+ What are ICF's advantages?

• Energy Efficiency: The most commonly touted benefit of ICF construction is the marked energy efficiency of the structure, largely due to the high R-value of ICF panels combined with the high heat mass of concrete. The performance of ICF walls does not suffer even if they accidently get wet. ICF buildings stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
• Disaster Resistance: Mother Nature can be unforgiving and cause catastrophic damage to our homes and businesses. Be prepared for the next super storm by investing in the disaster resistant qualities of your home. ICF delivers a higher level of safety in extreme wind, storm, fire, and floods.
• Comfort & Sound: The monolithic nature of ICF walls provides greater air quality control by reducing the “air leakage” of a building, an advantage you can actually feel. The ICF barrier leads to an overall boost in comfort and sound reduction, so you can breathe easily and sleep peacefully.
• Pest Prevention: Unlike wood, expanded polystyrene is not a food source for termites and other insects and rodents. Therefore, with the proper barriers in place, ICF offers an increased level of pest prevention.

+ What are the environmental advantages?

• Lower Emissions: In studies of cumulative lifecycle (including construction, operation, and demolition), ICF homes produced lower emissions than traditional building methods. They found that the longer you reside there, the more profound the effect on the environment is.
• Save Trees: Deforestation continues to be a controversial issue, and may contribute to global warming. Buildings constructed with concrete use much less wood, and therefore save trees.
• Recycle: What happens to all of the debris after demolition? ICF makes it easy to recycle. Polystyrene can be made into new foam goods; steel rebar can be used in new construction projects; and recycled concrete is added to aggregate – an essential ingredient in new concrete.

+ What are the financial advantages?

• Lower Energy Bills: An efficiently constructed home yields significant energy savings. Build with ICF and watch your annual energy bills go down.
• Less Maintenance: Reduced repair costs will help keep your wallet full. Being able to withstand everyday wear and tear as well as severe conditions means maintenance is kept to a minimum. In fact, the life expectancy of an ICF home can reach several centuries with low upkeep.
• Tax Credits & Resale Value: ICF homes may be eligible for tax credits – so be sure to check if those apply to you. And once you are ready to move on or relocate, you can bank on a higher resale value.

+ Performance

• Resilient: Insulated concrete structures are literally rock-solid. When simulating extreme weather conditions such as strong winds and earthquakes, ICF walls proved to be extremely resilient. Build with ICF and build something that will last centuries.
• Precise: The InsulaForm system is designed to build walls to the exact dimensions specified on plans, eliminating “bump-ups”. Bump-ups are typical of other ICFs and they are determined by panel's interlocking buttons, corners, or T-walls. InsulaForm corners and T-walls are built to exact dimensions at any angle. InsulaForm walls are built without a need for common seams. All blocks are continuously interlocked, stronger, and safer for the installing crew.
• Flexible: One of the biggest advantages for builders is how flexible InsulaForm can be. It makes quick work of simple designs, but can also be used for far more complex architectures.

+ Cost

• Labor & Equipment: A solution that is simpler and faster will not require as many workers or supporting materials. By choosing to build with our ICFs, you wisely save on labor and equipment. It also helps you place the right size order for your entire job from the onset.
• Waste Management: Any excess pieces of EPS foam that had to be cut off can be reused at later stages of the project or recycled. ICF building systems are proven to be less wasteful than other methods of construction.