What are Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)?

Insulated concrete forms, also known as insulating concrete forms or ICFs are an innovative, green building system for walls and foundations that can be used in the construction of houses or institutional, commercial or industrial buildings. ARXX Corporation is one of the leading suppliers of ICFs and has been an innovator and driving force in the industry since its inception.

Insulated concrete forms are a cast-in-place forming system for concrete walls that combine insulation, fastening strips, sound attenuation, air barrier and vapor barrier with the structural element. This saves time and money in the construction process with five steps of conventional construction combined into one. Insulated concrete forms are a block building system with blocks comprised of two panels of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam held together by plastic or steel ties. The blocks are stacked and lock together to build the foundation or wall system. Rebar is added as the blocks are being stacked and then concrete is placed in the core between the two panels of EPS foam. The concrete core provides the structural element of the wall assembly similar to conventionally formed concrete walls and foundations, except that within an ICF, the concrete cures up to twenty-five percent stronger as a result of curing within an optimal environment attributable to having the insulation panels of the block surrounding the concrete. The size of the concrete core is dependent on the scale and type of building. Using insulated concrete forms to build walls and foundations results in a wall system with high performance insulation on both the interior and exterior sides of the concrete core which together obviate the need for additional air barrier or vapor barrier. As well, the fastening strips embedded within the foam panels of the ICF act as the attachment points for interior and exterior finishes. This means that gypsum board can be directly attached to the insulated concrete form without the need for additional framing. Similarly on the exterior side of the wall, virtually any conventional exterior finish including siding, brick or stone veneer or stucco can attached.

Why Build with ARXX Insulated Concrete Forms?

ARXX insulated concrete forms have proven their value time and time again in over 100,000 projects across North America. Generally houses built with ARXX ICFs require an estimated 44% less energy to heat and 32% less energy to cool than comparable wood frame houses. The energy savings estimates are substantiated by an independent study of single-family houses spread across the U.S. and Canada. Researchers gathered data on 58 houses in all. Half had exterior walls constructed with insulated concrete forms. The other half were neighboring houses with walls constructed of conventional wood framing. All houses were relatively new, less than 6 years old, and had been built with modern methods. The researchers compared the energy bill of each house built with insulated concrete forms to its frame counterpart, carefully correcting for important differences to get an “apples-to-apples” comparison.

The benefits of using insulated concrete forms for construction of a wall assembly goes beyond saving money and reducing energy consumed to operate the building. In addition, ICF structures can withstand tornado and hurricane force winds as well as being capable of being engineered for the highest seismic zones. These attributes provide added levels of safety and security to protect against personal and property damage in areas subject to extreme weather. ICFs also have the added benefit of not permitting the growth of mold or mildew, a significant and costly issue in many homes and buildings. This saves money in eliminating the health threat and costs of remediation where mold and mildew is present due to climate issues or exposure to floods or storm surges.

To learn more about ARXX insulated concrete forms and how we can help you on your next building project, contact us at 1 800 293 3210 or email us at info@arxx.com.