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Concrete requires more energy to produce compared to conventional wood-framed construction. However, operational energy also plays a significant role in the environmental impact of a building throughout its lifetime. In this article, we investigate the environmental effects of ICFs by examining the life cycle of this building material. The HomeAdvisor Cost Guide “How Much Does It Cost To Build A Concrete House? ” outlines exactly how much homeowners should expect to pay for ICF construction.
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What Are the Benefits of Building an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) House?
Supplying protection from severe weather events, fire resistance, and enhanced air quality, ICF homes are considered higher quality than other homes. Pests, rodents, and insects don't penetrate insulated concrete form walls. Offering a lengthy list of benefits, ICF homes are considered safer to insure than other types of homes. Effective insulation, tighter construction, and temperature-moderating walls conserve heating and cooling energy.
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The wood-frame house was modeled to follow local building code requirements for each site, and the ICF home followed standards for ICF construction in each location. This approach allowed the researchers to draw meaningful comparisons between standardized buildings. Insulated concrete forms cost about $150 per square foot, which is 2% to 7% more than standard wood-frame construction. Overall, you'll likely end up spending about 5% to 10% more in total construction costs than you would for a conventional wood-frame home. Do keep in mind that the price of concrete can fluctuate, and the price of your home is also dependent on the design, local construction labor costs, and additional factors. This house is a great choice for someone who wants the benefits of an ICF home in a more traditional single-family layout.
The Advantages of Building a Concrete Block / ICF House
While ICF walls look dramatically different from plywood-sheathed frame construction, they’re actually easier to work with for most exterior finishes. The foam substrate is perfect for cement-based stucco or textured acrylic finishes. Brick, stone, and manufactured stone are also applied more easily to ICFs than frame, as no additional vapor barrier is needed (in most regions). It’s as easy as fastening the material to the ICF furring strips, clearly marked on the outside of the forms.
ICF can be used for basements, underground homes or entire multi-story homes. They can start at the foundation and go all the way to the roofline, as in our construction. Some builders use only insulated concrete foundation forms and combine them with other building methods above ground.
These blocks are composed of recycled materials and provide excellent thermal insulation. Instead of framing the walls with studs, the walls are formed by styrofoam blocks, and the concrete is poured into those forms. Insulated concrete forms (ICFs) are the styrofoam foundation forms. They are light, simple, and easy to work with–they simply snap together like lego. They are permanent forms that stay put even after the concrete is poured, and they help insulate the home once the concrete is dry. The forms can be stacked and interlinked to form walls, ceilings, roofs, or pool walls that are filled with concrete.
When building a high-performance house, like a Passive House, a typical off-the-shelf ICF system is often not thick enough. It may also struggle to meet the insulation standards in a cold climate like Canada or the northern USA. Fortunately, some ICF manufacturers, like Nudura, have created products with an R-value of up to R-48 to address colder climates. I’ve taken to applying a layer of insulating window plastic on the inside of the north windows at the beginning of the heating season. Since walls made with ICF are so resistant to wind, fire, and flooding, your homeowner’s insurance premium will be lower than it would be with traditional wood-frame walls.
After finishes are applied inside and out, typical final wall thickness is greater than one foot. The joints between individual forms can feature interlocking teeth or a tongue and groove configuration molded into the forming material, or simple butt jointed seams. Many manufacturers have developed units with universal interlocks that allow the forms to stack whether the form is flipped one way or the other.
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They examined a typical size home at 2,450 square feet, which was very close to the average square footage of a single-family home at the time of the study. These researchers also found that the overall environmental impact of wood-frame homes was more significant than ICF homes. The study also provides an exceptionally robust review of construction types, study justifications, life cycle assessment considerations, and discussion of results. The savings and payback of an ICF home are primarily dependent on what you are comparing to and how well the home is built.
A lot of the strength that insulated concrete form walls possess comes from the addition of rebar. These moldable steel wires are excellent for fitting between the seams of the interior grid and reinforcing the concrete. Unfortunately, many new ICFs include plastic connectors, which act as cheaper and more flexible reinforcement wires, which leaves very little space for the addition of rebar.
After that, the idea was adopted by chemical companies who developed plastic foams. This was later further developed by Jean-Louis Béliveau to regulate the temperature in his parents’ Florida home. The purpose of these forms is to be permanent wall supports that create space to run wiring and plumbing, provide thermal and acoustic insulation, and be the interior side for exterior walls. Because the exterior of ICF homes is well-sealed, passive home builders have recently turned to insulated concrete forms as a method of reducing energy consumption. ICFs are typically made of pre-molded blocks or panels of rigid foam, which are assembled on site to create wall forms into which concrete is poured (Figure 1).
ICFs typically have five inches of EPS insulation with tested insulation value of R-22 or R-26. Some ICF manufacturers offer even thicker sidewalls, with tested values of R-32 or even R-40. When you stack and pour ICF walls they are almost immediately ready for interior and exterior finishes. Wood construction requires 2×4 or 2×6 studs, a bottom plate, two top plates, headers, jack studs, cripples, corner bucks, exterior sheathing, and house wrap. Additional caulking and sealing to close up voids after all that cutting, then fiberglass insulation and an interior vapor film if required.
These forms are commonly used in foundations and exterior walls of both residential and commercial buildings. Common configurations of ICF walls and foundations are flat wall, waffle-grid and screen grid. Interestingly, ICF patent-holder Werner Gregori did not foresee the use of insulated concrete forms in residential construction. He initially believed that ICF construction would be too expensive for home builders. However, the cost of lumber and skilled labor rose precipitously in the years following Gregori’s patent application. Today, ICF construction is fairly competitive and can be very affordable, especially when one considers energy savings over time.
Consumers and home builders alike are consistently looking for new building strategies that are cost-effective and deliver high-quality results. A popular choice in many climates, insulated concrete forms (ICF's) provide tight building prospects and continuous insulation. Outperforming many other building techniques, ICF homes are well-insulated and energy-efficient. The career demands of a young married couple dictated finding a suitable city residence, one that had plenty of space and was located close to downtown Chicago. With a shorter commute, the parents would be able to spend more family time with their two children.
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