What fasteners are recommended for ICFs?

Fox Blocks has con­duct­ed numer­ous fas­ten­er tests for pull-out strength and shear capac­i­ty for var­i­ous fas­ten­ers – screws, ring shank nails and sta­ples into the plas­tic webs. The rec­om­men­da­tion for inte­ri­or and exte­ri­or appli­ca­tions of fin­ish mate­ri­als is for the use of screws which pro­vide the best hold­ing capac­i­ty into the plas­tic webs or fas­ten­ing strips in the forms which are iden­ti­fied on each block.

The EPS insu­la­tion does not pro­vide any hold­ing capac­i­ty for fas­ten­ers.

Is burning EPS toxic?
Test reports con­duct­ed by the Nation­al Research Coun­cil state: The max­i­mum tox­i­c­i­ty index obtained from the com­bus­tion of poly­styrene was of the same order as that of wood.” Fox Blocks ICFs have been test­ed to meet build­ing code require­ments for flame spread rat­ings, smoke devel­op­ment and tox­i­c­i­ty
Is the Fox Blocks product rated by ‘Energy Star’?
Ener­gy Star does not eval­u­ate or rate insu­la­tion prod­ucts. Every Fox Blocks home when test­ed by an Ener­gy Rater, can meet and exceed the Ener­gy Star home stan­dards and achieve a 5 Star rat­ing and a HERS’ score well below the min­i­mum Ener­gy Star require­ment of 85, or in Cana­da, high­er than an Ener­Guide rat­ing of 80.
What is the typical Interior finish on an ICF?

All build­ing codes in the USA and Cana­da spec­i­fy that plas­tic insu­la­tion (EPS) must be cov­ered by a ther­mal bar­ri­er equiv­a­lent to 15 min­utes of fire pro­tec­tion in hab­it­able spaces. This is achieved with ½” gyp­sum board or an equiv­a­lent mate­r­i­al. Fox Blocks has spe­cif­ic fire test­ing that proves reg­u­lar ½” gyp­sum board with reg­u­lar dry­wall screws fas­tened into the plas­tic webs remains on the wall for the required 15-minute time peri­od.

Does expanded polystyrene (EPS) present a serious fire hazard?
The EPS in an Fox Blocks has a flame retar­dant that allows the forms to be flame resis­tant. The EPS will melt when exposed to sus­tained tem­per­a­tures over 300°F (149°C). The igni­tion point of the melt­ed styrene is 600°F (315°C) (wood is approx­i­mate­ly 500°F (260°C). Fox Blocks have been test­ed to meet the build­ing code require­ments for flame spread and smoke devel­op­ment, plus Fox Blocks may be used as fire resis­tant rat­ed wall assem­blies in schools and hos­pi­tals.
What is the difference between Fox Blocks ICFs and the competitors, and why are Fox Blocks ICFs better? Why should I use Fox Blocks ICFs?
Most ICF blocks share com­mon fea­tures and ben­e­fits. Fox Blocks, as a com­pa­ny, pro­vides 30 years’ expe­ri­ence in prod­uct devel­op­ment, doc­u­men­ta­tion, test­ing and train­ing, as well as ver­sa­til­i­ty in the line of prod­ucts to meet all appli­ca­tions. The key dif­fer­ence comes in the exper­tise and sup­port you get from Fox Blocks. Fox Blocks is the leader in insu­lat­ing con­crete form con­struc­tion – proven in over 100,000 com­mer­cial and res­i­den­tial projects across North Amer­i­ca. Exten­sive resources and sup­port sys­tems are avail­able to ensure your project’s suc­cess from start to fin­ish. Please vis­it our web­site www.Fox Blocks​.com to review our project gallery and find more detailed doc­u­men­ta­tion on the prod­ucts and the appli­ca­tions. Fox Blocks also pro­vides a toll free num­ber for Cus­tomer and Tech­ni­cal Sup­port 8773692562.