Designing with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)
Provided By AEC Daily Corporation
| FORMAT | COURSE LEVEL | DURATION | PRICE |
| Online Course | 200 (Understanding) | Less than 2 hours | Free |
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
d States, the greatest threat to homes and commercial structures is not hurricanes and tornadoes, but wildfire.Business Protection
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.”
Wildfires: For FULL STORY GO TO ICF MAGAZINE
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Los Angeles Continuing Education Academy
Employing A New Hue of Blue
Southern California Construction Pros Finding New Opportunities in ICF, Sustainable Building
By Denise C. Gonzales
Principal, Conduit Development
Today’s headlines greet my husband and I over coffee: unemployment levels have hit more than 11% in California. Tens of thousands of white and blue collar workers throughout the state are embarking on–or continuing–an arduous search for employment in troubling economic times.
Flash forward two hours, and we are on the job site of our firm’s latest construction project: a stunning, private home perched high above the Pacific Ocean. We at Conduit Development are grateful for this project–especially when so many of our peers are seeking work. But most importantly, we are thankful to be building for the future by employing a mix of blue and white collar workers who have joined the green workforce to create a sustainable, ICF (insulating concrete form) showcase home.
The project didn’t come to us by accident. In fact, traditional wood frame plans were all but complete when our firm entered the picture. Conduit educated the owners on the many benefits of sustainable building, and the plans were altered to accommodate ICF technology. (Without adding a dime onto construction costs.) 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 using ICF instead of wood, homes require 30-50% less energy to heat and cool, feature superior sound insulation, and are wind, insect, and rodent resistant.
ICF offers significant fire protection as well, a crucial attribute given the wildfires that frequently ravage Southern California. In recent firewall tests, ICF withstood continuous exposure to intense flames and temperatures up to 2,000 degrees for as long as four hours without structural damage. Given that wood frame walls would collapse within an hour, ICF offers a smarter, safer building choice.
It’s no wonder that from families of modest means to grand estates, ICF is increasingly being recognized as a wise and practical investment. Schools are also jumping on the ICF bandwagon, citing such benefits as quicker build times, proven strength, cost-saving energy efficiency and protection against tornadoes, hurricanes and fire.
With ICF and other sustainable building practices on the rise, green collar jobs are growing dramatically. Industry experts expect US jobs inrenewable and energy-efficient industries to increase to as many as 40 million by 2030. Which helps explain why so many workers are trading in their existing skills and knowledge base to go green.
For some green collar workers, the choice is a matter of ideals. They’ve had a wake up call, and want to use their professional and personal time in alignment with their convictions. For others, it’s a matter of practicality. The old ways aren’t working, and it only makes sense that the population at large is looking at eco-friendly alternatives in their homes and places of work. If this is where the jobs will be in the future, then now is the time to learn new skills.
For those who want to succeed, affordable and informative “green” training is a must. Which gives sustainable building leaders a unique opportunity to share their knowledge, insight and experience through hands-on education. Conduit, for example, offers low-cost, day-long workshops on ICF installation and construction.
At Conduit, our recent work on this ICF home reinforces the fact that new opportunities do exist–even in challenging economic times–for those with vision. We look forward to continuing to educate and train ourselves, our crew and our peers to help build a greener, more vibrant future offering greater job security and work satisfaction.
Green Building | June 21, 2009 |
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.
