ICF Research - Industry Articles

Industry Articles & White Papers for ICF Research
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BuildBlock White Papers

Green Building, LEED Certification, and ICFs
Includes a third-party assessment reporting that BuildBlock ICFs can furnish the basis for up to 27 LEED Certification Points.

Insulating Concrete Forms and Termite Code Requirements

Other White Papers & Articles

The following articles and white papers are from established and respected publications and orgainzations and are presented with permission from the publishers. This information is provided as a service to our visitors and customers. BuildBlock is not responsible for the content of these materials.

Costs and Benefits of insulating concrete forms for Residential construction

Prepared for:
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research
Washington, DC
Portland Cement Association
Skokie, IL
by
NAHB Research Center, Inc.
Upper Marlboro, MD
HUD Contract H-21172CA
November 2001

Energy Tax Provisions

While energy savings of 10 – 15% can be achieved by improving appliances, lighting, and HVAC equipment, there is no doubt that more significant savings must start with improvements to the building envelope. Increasing the insulation values and tightening up the thermal envelope is the most effective and durable approach. This has been proven time and again with advanced building systems, such as Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs).

HVAC Sizing Methodology for Insulated Concrete Homes

The following White Paper has been compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with the objective of providing information regarding energy use in concrete homes, develop additional information as needed, and use this information to develop a methodology to properly size heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment for Insulated Concrete Homes in the US and Canada.

HBCD Use & Application in EPS Foam Insulation

Flame retardants play a crucial role in making homes, hospitals, schools and other buildings safer from the lifethreatening consequences of fire. In 2007, U.S. fire departments responded to 1,557,500 fires involving 531,108 building structures. Total fire related deaths were 3,430, with an additional $15 billion in property damage.

In order to reduce the risk of fires and provide adequate time to vacate a building in case of fire, governments, product manufacturers and professional associations have promoted the use of flame retardants in products and building materials likely to burn. This is particularly true for polymeric materials. Flame retardants are used in a variety of commercial products to protect people and property from potential fire hazards by accomplishing one or more of the following functions:

Raise the ignition temperature of the polymer;
Reduce the rate of burning;
Reduce flame spread; or
Reduce smoke generation.

Free Fall of Concrete

Test results show no segregation or strength loss for free falls of more than 50 feet.
Originally printed in Concrete International and posted with permission from the American Concrete Institute (www.concrete.org)

Foam-Control® EPS Water Absorption Facts

Superior moisture resistance and stable R-Value from Foam-Control EPS to protect your insulation integrity.
Independent Testing Results After 15 Years of Below Grade Exposure.
Moisture Accumulation.
Loss of Blowing Agent.