Fox Blocks

Tilt Up Construction and Insulated Concrete Forms

» by Randy Daniels | Uncategorized | Sat, 17 December 2011

Fox Blocks worked the Tilt Up Concrete Association Expo in Kansas City, MO. It’s cool working for a company that gives you a green light to pursue some different market opportunities. The Tilt Up folks are not known for using much ICF, but Tilt up buildings are getting furred out and insulated so here we come with a great alternative.
We have a new product called the Fox Tilt Insulation Furring System; it’s basically a knockdown ICF panel with a very slick insert that some smart folks at our company engineered in-house. The Fox Tilt Insert is a sleeve in, ratcheting, structural embedment fastener into the concrete. It’s the heart of the system; it’s what mechanically fastens the insulation panel and the plastic furring studs to the concrete wall.
Last year Fox Blocks decided we could add speed and value to the Tilt Up industry and it took all of 2 weeks to get the Fox Tilt insert engineered, mold made, and production started. I can’t stop grinning about the capabilities of our parent Airlite Plastics.
The Tilt Up Expo featured an outdoor exhibition of technologies and we did an actual concrete pour into a sample tilt up panel that had Fox Tilt as underlayment, and as a wet set array. You can see this demonstration at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83LjNjZ5Ymg
A unique and interesting feature of this video is you will see me doing physical labor. A rare and wonderful thing – it is not to be missed. The real heavy lifting and knowledge base came from our associate Brian Smith; he has done multiple projects with this method and is true industry proponent. I edited the video and he is not in it much. It appears I am the expert. I don’t know how that happens.
Here are some fun things to consider. The Fox Tilt Insert stands ¾” from face of foam and therefore does not interfere with any rebar. Existing engineering applies. The Fox Tilt Insulation Panel is a flat panel; the thickness of the concrete remains the same. Existing engineering applies. All we are doing is providing a mechanically fastened insulation and furring system to either the interior or exterior face (or both if the sales guy is really good) of the tilt up wall.
So the reason this was so much fun at the Tilt Up Expo was showing off how fast we can do this and at how little it costs. So if you see a tilt up project specified to be furred out and insulated, or if you see a tilt up project that is specified as a concrete sandwich with the foam in the middle (yikes!) let us know. There’s a good possibility there’s a funner way to get the job done.

Las Vegas Goes Green with ICFs

» by Mindfly Studio | Uncategorized | Wed, 14 December 2011

Thanks to Randy and Bart, many Las Vegas fire stations will be now be built using Fox Blocks core 6″ insulated concrete forms. An exciting example of excellent work between a regional manager and a top flight local dealer.

International GreenBuild Trade Show in Toronto

» by Robert Sculthorpe | Uncategorized | Wed, 19 October 2011

Fox Blocks ICF exhibited at the USGBC GreenBuild Show in Toronto a few weeks back. This was the first time the GreenBuild Show has been held in a city outside of the USA. Toronto was an excellent location for such an event, as it is located just across Lake Ontario from Rochester, NY. Held in the heart of the city, the Toronto Convention Centre is surrounded by hotels and restaurants. Further, it is beside the Air Canada Centre, the sports arena which is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, as well as the GreenBuild Opening Keynote Celebration and Maroon 5 concert.

More relevant is that Toronto’s financial district has embraced sustainable design and construction. Over the past few years developers have observed that LEED registered buildings lease more quickly and with rent premiums of up to 30%. Coupled with this is the fact that Toronto has a district cooling system utilizing the cool water from Lake Ontario, and BOMA has implemented energy conservation retrofit programs with the electrical and gas utilities. With so many of these GREEN activities ongoing in the city Toronto was a natural host for the Greenbuild Show.

The GreenBuild show was a success. The EXPO was larger, up by 30% to over 900 exhibitors. Unfortunately attendance was down by 15% at a little over 23,000 attendees. This decline was likely due to two factors, the economy and also that the location was outside of the USA. However the show was attended by architects, engineers, developers, contractors, building material suppliers of which Fox Blocks was one, and green entrepreneurs. It was a truly international EXPO with participants coming from a total of 108 countries. The interest level of the attendees was upbeat and everyone was networking. We at Fox Blocks found the show very worth while, we learned a great deal, met old friends and made many new contacts.

All in all it was an excellent show.

Build to Resist Tornadoes: Storm Safe ICF Structures

» by Robert Sculthorpe | Uncategorized | Thu, 19 May 2011

Fox Blocks ICF wishes to extend condolences to all those families who have lost loved ones from the storms over the past few days. We have all seen the reports and it is just tragic.
More than 300 lives have been lost and many more injured. Property damage was extensive where ever the 148 tornadoes touched down. This year’s storm season is anticipated to be severe, worse than usual, and it has only started.

But this loss of life, injury and property damage does not have to be a normal experience America must just accept. Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall technology is a well known cost effective building system which due to its inherent features of the strength of its reinforced concrete core, and weight / high mass, resists the forces of nature much better that typical frame walls when in the path of a tornado.

Research by Texas Tech Wind Science and Engineering Research Center has demonstrated that ICF walls better protect occupants of houses from windblown debris, than frame walls. Being hit by windblown debris is the most common cause of injury during tornadoes.
FEMA has published documentation on how to build storm shelters using ICF walls. Take that a step further and make your next house a whole house storm shelter!
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has reports documenting the abilities of concrete walls to resist the forces of calamitous storms.
So, this loss of life, injury and property damage is something we can protect against. So why not just do it? It requires change and many people are reluctant to change. But we have made similar changes in the past.
Historically, mankind has had to deal with the risk of fire in towns and cities. At first it was just accepted as a risk of urban living. But we learned to control the risk by having fire departments and a system of fire hydrants throughout cities.
America has a similar opportunity to build to resist tornados. Build with Fox Blocks ICF walls. It may cost a little more up front but you will sleep at night knowing you have a solid defense for you and your family. As well you will enjoy the other well known benefits of Fox Blocks ICF walls which include: reduced energy costs, a quiet home, fire resistant construction, and a more durable structure. How could you accept anything less for your family?
Consider the alternatives and build, or re-build, with Fox Blocks ICF walls.

Industry Standard ICF’s: Feedback from Contractors

» by Glen Klassen | Uncategorized | Thu, 19 May 2011

Beginning of each year from January through April is when we plant our seeds for the year by displaying our product for the market in trade shows. I have participated in these trade shows for 17 years now in the ICF industry and it has always been the same old thing but this year was notably different. Coast to coast we witnessed an interesting shift. Each show we were in, we would listen to the contractors to understand what they needed. These same contractors have all used multiple brands of ICF’s and have settled on the one they felt was the best. It is very evident that three brands were most commonly named and considered the best in the industry. Not surprising was the fact that all of these were 4’ long and had ties at 8” on center which has become the industry standard.

This team I have joined has been in the industry long enough (add us up and we have over 200 years experience!) that a lot of the contractors know us. Out of courtesy, these contractors have been stopping at our booths to say hi and end up asking why we think we are better. We would just smile and without really comparing, just list the facts: all of our corners have two ties on the short end to eliminate rotation during concrete placement, our blocks are reversible which allows for one corner does all, our ties are a full 1 ½” wide, same as wood or metal studs (industry standard), and they touch each other vertically allowing attachment at any point in the wall, etc. In other words we just plain had fun as the contractors would finish our sentences and then call other contractors into our booth to explain the benefits. I have never had a year as fun as I’m having right now and to be honest we are just getting going. It is exciting for a company that listens to the contractor again. Our R & D list is getting as long as it was in the old Blue Maxx era and I can’t wait to share what’s on it. I have also been on many installs this year and have seen the maturity in this growing ICF industry.

The top three ICF’s have created a strong industry that has withstood several recessions and yet continues to grow. Whatever brand of ICF you are using; believe in it, install it with excellence and the jobs will continue to come to you.

Glen

Social Media, Inbox?

» by D.C. Mangimelli | Uncategorized | Thu, 21 April 2011

As I try to break into…..or attempt to utilize or at least sign up…….on some of the new social media or mediums that continue to grow in popularity, I realize that I must be old! Very, very old! I thought that my colleague out west “Mr. Sizzle” was about my age, but he is definitely young when it comes to all of these technologies! Goodness gracious you have; Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, YouTube, WWW, SMS, Email, MMS, Cell Phone and several gazillion blogs. And there also seems to be a new APP for EVERYTHING! It is all definitely VERY informative so I guess that the education and what that brings is very good. The negative I see is the time management or the amount of time that these all take to maintain or even view. Can’t we just all talk like we used to? Or explain things face to face? I guess not any more. We are all doing more in less time, so I guess these advancements are all good. Please let me know what you think?

If you are in fact one of the cool people checking out YouTube and want to see some of our recent cool video clips, check out a few of Team Fox Blocks uploads at:
youtube.com/FoxBlocksAirlite
youtube.com/FoxWestICF
youtube.com/FoxBlocksSoutheast
Then go ahead and subscribe since you are there….we will continue adding cool new informative Fox Blocks videos moving forward.

And if you are on Facebook….please like us at:
facebook.com/foxblocks

It appears that there will be much more social media or mediums coming……so….I suppose I will have to twit or tweet or whatever it’s called next!

D.C. Mangimelli
Regional Sales Manager

The Envelope Please

» by Randy Daniels | Uncategorized | Thu, 3 March 2011

I am watching the Academy Awards as I write this and yes – I will admit enjoying the spectacle immensely. I even go so far as to help my lovely lady critique the fashion.

“Ack, I don’t like that dress – just doesn’t work on her.” I say. Hillary Swank is wearing a strapless silver colored gown. I am fond of dresses that flow on a woman, that drape her and accentuate the way she moves. Strapless just doesn’t do that.

I am rooting for True Grit to win Best Picture. My beloved and I went and saw True Grit together. I love that movie. The dialogue (I grew up on a ranch in the Dakotas) really hits home. I am going to buy the DVD; I have already bought the book.

I didn’t see any of the other pictures up for the awards. I suppose they are good (they were nominated – they must be ok). It appears the view from my couch is slightly prejudiced. I have preferences – what I’m used to and what looks good to me must be the best.

Last week I (along with several Fox Blocks Dealers) were working the CASH Show in Sacramento (the who’s who of School Construction in California attends). We had a Fox Blocks booth (the only ICF there) amidst engineering and architectural firms showing off to school district decision makers. The week before we were working the World Agg Expo in Visalia CA (again – the only ICF there), it’s the world’s largest agricultural expo and trade show.

From these shows there is good news no matter what brand of ICF floats your boat; the strongest recognition of ICF’s I have seen yet. I talked to farmers who built their houses with ICF’s and architects and engineers who specified ICF’s for their institutional projects; who all touted the superior performance of their buildings. The particular ICF brands they liked just because that’s what they were used to. Until they saw Fox Blocks.

One architect I talked to at the CASH Show had built his own house with ICF and had specified ICF for several projects (one of them the largest ICF church in Central California). He was at the booth looking over the Fox Blocks forms – “Wow,” he said, “these feel stronger.” I pulled out a corner form, “whoa now – that’s massive.”

He said he was glad to see the industry advancing with latest generation upgrades, but it’s the overall finished concept. “You need to show ICF projects that have durability requirements, finish durability-impact and abrasion resistance, as in military or industrial projects. It’s not the ICF brand; it’s not the foam, it’s how you dress it.”

I started using that to great effect for the rest of the show. He was right, school district officials upon hearing that institutional projects, federal government, military bases, etc are using ICF they warm right up. Give them lifecycle impact and abrasion resistant finishes and suddenly it’s a “yes – please do come make a presentation.”

I had been outlining why Fox Blocks have such an advantage over other ICF’s. Unless you’re actually in the ICF business nobody much cares. The hot button is the durability of concrete in a foam sandwich with tough finishes to match. ICF then becomes a viable competitor over CMU or Tilt Up or (good lord) light frame nonsense.

So if you are in the ICF business or have done some comparative performance homework, you already know the Oscar for Best Building goes to ICF.

But for Best Picture within the ICF business…may I have the envelope please? The Oscar (I just have to do this) Goes To: Fox Blocks. I may not have seen the other movies, or like strapless dresses, but if you want to build something, go see True Grit. Tough, Solid, and the Real Deal; kind of like the company and the people and the product at Fox Blocks.

Truss wire – Do we need it?

» by Glen Klassen | Uncategorized | Thu, 3 March 2011

I was a believer in using truss wire when installing other ICF’s but now that I’m using the Fox Blocks ICF I have been convinced by contractors that it is not necessary.

1994 I started to install ICF’s full time and after several hundred successful jobs was told I should try using truss wire in the walls. The truss wire helped and I was sold on the benefit it gave me to help straighten walls after concrete placement. I installed several different ICF brands and the truss wire installed in the second and top rows helped keep the walls straight so we inserted it into every training program we developed. In the ICF’s of that era I would not install a job without truss wire.

2010 I joined the Fox Blocks team specifically because this new ICF has everything I have been asking for and more. I’ve been caught smiling a lot lately as I find new benefits that had not occurred to me prior to using this new ICF. A few months back several different contractors were telling me that they had stopped using truss wire with Fox Blocks because it is not necessary. I was skeptical so along with a few of my colleagues we started to experiment on the jobs we worked on as well as asking select contractors to join us on this experiment. To our surprise we came to realize that the truss wire did not make much difference with the Fox Blocks.

The 2” long interlock of the Fox Block gives incredible holding power in all directions and to my surprise eliminates the need for truss wire. For this reason we have decided to eliminate it from our product offering which will save $$$ on your jobs. Just think of the added benefits you gain over your competitors when you do not need the added cost of truss wire due to the design of this new Fox Block ICF. Not using the truss wire will also give you better concrete flow and lower man hour rates.

Keep watching in the months to come for new products our R&D team has been testing and perfecting. These really are exciting days in the ICF industry!

Glen

Glen’s Contractor Tip Corner: Short Jogs

» by Glen Klassen | Uncategorized | Tue, 8 February 2011

I had a call this week from a contractor who wanted to know if there was an easy way to build a two foot jog into a wall. This brought back flashbacks of when I used to attempt to interlock corners thinking the strength of the interlock was going to hold things together during concrete placement.

One of my life lessons came from a time when I worked for a very large cement and concrete company which in fact was the largest cement producer world wide at the time. This was a major shift for me because I’m a licensed wood guy. What I learned was that in spite of being in the cement and concrete business for generations they were constantly learning. I remember contests to see who could create the highest strength concrete in the shortest time and I was amazed what they would experiment with to achieve unbelievably high numbers. New products come to us constantly within this industry such as concrete that can now be pervious, water proof, self consolidating, high slump etc. The lesson I took with me was that you may have the best way to do things today but they are not sustainable and if you don’t continue research and development you will be passed by those who do.

When I left my cement/concrete supplier job I joined a company called Blue Maxx and had the privilege to work along side a legend in the ICF industry. In spite of his reputation he would constantly tell me that he was not all that good and that his success came from the contractors who were doing the work. Simply put, contractors would tell him of how they build and he would listen. The lesson I took with me from him was that things change and when a contractor has an idea I need to listen because it may be the next great idea.

So how would I do a two foot jog? I have a choice to spend a long time cutting and fitting that corner to look good or spend a short time just creating a common seam and strapping it. Bottom line, the day after concrete placement both methods will look great but the one that takes shorter time is more profitable. I learned this from contractors who are building their ICF jobs from each corner to a center point in the wall and creating a common seam which they strap prior to concrete. Now, If it takes me more than a few minutes to attempt to make block coursing work I will not hesitate to create a common seam if it makes sense for the job.

Remember, at the end of your job you need to make a profit. Work smart, control your man hour rate and you will join the many ICF crews that have become profitable in our industry.

Glen

WOC 2011 – Great Kick Off

» by D.C. Mangimelli | Uncategorized | Thu, 27 January 2011

1.25.2011:

Traveling back to my home/office in Atlanta from the recent World of Concrete Show in Las Vegas , I was able to reflect on some of our company’s recent achievements. The recent World of Concrete show gave our company a platform or perfect opportunity to:

1. Show our entire suite of Fox Blocks ICF Construction Product Solutions

It was a great achievement for Glen Klassen and Mike Kennaw to design our 20’ x 20’ footprint in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center to successfully show and accommodate our entire suite of Fox Blocks ICF Solutions. The booth needed to show and/or demonstrate many; Fox Block samples, new launch products, samples of constructed walls, YouTube construction videos, live website demo’s, interactive project estimator demo’s and training, recycling program displays, construction photographs and ancillary product samples. Coupled with our typically packed booth full of; potential clients, existing dealers, ICF Builders and customers during the 4 day exhibit. This is the most fun I have had while working a show or conference during my 25+ years as a construction products specialist.

2. Highlight ALL of our New Fox Blocks Product Introductions

Our new Product Introductions include; the launch of our; Fox 1440, Fox Tilt-Up, Silver Fox and we had some fun reintroducing our; Patent Approved 90 degree reinforced corner bracket “industrial strength” 90 degree Corner, Radius Block and our reinforced T-Block. The Fox 1440 is our panelized, site assembly form unit with a uniquely strong web connector. This product series was brought into our line from our acquisition of Formtech last year and now has the name Fox 1440 due to the ability to fit 1,440 form units in a 53’ Tractor Trailer. The Fox Tilt-Up was recently designed and launched giving us the ability to utilize our 2-1/2” thick EPS panels and our new polypropylene tilt-up connector to create and instant insulation board, furring strip and air/vapor barrier all in one step. Saving time and money on any tilt-up application. The Silver Fox is our highest rated R-Value Insulated Form Unit. With the introduction of graphite particles which act as both heat reflectors and absorbers causing an approximate 20% gain in R-Value reducing thermal conductivity. This product series will grow our opportunity with ALL Green Building Professionals giving them an R-27 Value.

3. Demonstrate our newly launched Fox Blocks Website

Our newly launched Fox Blocks Website will prove to be one of our industry’s greatest knowledge centers and sales & marketing tools. With easy to navigate options, this new design will give all of our dealers, builders, design professionals, potential clients and consumers all of their needed data within a click. With all of our tech doc’s easily accessible along with easy to navigate product and industry education, our new website will continue to be a work in progress….never being stale or old news. Please send us any/all suggestions you may have to continue to help us evolve with our exciting new site.

4. Present our newly launched Fox Blocks Marketing Materials and Project Estimator

New Marketing Materials including product specific tri-folds, recycling program details, up to date specific technical & code sheets and builder and consumer benefit hand-outs. In my opinion one of our greatest new marketing pieces is our newly launched Fox Blocks Project Estimator Program. This slick tool (THANKS GLEN) gives you HUGE benefits by entering in your core thickness, wall lengths and heights, number of corners and specialty blocks giving you the ability to easily figure your project quantity, concrete volumes (in metric or yards), man-hour rates AND EVEN RECYCLED CONTAINER ASSUMPTIONS! Give it a test run…click on PROJECT ESTIMATOR.

5. Educate show attendees on our exclusive Airlite Plastics Company Recycling Program

From a 2 ounce container to a 5 gallon bucket, we manufacture nearly 1.5 Billion Food Packaging/Containers a year. With that said, we do not want to waste ANY of the plastic coming from our injection molding process. So we chop, pelletize and recycle ALL of our plastic waste into our Fox Blocks Webs. Yeah 100%! Our Recycling Program and manufacturing process is ALL done in house by us to control our; quality, costs and transportation! Oh and did I mention that our exclusive web design offers a full 1-1/2” FULL HEIGHT ATTACHMENT.

6. Get our entire Fox Blocks team together, for the concrete construction industry to see and meet

Our Fox Blocks Team members were there to meet, greet and visit with show attendees during the WOC exhibit. From our owner Mr. Brad Crosby, to ALL Regional Sales Managers to our Customer Service Manager, to our Order Entry Specialists, to Pat Gredys our V.P. of EPS, to Mike Kennaw our V.P. of Sales, to our Technical Team….we were all out to present our; company, products and show our industry involvement. Collectively our group has over 200 years of ICF Experience!

7. Our Fox Blocks Hospitality Night and Company Program

On Tuesday after the exhibit hall closed we hosted a hospitality room in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from 5PM to 7PM. There were approximately 110 people in attendance and the food services group had a hard time keeping up with the appetizers-sorry. Among our guests were; members of the press, equipment manufacturers, vendors, customers, builders, dealers, bracing manufacturers etc. Randy Daniels –Western U.S. Regional Sales Manager, did a wonderful job as our Master of Ceremonies. Speakers included; Mr. Brad Crosby, President of Airlite Plastics Company and Mr. Pat Gredys, Vice President of EPS Airlite Plastics Company. Thanks to everyone who attended, hopefully all in attendance had a good time…….I know that I did.

Please note that I am not bragging about any of this…….I am just very proud of this company & product lineup and all of our people involved.

I am very blessed to be part of this team!!

By:

D.C. Mangimelli, II

Regional Sales Manager, Mid Atlantic U.S.A.









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