ICF: It's Actually Pretty Easy Being Green

The immortal Kermit the Frog sang about the challenges of being green more than 30 years ago. Today, it's a lot easier than most people think with innovations in building materials such as ICF or insulated concrete forms.

Our house is being built with the ECO-Block system (ECO-Block Website) that reduces waste in construction, but also reduces energy costs, improves indoor air quality and creates a quiet house free from the intrusions of ambient environmental noise (like trains and sirens). ECO-Block can withstand 250 mile-per-hour winds, making it extremely resistant to storm damage. Concrete breaks down at a much higher temperatures than average house fires can create, making the construction fire resistant as well. We wanted our dream home to last forever, a possibility with this innovative construction method.

The main element of ICF/ECO-Block that blew us away was that our home will require 1/2 the tonnage of HVAC of a comparable non-ICF home. In South Louisiana, that efficiency nets a significant energy savings and a much more comfortable home during the unbearable summers months. ICF construction also makes homeowners and builders eligible for energy efficiency tax savings and special energy efficient mortgages that can make the green building process more feasible.

How Does ICF Work?

ICF construction uses layers of Styrofoam and other recycled materials on either side of six inches of concrete. The result is very solid 12-inch thick walls that keep out noise and environmental pollutants while retaining an energy efficient temperature inside. Our builder is an advocate of envelope construction on this type of home, meaning that the entire house is sealed with a high-filtration HVAC system that keeps the indoor air clean and humidity regulated. The exterior can be treated with stone, brick, shingle or stucco finishing and the interior walls take sheetrock just like any other construction. Plumbing and electrical rough ins are done very similar to typical construction, only special knives are used to cut away the interior foam for pipe and wiring. Exterior walls do require extra hardware for hanging pictures or other items, but the bracket system used to hold the Eco-Blocks together allows for special hanging gear to be used.

As the walls go up, we'll be providing detailed pictures of the days leading up to the big concrete pour. For more pictures of ICF construction in progress, visit our builder's website at www.pcgbr.com.