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Builders LondonA standard means test report by the Insulated Concrete Form Association states that four inches of polystyrene foam - 2 inches on each side of the cement wall encasing 5 inches of concrete has a rating well above R-17. If the walls are made thicker 6 8 this value could go over R-20. Cement, by its very nature, has a high thermal mass meaning that it takes a long time to heat up or cool down. With the insulating factor of the foam sheathing this advantage is increased. In standard wood-frame homes the settling of fiberglass insulation eventually makes way for small air leaks coming from the outside walls. These currents of air find their way into even the most airtight homes through fixtures and outlets. With a solid ICF wall there is none of this convection within wall as there are no cavities for it to get started. When you add up the advantages of high R-values, minimal air leakage and the high thermal mass this mean that ICF can give between 25% to 50% cut in energy consumption as compared with wood-framed homes. In addition, there is a huge saving in air conditioning costs. The Process of Building with ICF Building with insulated concrete forms starts much like any home with the footings. Before the cement cures in the footings vertical rebar is placed in intervals of 2 in the center of the footing to hold the walls onto the footings. The second course of block interlocks with the block next to the footing to provide the start to the sold wall. It is at this point that corrections are made for any uneven parts of the footings to make sure the wall goes up square. Rebar is now placed horizontally into the plastic webbing and the end pieces ar overlapped for strength. Cement can be poured at the 8 foot level but this requires special bracing scaffolding and wood strapping for support. If pouring at 4 feet the walls can be supported with strapping and lumber. The cement is now poured and settled with a vibrating rod. Special rebar is placed above the windows and doors for extra support the window and doors. When the wall is finished trusses can be placed on top and anchored with special fittings. For a two story home there is wider block that is placed at the top of the first level to brace the second one. The Cost From the records of a Nova Scotia builder who specializes in ICF the cost of building a house with this system was 10-15% more than a standard 2X6 wood frame home. However, with triple-pane, low E glass windows and infloor hydronic radiant heat the heating costs for this home were around 30-40% of a similar stick-built home with forced-air ductwork. So with energy costs rising might take almost 10-12 years to recoup the added cost. Another test was performed with a heat pump and the energy cost dropped even further allowing the homeowner a 7-8 year pay-back. Of course this study does not take into account the expected resale price which is always higher for an energy-efficient home 1. Heather Mills and Paul McCartney: 'Waterfall' data: 19.03.08 The water thrown at Sir Paul McCartney's lawyer at the end of his acrimonious divorce settlement sounded like a "waterfall", Heather Mills' legal aide has said. 2. Volcker, ex-Fed chairman, chides current one data: 10.04.08 The imposing former Fed chief who felled the runaway inflation of the 1980s chided Ben Bernanke for toeing "the very edge" of the bank's legal authority in orchestrating the bailout of Bear Stearns. 3. Torch relay chaos in papers data: 07.04.08 Chaotic scenes as anti-China demonstrators disrupt the Olympic relay through London are the focus of UK newspapers. 4. Heather Mills's 'exaggerated career claims' data: 19.03.08 Heather Mills' 'exaggerated career claims' 5. Female British spy's exploits during World War II are revealed data: 07.04.08 A British spy who helped lead the French Resistance during World War II outfoxed the Nazis by concealing secret messages in the hem of her skirt, according to records unsealed Monday. 6. In pictures data: 10.04.08 Anti-Chinese protesters outfoxed in US torch relay 7. Features: Sea for yourself data: 07.04.08 My husband wants us to go on a cruise this year but I have never been on one before and I'm not sure if I'll like it. 8. Techs buck the trend on debt data: 07.04.08 A downturn in the US economy and turmoil in the debt markets has done little to slow a sea-change in the balance sheets of some of the technology industry's leading lights 9. Su last year data: 10.04.08 Sudoku has furrowed the brow of many a commuter, but will its popularity be usurped by new puzzle kenken? 10. Top Stories: CCTV released of missing TV star Mark Speight data: 10.04.08 Police today released CCTV images of griefstricken children's TV presenter Mark Speight moments before he vanished three days ago. 11. Chinese banks pass on CIT Group data: 07.04.08 Major Chinese banks - including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China - decided not to invest in the U.S. commercial lender because of concerns about the company's ability to finance itself. 12. UK fertility treatment 'among the least safe in Europe' data: 07.04.08 The UK has one of the worst safety records for fertility treatment in Europe, new figures show. 13. Greek parliament approves pension reform bill data: 27.03.08 Greece's parliament approved the conservative government's pension reform bill early on Friday after weeks of strikes and protests by labour unions. 14. Blacksliding on reform is seen in new EU states data: 07.04.08 The European Union's eastward expansion aimed to cement former Communist countries into a bloc committed to pluralism, democracy and good government. But the new members have a tendency to backslide and succumb to "reform fatigue," according to a recent academic study. 15. "Les Ch'tis," a glimpse on film into a unique French sensibility data: 07.04.08 How do you sell the world a movie like "Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis?" 16. PM not attending Olympics opening data: 10.04.08 Gordon Brown will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Downing Street confirms. 17. Risk-taking architect takes field's top prize data: 07.04.08 Jean Nouvel, the bold French architect known for such wildly diverse projects as the exotically louvered Arab World Institute in Paris and the muscular Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, has received the Pritzker Prize. 18. Hugo Claus, often caustic Belgium author, dies at 78 data: 07.04.08 Claus, who had Alzheimer's disease, died at Middelheim Hospital in Antwerp. "He himself picked the moment of his death and asked for euthanasia," his wife, Veerle De Wit, said in a statement, as quoted by The Associated Press. 19. Investigations: Car scam back on the road data: 07.04.08 Does a conman ever change his spots? We only ask because just as George Constanti (below) has one dodgy company shut down by the courts he's busy running a new one. 20. The meaning of assurances given to Israel by European leaders data: 27.03.08 There is a greater willingness on the part of Europe's leaders - you can probably count in Gordon Brown - to state their backing for Israel at a time of a gathering threats. 21. Obama calls for Beijing boycott data: 10.04.08 Barack Obama urges President Bush to consider a boycott of the Beijing Olympics, as the US leg of the torch relay is held. 22. U.S. Senate panels to investigate Bear Stearns deal data: 27.03.08 Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. defended the takeover even as he called for more transparency on the part of Wall Street. 23. Former Kosovo leader acquitted of war crimes data: 07.04.08 The United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague on Thursday acquitted a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army of all charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a surprise decision that could inflame anti-Kosovar sentiment in Serbia just weeks after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence. 24. Asian stocks drop on fears about U.S. economy data: 10.04.08 Companies like United Parcel Service, considered a bellwether of U.S. economic activity, have cut their earnings forecasts this week, highlighting the threat from a slowing U.S. economy. 25. Militants flee Palestinian jail data: 07.04.08 Twelve Palestinian militants escape from a prison in the West Bank, complaining of beatings by security forces. 26. EU set to take cautious step to bolster bank regulation data: 07.04.08 Europe's finance ministers on Friday will set new guidelines on dealing with cross-border banking failures, their first steps since last year's credit crunch to tackle the threat of a systemic financial crisis. 27. 'Breakthrough' at Stonehenge dig data: 10.04.08 Archaeologists say they have broken through to a layer which could help to explain why Stonehenge was built. 28. Sudanese lawyer Salih Mahmoud Osman wins EU human rights award data: 27.03.08 Sudanese lawyer Salih Mahmoud Osman on Thursday received the European Union's top human rights award รขยย the Sakharov Prize รขยย for his work in the war-torn region of Darfur, the European Parliament said. 29. Asian shares drop on concern over bank earnings data: 27.03.08 Bank stocks like Mitsubishi UFJ and Macquarie Group were among the biggest decliners following the bank downgrades, a profit warning from Deutsche Bank and comments from European central bankers that there was no end in sight to the global credit crunch. 30. Boy, 12, missing in bad weather data: 07.04.08 Concern grows for a 12-year-old County Durham boy missing in freezing conditions. |