ICF Construction

 

Insulated Concrete Forms (or ICFs) are forms or molds that have built-in insulation for accepting reinforced concrete.  The first patent application for an ICF was registered in the late 1960’s.  Since then, and particularly in the last 4 years, ICFs have been fast-becoming the mainstream preferred building product worldwide for all of the right reasons.  These large, hollow blocks are stacked right off of the truck and filled with reinforcing bar and concrete.  The end result leaves you with a high-performing wall that is structurally sound, insulated, strapped, has a vapor barrier and is ready to accept final exterior and interior finishes.

 

Why should you build with ICFs?

 

A better question would be, “Why would you consider building with anything else?”  Here are a few of the best reasons to build with ICFs:

Comfort – Nothing blows through reinforced concrete.  There will be absolutely no drafts or cold spots.  ICF homeowners have commented on how constant temperatures stay within their homes.  Because of the tremendous thermal mass of the exterior wall envelope, temperature peaks are smoothed, and therefore homes are noticeably warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

 

Metallic Epoxy Floors

 

So what makes an epoxy coating one of the best finishes for your garage floor?  Besides looking nice, the hardened and thick application that you get from epoxy creates a coating that is very durable and resilient to impacts, chipping, chemicals, stains, and surface abrasion.  You don’t have to panic about damaging the floor if you drop a wrench or a bicycle falls over.

 

The thicker coating also does a great job of covering over minor imperfections such as small spider cracks and flaws in the concrete. 

 

Geothermal & Solar

 

Geothermal energy generally involves low running costs since it saves 80% costs over fossil fuels and no fuel is used to generate the power. Since, no fuel is require so costs for purchasing, transporting and cleaning up plants is quite low.

 

Dependence on fossil fuels decreases with the increase in the use of geothermal energy. With the sky-rocketing prices of oil, many countries are pushing companies to adopt these clean sources of energy. Burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases which are responsible for global warming.