Insulating concrete forms, or ICFs, are forms used to hold fresh concrete that remain in place permanently to provide insulation for the structure they enclose. Originally used predominantly in single ...

Rich and Patty Kubica, owners of K-Wall Poured Walls in Asheville, N.C., are concrete contractors who have found a forming system that offers several green benefits to homeowners. So when Cliffs ...

Question: In a conversation with a builder last week, I was asked how I plan to provide a foundation that meets the minimum requirements for insulation. My initial response was “Why?”, since we’ve ...

For decades, concrete walls and foundations were made the same way. Plywood or plain boards are built into forms that contain steel reinforcing bars (rebar) and into which wet concrete is poured. When ...

On the lookout for ever more energy-efficient building envelope solutions, a growing number of Building Teams are turning to insulating concrete forms as an alternative to light-gauge steel frame, ...

Q: I just bought my first house and am about to remodel my basement. The previous owners of the house glued 2-inch-thick foam insulation to the poured concrete walls. It’s got an aluminum foil face on ...

Q. We have plans to finish our basement and have a few questions on the best way to proceed. The basement walls are poured concrete with a concrete floor. Should I insulate the walls? Can the walls be ...

This two-storey house over a basement is constructed using insulating concrete formwork blocks of dense polystyrene called Neopor. Above ground, the external walls are formed with 1,000 x 250 x ...

Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity is asking its volunteers to do something different this week and is inviting the public to come and watch. Instead of pounding wood together with hammers and nails, the ...