At Cullum Homes, many of our homes are built with insulated concrete forms (ICF). ICF is a system of formwork for reinforced concrete usually made with a rigid thermal insulation that stays in place as a permanent interior and exterior substrate for walls, floors, and roofs. Read more to see the advantages and why we prefer to build our homes with ICF.
1) Indoor Comfort
ICF blocks have a very high insulation factor, known as R-value, which helps keep stable temperatures inside the home. The thick concrete massing allows for the home to stay cool in the hot months and warm during the cold months. This in turn lowers heating and cooling bills since the conditioning systems run less often. In addition to stable temperatures, the thick wall massing reduces drafting and any unwanted particles from making their way through the wall system into the home.
2) Noise Attenuation
One of the main reasons we use ICF blocks in our development projects is the close proximity to other homes. With some of our zero lot line developments, the neighboring home is very close so the combination of foam and concrete reduces the sound transmission from the outside by double that of a traditional framed wall.
3) Security and Durability
The 6″ concrete core of the ICF block offers the utmost security and durability to the house structure. It has proven to withstand extreme wind conditions and has a much higher fire resistant factor than framing. Wood is prone to rot and decay, especially when exposed to these elements, whereas concrete actually continually gets harder overtime.
4) Ease of Construction
ICF block construction is very intuitive. They are very similar to a lego blocks in the way they attach together and with the developments of the corner pieces, they have made it much easier and safer to construct. Also, in comparison to masonry construction, the foam on the ICF block allows for electrical and plumbing to be run without having to expand the thickness of the interior walls.