Redefining Traditional Building Materials
August 4, 2010Read the article “Building With Insulating Concrete Forms” in the July, 2010 issue of Construction Canada.
Download article in PDF format
Warming Up with Tim Horton’s and ICFs
April 19, 2010Amvic insulated concrete forms were the material of choice for a new Tim Horton’s in Kitchener, Ontario. The use of ICFs allowed the crew to stay ahead of construction timelines and stay on track through the winter months.
“Using Amvic ICFs allowed them to complete the shell structure in a very short time without all the added costs of heating and weather delays typically experienced when using standard construction methods. The shell was completed in record time so that they had to wait for sub trades to move in and complete their part of the job,” says John Krzic of Amvic Systems.
The owner’s experience with ICF, and with Amvic in particular, made it the ideal building material for the project. Lower operating costs and lower life cycle costs were cited as main reasons for choosing insulated concrete forms.
And the ICF Award goes to: Amvic!
February 22, 2010It was Amvic’s night at the biggest award celebration for ICFs (insulated concrete forms) held recently at the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas. Amvic won in an impressive four of the six category awards.
Entries incorporating 15 different types of ICF poured in from all over the country and all were noteworthy and impressive. Each project was judged based on its complexity, architecture, and how well it serves to advance the industry and draw positive attention to ICFs. As in previous years, the contest favours projects creativity, significance and difficulty of build more than other criteria.
Congratulations go out to our winners:
Crestwood Elementary School in the Heavy Commercial category;
Shershni Community in the Multi-Family category;
Mare Haven Residence in the Large Residential category;
Carrell Home in the Unlimited Residential category.
“We are honoured to be recognized amongst our peers for the superior product Amvic provides. We believe that to remain competitive, we need to continuously improve and provide innovation and technology to an ever-growing industry,” says Gary Brown of Amvic. “Congratulations go out to all our partners for their collective achievements!”
If you’d like to learn more about these projects, click here to read the Amvic ICF Award Recipients PDF or contact Gary Brown at Amvic ICF at 1.877.470.9991.
Learning Village at St. Anne’s-Belfield School
January 27, 2010Construction of the Learning Village at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia is progressing well despite weather challenges. St. Anne’s-Belfield is one of Virginia’s preeminent independent schools, educating students in pre-school through 12th grade. They have chosen Amvic ICF as a key component of this green construction initiative.
To read more about the ongoing progress of this project, visit their blog at http://stabvillage.blogspot.com.
Amvic ICFs Part of Winning Entry in Chain of Eco-Homes Competition
November 4, 2009Congratulations go out to Daniel Day Studio of Dallas, Texas for capturing one of the top prizes in the recently concluded Chain of Eco-Homes Competition in Greensburg, Kansas. Daniel Day Studio was among 230 entrants and captured a third place win for its Linear Villa, a 1,492-sq-ft. two-bedroom, two-bath home to be built using Amvic ICFs.
Amvic ICF Confirmed Major Contributor to LEED Excellence
October 29, 2009Amvic ICF recently obtained a third party assessment of their eligibility for points in the various LEED rating systems. Mindscape Innovations of Kitchener, Ontario is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms in the LEED market, and has played a key role in founding the LEED-Canada for Homes program. They determined that Amvic ICF products are a significant contributor in energy efficient and environmentally responsible design, and form part of many of the industry’s best structures. ICF has an earned reputation of excellence, and is recognized by the US and Canada Green Building Council’s in their LEED programs by being eligible for points in several LEED rating systems.
LEED means ‘Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’ and is a green building program designed to quantify the environmental benefit of various green building strategies in a rating system format, which ultimately includes a certification program that places a certification label on the constructed building. Both the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) create and deliver the LEED rating systems with the USGBC being the global originator of the LEED brand. Buildings which meet all the pre-requisites in the rating system become eligible to be certified at the ‘Certified’, ‘Silver’, ‘Gold’, or ‘Platinum’ levels.
Amvic ICFs were assessed based on four LEED rating systems making up the primary programs for the commercial and residential markets, in both the US and Canada. The four systems are:
- LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations (NC) (USGBC)
- LEED-Canada for New Construction (NC) (CaGBC)
- LEED for Homes, owned and delivered by the USGBC in the US
- LEED-Canada for Homes, owned and delivered by the CaGBC in Canada
To learn more about how Amvic ICF contributes to your overall LEED certification points, contact Gary Brown at 416-410-5674.
Does Amvic ICF construction qualify for Carbon Credits because it is considered Eco Construction?
September 28, 2009Every building material consumes resources and takes a toll on the environment, with even fully recycled products consuming energy. But the true measure of a product’s environmental impact is sustainability – satisfying our current needs without scarifying our ability to meet the needs of future generations.
You might already know that concrete offers exceptional stability, durability and design flexibility for the residential marketplace, however you may not realize how many important environmental advantages are offered through every stage of manufacturing and use, and because old concrete can be 100% recycled, the cycle can continue indefinitely. In fact, concrete is one of the single most environmentally friendly construction products available.
Here are just a few of the reasons:
Energy Efficiency:
The thermal mass of concrete buildings and homes saves energy year-round by reducing temperature swings. During the air-conditioning season, the building will require cooling mainly at night – an off-peak time when electric companies can produce power more efficiently and conserve fossil fuels. Many of today’s concrete wall systems, such as Amvic’s Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) combine the mass of concrete with foam insulation. The resulting exterior wall envelope utilizes thermal mass, reduced air infiltration and increased R-Value than can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 40 percent.
Radiant floor heating with concrete suspended and on-grade floors is gaining popularity providing ease of construction and comfort assisting in energy efficiency as well.
Waste Reduction:
Concrete simplifies construction by minimizing the number of different building products involved – less sheathing and insulation, and fewer components than wood-framed construction. Concrete is manufactured on an “as needed” basis, eliminating the waste inherent in sheet goods and dimensional products for framing. Building with concrete puts less waste in our landfills. If replacement or demolition is required, old concrete can be ground up and reused as coarse aggregate, fill or pavement sub-base material.
For further details, please review the data sheets for LEED-NC and LEED for Homes illustrating how ICF products can contribute towards gaining LEED points.
Maziyar Bolour, P. Eng.
Structural Engineer
Amvic Aligns with CMHC to Provide Energy Efficient Solutions to Minneapolis Architects
October 24, 2008Recently Amvic presented “Designing with Insulating Concrete Forms” (ICF) to the majority of Architects located in the Minneapolis area. This event was sponsored by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and was hosted at the Canadian Consulate with the intention of promoting excellent Canadian companies and products. Amvic has been conducting Insulating Concrete Form educational courses for many years. By aligning Amvic with CMHC and other energy efficient building product manufacturers, this full day of educational credits drew over 50 architectural firms. These manufacturers engaged participants with details about how they provide sustainable energy efficient solutions when designing houses and buildings.
Architects are challenged daily by their clients to design sustainable, energy efficient structures. Amvic’s ICF’s make their task that much easier. Recently we spoke with one of the largest commercial contractors in the United States who have experimented with ICF construction in the past and they have determined that this method of construction is the way of the future for commercial structures. They have started other ICF projects and anticipate many more moving forward. While there are many advantages to ICF construction, one of the key initiatives in building construction today is LEED (Leading in Energy Efficient Design) certification of a structure, a program developed by USGBC (United States Green Building Council). Amvic has conducted a third party LEED Product Assessment which report that Amvic ICF can contribute over 20 points towards certification. Not surprisingly, many LEED-related questions were fielded at the CMHC’s event. There is little doubt with this ever-changing green architectural landscape that Amvic Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF’s) will continue to be specified.
Thanks to Paul Camozzi CET. National Accounts Manager Amvic for this entry.
PCBC Delivers Quality Over Quantity
July 30, 2008With the slowdown in the housing industry, predictably the attendance at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) dropped from prior years by reportedly 25-30%. While the traffic decrease was noticeable in the booth, the quality and awareness of the prospects was up from prior years. People seemed to be more knowledgeable, interested and were asking good questions regarding specific projects.
The event was also very useful as a validation for clients we are already working with. Many came into the booth for meetings and to discuss projects currently in progress. During these difficult times, our customers are encouraged that we are continuing to support them and help them build business.
The market for Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) in commercial/multi-unit residential is still underdeveloped in most areas of the west coast. PCBC appears to be helping raise awareness among more advanced builders which is allowing this market segment to gain traction.
Despite the decline in numbers, we expect see more real business develop out of the exposure at PCBC this year than in other years. Overall, PCBC remains one of the strongest lead generation activities California, and maybe even the West in general.
Thanks to Bill Juhl of Amvic-Pacific for providing feedback for this entry.
Hi-rise Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) Construction
July 25, 2008In the past, Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) were primarily used for residential construction and low-rise commercial projects. Today, as developers, architects and builders strive to build green, energy efficient and sustainable buildings at an affordable cost, ICF has become a viable and cost effective building solution for hi-rise applications as well.
It is no longer uncommon to see ICF structures in excess of 10 stories. While the industry celebrates this success, it opens up new challenges for the building and design communities. There are several unique considerations that require special attention which are discussed below.
Product Selection
When selecting an ICF for hi-rise construction, product features such as interlock, foam density, block size, form capacity, web design and web spacing should be evaluated. These elements can make a considerable difference in the efficiency and successful completion of a hi-rise project. It is also essential to consider the manufacturer’s training materials, technical assistance and engineering support when reviewing a product’s compatibility for a project. It is worth the small additional cost for a reliable brand since the objective is often to enable occupancy as quickly as possible.
Engineering
Engineering is an extremely important factor for hi-rise construction. Walls can be designed either as non-load bearing or load bearing using a variety of different concrete core thicknesses. A wall with a large number of openings typically requires structural column designs between the openings up the entire building. This can lead to the requirement of considerably more reinforcing steel and wider concrete core thicknesses. Connections to floor slabs, internal walls, stair wells and elevator shafts must all be reviewed carefully as there are numerous alternatives to these design elements.
Bracing
ICF walls are typically supported on the inside of the building footprint only. On lower buildings it is easy to add additional bracing to the exterior if required, as it can be easily installed and removed. The taller a building is, the more difficult it is to install exterior support due to safety concerns for workers, added labor hours and increased material costs. Areas that often require additional form support are at floor connections where the ICF has to be cut to accommodate the floor system. It is important to work closely with the ICF manufacturer to develop creative ways to solve these issues from the interior side of the wall.
Safety
Due to the increased heights in hi-rise construction, safety and liability are much greater concerns. Scaffolding systems must meet the proper engineering and safety requirements for hi-rise structures and should be equipped to provide both front and back safety rail applications. Fasteners used to secure to the ICF wall and floor slab must be engineered for the application. Additional use of safety lines etc. might also be necessary.
Pouring Concrete
Pouring ICF walls is more challenging for hi-rise applications than low-rise applications. As building height increases, wind and precipitation are usually intensified which can increase the difficulty of a concrete pour. Special attention must be paid to concrete mix design, slump, aggregate, admixtures, lift rates, consolidation and pump flow to prevent forms from bulging or failing. Attention to detail when installing the forms and following proper pouring techniques are necessary to ensure straight, plumb walls, limit liability and reduce the risk of job-site injury. In addition, an experienced crew, pump operator and a high quality ICF should be combined to ensure a successful, safe pour.
Tell us about your hi-rise ICF experiences, tips and tricks!
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