainable dream home that would withstand the test of time and realize thousands of dollars in long-terms savings. All for equivalent building costs.

As turn-key builders of commercial and residential properties—as well as highly regarded experts in the growing field of eco-friendly building practices—the Conduit team worked with diligently with the architectural plans and structural engineers to accommodate Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) technology. Made of energy-saving expanded polystyrene (EPS), these igloo-like blocks are stacked like Legos, then filled with concrete to create stable, durable and sustainable walls and foundations. By incorporating ICF technology into the very core of their new home, as well as through use of the Hambro Composite Concrete Floor System, the homeowners will use 30-50% less energy use for heating and cooling, enjoy superior sound insulation, and benefit from wind, fire, insect and rodent resistance. Collectively, these benefits will help create a safe, quiet and comfortable living environment for many years—four times longer than traditional wood frame construction, according to industry experts—while realizing significant savings in heating, cooling and maintenance costs.

Working with the team at Conduit to chart a new ICF course was only one of the first eco-forward steps taken by the homeowners. Relying heavily on Conduit’s knowledge and expertise in sustainable green building, the hand-deconstruction and re-building process has and will continue to showcase a myriad of Earth-friendly practices designed to minimize wasteful energy use, maximize efficiency, enhance property value and conserve vital natural resources. Here are a few examples:

Eco-Friendly Building Practices Being Incorporated into the Long Beach Bluff “Green” Home:

• Hand-deconstructed material recycled for re-use
• 75% on-site waste reduction during construction
• Foundation and walls constructed using innovative ICF technology for maximum insulation and efficiency
• Floors constructed of Hambro Composite Concrete Floor System, which is made of 100% recycled materials
• Zero waste from foundation and wall construction—leftover ICF materials are recycled and used as insulation
• Light gauge steel interior walls
• Energy-efficient photovoltaic solar panels
• Temperature-resistant, flexible Pex pipes
• Drought-tolerant gardens to minimize water use and soil run-off
• Acrylic modified stucco for added protection against weather extremes, as well as fungus and mildew

Thanks to these eco-friendly, energy-saving steps being undertaken by Conduit Development in partnership with the homeowners, this stunning Long Beach home promises to set a new building standard throughout Long Beach and Southern California.

Currently under construction, this landmark project is estimated to be complete by the Spring 2011. To tour the construction site and learn more about the sustainable building practices implemented by Conduit, including ICF construction, call 562-430-3727.

About Conduit Development:

Based in Long Beach, Calif., Conduit Development is a fully integrated, full-service residential and commercial construction firm specializing in green building practices. Recently, the firm was honored by the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce for taking a leardership role in earth-friendly and sustainable contributions in Southern California.

Under the leadership of COO Simon Gonzales, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of construction experience, and CEO Denise C. Gonzales, Conduit approaches every project with an Earth-first attitude, saving clients thousands of dollars over time by making buildings more efficient and sustainable from the very beginning. With environmentally friendly building practices quickly becoming the norm, Conduit also conducts Sustainable Green Building Workshops for students, contractors, architects, engineers and other forward-thinking building professionals. To learn more about these one-day seminars, log on to www.conduitdevelopment.com/workshops.

Designing with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)

Provided By AEC Daily Corporation

Provides an overview of the construction flexibility features of insulated concrete forms (ICFs) which provide innovative solutions for designing sustainable, energy efficient, safe, healthy commercial and residential structures.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss insulated concrete forms (ICFs) as a construction technology and recognize its contribution to a sustainable built environment
• Explain the benefits ICF construction can provide to commercial building occupants and residential homeowners in terms of providing strong, safe, healthy structures
• Explain the benefits ICF construction can provide to builders in terms of strength, performance, safety, ease of construction, reduced costs and labor-saving design
• Utilize and apply the design flexibility features of ICFs to design commercial and residential structures with interior and/or exterior walls which are fire resistant, mold resistant and offer protection from the elements

Identify additional green building benefits of using ICFs and discuss how the use of ICFs in construction can contribute to the LEED® certification of a building project

For more details on this course click here.

FireProof ICFs

Copy Write Credit: ICF Builder Magazine

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The Aledort residence in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., endured a literal baptism of fire during last fall’s firestorms near San Diego. The fires destroyed more than 2,000 homes, but the Aledort residence survived unscathed, thanks in large part to its fireproof ICF walls.

In most areas of the United States, the greatest threat to homes and commercial structures is not hurricanes and tornadoes, but wildfire.
The U.S. Fire Administration reports that fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined—averaging more than 3,700 people—plus another 20,000 injured—every year in the last decade.  Direct property loss due to fires in 2006 is estimated at $11.3 billion.
Fortunately,  homes and buildings made from insulating concrete forms (ICFs) offer exceptional protection from the flames.
“Of all construction materials, concrete is one of the most resistant to heat and fire,” reports the Portland Cement Association.  “Experience shows that concrete structures are more likely to remain standing through fire than are structures of other materials. Unlike wood, concrete does not burn. Unlike steel, it does not soften and bend.” Laboratory test have shown that while wood frame walls exposed to flames will collapse in an hour or less, ICF walls can withstand the intense heat for four hours or more.  Field evidence supports this conclusion.

Business Protection

Built in a rural region of the Oregon Coast, a fire in the Anderson residence garage burned for 35 minutes before the fire department arrived, yet the damage was contained to the garage, and no personal belongings were lost.

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Tony Ellsworth, owner of Ellsworth Bikes in Ramona, California, credits ICFs with saving his business from intense wildfires last fall.  The walls of his high-end bicycle manufacturing facility are made from ICFs instead of traditional wood studs and sheet rock The Witch Creek Fire, which tore through the San Diego region last October, is likely the worst natural disaster to ever hit that area.  It forced more than half a million people from their homes and destroyed more than 2,000 residences. “In an event like that, the fire departments’ primary concern is saving lives,” says Elllsworth. “To expect a fire truck to be sitting there on the curb just to protect your house is not always realistic.”

Ellsworth’s neighborhood was hit hard.  “The flames came right up to the doorstep and completely surrounded the home. Then the winds changed, and the fire came back again,” says Ellsworth.   Forced to evacuate during the worst of the fires, he was shocked by the devestation he returned to. “It brought tears to my eyes,” he says. “I was seeing house after house that had been completely leveled, and then there, on top of an absolutely charred hill, was my home and warehouse, virtually unscathed.”

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Ellsworth was first introduced to ICFs when he began building in 2002, and he was so impressed that he became a form distributor. He found that neighbors’ interest in the material skyrocketed after the fires.  “Almost immediately, people were asking me to tell them about this.”  He organized a “fire survivor workshop” that met weekly to help them sort out rebuilding options, file claims with the insurance industry, and talk about ICFs. “Sustainability means energy conservation and wise use of resources, but it means more than that,” he says. “It means being able to stand up to whatever disasters or threats are likely in your area so you don’t have to rebuild.”

Wildfires: For FULL STORY GO TO ICF MAGAZINE

Green Building | June 21, 2009 | by Zaher Karp

You may not think of concrete at the top of the list of green building materials, but the long-term reductions in energy use are making it a popular choice for construction. Conduit Development is one of many builders now relying on insulated concrete form (ICF) technology for their green home projects. The company is renovating an older home on the bluffs of California into a new efficient, more durable residence.

By October the company expects to complete their green renovation of the sixties era San Pedro home. The eco-friendly home will hold up against fire, earthquakes, mold and saltwater erosion— which is especially necessary in coastal areas and even more locally, recent Santa Barbara fires.

ICF buildings require 30 to 50 percent less energy to heat and cool (and thus greatly reduces the amount of fossil fuels consumed), as the expanded polystyrene blocks are efficient insulators. As emphasis towards reducing utility costs continue, ICF could fill an important void when dealing with improving low-income dwellings, a concern that shared in a report recently released by Living Cities.

Conduit Development also reused the majority of their demolition materials and will be installing solar panels, as well as a drought-tolerant garden.

According to the EPA Energy Star Homes Program, home value increases by roughly $20 per every $1 reduction in annual utility costs. One trade off in the environmental equation: while ICF buildings use less wood, the production of its major raw material (cement) is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and mercury.

In a period where retrofitting and efficiency are on the tips of many a tongue, new approaches towards home efficiency are being called for. To satisfy new needs for energy efficiency and to possibly assist in the retrofitting of low-income homes.