F A Q ' S
QUESTION:
What is the building cost with Premere Forms ICF wall system
compared to other materials?
ANSWER: Building with Premere Forms ICF wall system
is similar in building cost to 2x6 wood wall constructions.
Plus, the Premere Forms ICF walls will yield an effective
insulation value of up to R40 - greater than a 2x6 wall- that
you may save up to 50% on your heating and cooling costs.
QUESTION:
How does Premere Forms ICF wall system compare to concrete
block or poured wall construction?
ANSWER:
When cured, the concrete in Premere Forms ICF wall system
walls is 50% stronger than traditionally poured walls. While
the cost of a simple block or poured wall is less, Premere
Forms ICF wall system provides insulation and furring strips,
therefore it is ready to finishing, making it very cost effective
and less labor intensive choice.
HOW
EASY IS IT TO BUILD WITH THE Premeré Form SYSTEM AND
CAN ANYONE USES IT?
This is not a Do It Yourself job. Putting the ICF formwork
together is easy enough for anybody who has read the manual
and achieves a shared understanding of all the sections. However,
the ICF form bracing and the concrete pouring is a more demand
matter, those sections should be performed by an experienced
builder. We are continuously striving to train more builders
to install the Premeré Forms ICF system. Premeré
Forms installers should have completed our training course
and shown that they have a shared understanding of the properties
of the ICF formwork, the bracing and the concrete in the fluid
state. IS THE SINGLE SKIN OF A Premeré Form AS
EFFECTIVE
AS THE TWO WALLS IN CAVITY CONSTRUCTION?
Premeré does not need to have a cavity. Our single
monolithic wall is stronger than any cavity wall. The outer
skin of a cavity wall is not usually supporting any of the
structure but is simply there to protect the inner wall from
rainwater damage. Without periodic maintenance the mortar
cracks, allowing water to flow through the gaps and further
weakening the structure. Concrete has the structural strength
to hold the billions of tons of water inside the Hoover Dam
and is the material used for military bunkers. Concrete walls
made by the Ancient Romans are still standing 2000 years later.
In fact the Coliseum in Rome is made in a similar fashion
to an ICF- a concrete core was poured into a formwork of stone.
I
AM THINKING OF BUILDING A TIMBER FRAME HOME WHY IS Premere
BETTER?
It
is better in nearly every respect. Concrete is structurally
far stronger than timber. Concrete doesn't get eaten by an
assortment of little wood boring creatures. Concrete doesn't
get attacked and destroyed by dry rot and concrete hasn't
been pumped full of toxic chemicals to stop it being attacked
by these pests. Concrete is incombustible and doesn't burn.
The Premeré home has all the advantages of the concrete
just mentioned but also has the better thermal performance
and a better acoustic performance than a timber frame house.
Living in a Premeré home means that you will not have
shrinkage cracks appearing when the central heating is turned
on. A timber frame home goes up on site almost as quick as
Premeré but of course it has been in the factory for
several weeks being put together, so once you sign the design
approval any last-minute changes of mind will be expensive
and time consuming. With Premere you can change your
mind on site. Timber frame manufacturers usually have a book
of plans from which you must choose. With Premere you
can build whatever you can dream.
DOES
A WALL NEED STEEL REINFORCEMENT?
Concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension.
Walls are normally taking a compressive load from downward
forces so reinforcing steel may not be necessity unless the
walls are placed under tensile stress loadings from external
forces (i.e. high winds, earthquakes, ground forces and etc).
Tensile stress occurs above windows, doorways and in basement
walls construction where the pressure of the earth backfill
exerts a sideways load upon the basement wall; therefore reinforcement
steel is needed there. However, reinforcing steelwork should
be designed and allowed for by your engineer.
WHAT
ARE THE DOWNSIDES TO AN ICF HOME?
We
believe that the ideal home is created by load bearing walls
being of Premeré construction and other internal partition
walls being of either wood or metal studwork. This makes sense
as it allows the house to be altered internally very easily
and cost effectively, as personal circumstances change. The
concrete wall is a permanent material therefore future alteration
to those walls will require some effort.
.
ICFFORMSLLC
Insulated Concrete Forms
P.O. BOX 222 Riverton, CT 06065
Tel: 860.738-0386
email info@icfforms.com
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