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5 Common Misconceptions About ICF Construction
ICF con­struc­tion cre­ates mod­ern struc­tures that are ener­gy-effi­cient, durable, dis­as­ter-resis­tant, and have good indoor envi­ron­men­tal qual­i­ty (IEQ). ICF con­struc­tion is also strong, flex­i­ble, fast and easy to install. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, even with these many ben­e­fits, some archi­tects and con­trac­tors are reluc­tant to uti­lize it due to mis­con­cep­tions about ICF con­struc­tion.
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SANTA RITA RANCH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Dis­cov­ery is one of the four schools to receive the zero ener­gy cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, nation­wide.
How much will it cost per square foot to build an Fox Blocks ICF home?

Build­ing with Fox Blocks ICFs pro­vides you with a high per­for­mance wall sys­tem for the foun­da­tion and above grade walls. Build­ing any high per­for­mance home, with either ICFs or con­ven­tion­al wood fram­ing, has many fac­tors that define the end cap­i­tal costs.

What addi­tion­al mate­ri­als and labor are required to make a con­ven­tion­al foun­da­tion equiv­a­lent to an Fox Blocks ICF foun­da­tion which exceeds ener­gy code require­ments in most loca­tions? Con­ven­tion­al wood fram­ing requires con­sid­er­ably more mate­r­i­al, insu­la­tion and atten­tion to air seal­ing to make it qual­i­fy and per­form as a high per­for­mance wall. All of this, for con­ven­tion­al con­struc­tion, adds mate­r­i­al and labor costs to the over­all project. Fox Blocks ICFs pro­vide a sim­ple method to build high per­for­mance walls that pro­vide ongo­ing ben­e­fits from the high insu­la­tion val­ues and mass con­crete walls that are ener­gy-effi­cient and pro­vide cost sav­ings for the life cycle of the build­ing.

Com­par­ing cost per square foot between con­ven­tion­al con­struc­tion and ICFs for a high per­for­mance build­ing, is like com­par­ing apples to oranges. To devel­op con­struc­tion costs, more detailed infor­ma­tion is required, for instance the num­ber and size of open­ings, the shape and size of the home, the region­al costs for mate­r­i­al and labor, etc. If you have a project you’d like us to review and pro­vide a mate­r­i­al esti­mate, Fox Blocks would be hap­py to have one of our rep­re­sen­ta­tives con­tact you. Please com­plete and sub­mit a lead infor­ma­tion sheet on the web­site or call Cus­tomer Ser­vice.

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LAKESIDE RESIDENCE
Cost effec­tive con­struc­tion was pos­si­ble because of the insu­lat­ing qual­i­ties of the Fox Blocks sys­tem.
Can the plastic webs be detected by using stud finders?

A stud find­er typ­i­cal­ly uses the den­si­ty of mate­ri­als to locate studs. The polypropy­lene (plas­tic) web mate­r­i­al will show up on high qual­i­ty den­si­ty stud find­ers. Note, the webs in Fox Blocks are spaced at 8″ (200 mm) on cen­ter and will be con­tin­u­ous ver­ti­cal­ly on each side of the wall.

Reduce Moisture Problems with ICF Construction
Reduce Moisture Problems with ICF Construction
You can avoid stud-fram­ing mois­ture prob­lems by choos­ing a mois­ture-resis­tant insu­lat­ed con­crete form (ICF) foun­da­tion for your new home.
Is an ICF home quieter than a stick framed home?
Absolute­ly. The exte­ri­or walls are two lay­ers of con­tin­u­ous insu­la­tion, the den­si­ty of sol­id con­crete and a lay­er of ½” gyp­sum board on the inside all con­tribute to supe­ri­or sound sup­pres­sion of STC 50 for the whole build­ing enve­lope. Note: A wood frame sys­tem of equiv­a­lent STC rat­ing would be 2 x 4 studs spaced 16˝ o/​c, with 3½˝ absorp­tive mate­r­i­al, 1 lay­er of 5 /8˝ Type X gyp­sum board on resilient chan­nels spaced 16˝ o/​c, and 2 lay­ers of 5 /8˝ Type X gyp­sum board on the oth­er side. (Cour­tesy of 1995 NBCC Sec­tion A9.10.3.1 Wall #W5a)
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The New Basement: A Modern Housing Innovation
Base­ments are no longer a scary, damp, and musty area. Learn about the new base­ment and how it has become the mod­ern hous­ing inno­va­tion it is today.
How Building a Concrete ICF Home Saves on Initial and Long-Term Costs
AAC vs ICF Construction: What’s the Difference, Pros & Cons?
What Are the Differences Between AAC and ICF Construction?
When con­sid­er­ing AAC vs ICF con­struc­tion, it’s impor­tant to know the dif­fer­ences, pros, and cons.