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Concrete Home > Concrete Homes Newsletter > 2006 > May/June

May/June 2006

• CFA Announces 2006 "Basement of the Year"
• EnergyValue Housing Award Winner
• Fifth Annual “Masonry: It Makes a Village” Winners Announced
• New Jersey Home "LEED"s The Way
• ICFA Hires Technical Services Manager
• Green Builder Advocates Have Ties to Concrete Industry
• Upcoming Events
• Tools of Our Trade
  -DVD511

CFA Announces 2006 "Basement of the Year"

In today’s booming housing market, consumers are demanding more than ever in their new home construction, and housing plans have become increasingly more complex and detailed. The Concrete Foundations Association’s (CFA) 2006 Basement of the Year competition salutes some of this year’s most challenging home projects and their cast-in-place concrete foundations. The 2006 winner has such a complex foundation design that the crews who worked on it named it “The Dragon House” and “The Spaceship.”

This year’s competition is the largest in CFA history. Contractors cast votes for Basement of the Year in the CFA booth at the 2006 World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas. The formal award presentation will be made at the Awards Banquet Luncheon during CFA’s Annual Summer Meeting, July 19–22, at the Wisconsin Dells.

According to Ed Sauter, executive director of CFA, the Basement of the Year competition enables foundation contractors to display the wide range of projects being completed today. “The technological advancements that have been made in the poured wall industry allow contractors to complete complex projects more efficiently, which helps ensure homeowners’ dreams are realized,” said Sauter. “Each year the projects submitted to this competition get more complicated and demonstrate the diversity afforded through poured wall foundations.”

The winning structure is a 5,694-square-foot basement with many garden walls and other features in Eastown Township, Pennsylvania. Balmer Brothers Concrete Work, Inc. of Akron, Pennsylvania, is the project’s foundation contractor. While it is not the largest foundation they completed last year, Jerry Balmer, President, stated that this project was probably the most complex that they have ever completed. With very few right-angled corners, the structure kept Balmer Brothers’ crews on their toes. Many corners went from straight to curved walls with a multitude of corners, T-walls and Y-sections coming in at various angles. One of the jumps, from 9 feet to a 3-foot wall, occurs in the middle of a curved wall.

“It seemed like every corner we came to brought on a new challenge, especially the Y- areas, where we used various sized ties as the two walls turned into one,” says Balmer. “Most of the time crews were transitioning curved into straight walls and sometimes curved to curved.”

Adding to the complexity are stone ledges surrounding the house, which are 1–3 feet deep by 6 inches wide. Much of the ledge is on curved walls, requiring that the ledge comprise multiple pieces to allow for flexibility. Balmer credits the success of this project to his experienced crew. “They all know how important a quality wall is to us, and it was evident that it was important to them,” Balmer says.

The Hattersley Residence has 995 total linear feet of wall, wall heights of 3–9 feet and wall thicknesses of both 12 and 16 inches. Radius measurements range from 4 feet, 2 inches to 91 feet, 8 ½ inches with many different sizes in between. The project includes 345 yards of concrete in the walls and 27,680 linear feet of No. 4 matte steel at 2 feet on center. Footers are 12 and 24 inches wide with No.3 to No. 4 continuous rebar with cross bars at 2 feet on center. Radius walls with ledges are labor intensive and use extra wall ties, which added challenges to this project. Hundreds of vice grips were needed to hold in ledges, spreaders and props. Hinged corners were used to ensure that corners and shapes were correct. Hundreds of fillers were used to create smooth, curved angles and offsets. Forms were double-stacked for height. A roller bender was used to bend rebar to match the radii of the curved walls.

Thanks to CFA for this article.

EnergyValue Housing Award Winner

Barley+Pfeiffer Architects & Jim Sargent of AndersonSargent Custom Builder LP have teamed up to produce an award-winning home that demonstrates that you can live in a more environmentally responsible manner while also enjoying greater comfort than most new homes offer today. The 3,800-square-foot, 4-bedroom home is the recipient of the 2006 EnergyValue Housing Award (Gold Winner) for Hot Climate, Custom Home. This home is a demonstration project for the U.S. Department of Energy's "Building America" home building program. The “Building America” program encourages homeowners and builders to live and build in a more fiscally and environmentally sensible manner.

Actual utility costs, which were anticipated using a computer modeling program, are roughly equivalent to homes 1/3 the size, averaging less than $70/ month for electricity and gas. Once the benefits of the solar photovoltaic panels are factored in, the net cost to operate this house should be zero. Proper solar orientation, a ventilated radiant barrier roof system, careful air-infiltration control, spray foam insulation, Durisol block construction (which contributes to the passive solar design/storage of the building envelope), air sealed attics, accurately sized roof overhangs, a light exterior color scheme, enhanced natural ventilation and permanent metal air-conditioning ducts are among the technical strategies that make this home perform so well.

AndersonSargent Custom Builder also received the 2006 EVHA Builder of the Year award. Jim Sargent, a partner at AndersonSargent, said, “It’s possible to build a house that is comfortable to live in, is architecturally pleasing and doesn’t have a utility bill.” Sargent currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA) and has been involved with that organization for over 15 years.

According to the EVHA judges, it’s not only a “truly beautiful home,” but it’s a “world-class project.” The judges were impressed by the home’s outstanding energy performance and its exemplary use of systems engineering in the HVAC system, building envelope and renewable energy production.

Fifth Annual "Masonry: It Makes a Village" Winners Announced

1st Place

The fifth annual design/build competition “Masonry: It Makes A Village” was held Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8, in Phoenix at Turf Paradise. This timed event pitted teams of Arizona architects and mason contractors against each other to produce the most creative and original “village” structures with the use of brick, block, natural and manufactured stone, glass block and architectural precast.

2nd Place

The competition was designed to showcase the beauty and quality of masonry construction by providing an opportunity for Arizona architects and mason contractors to work side by side with each other on both the design and construction phases of the project. A total of eight teams competed in this year’s event.

3rd Place

The winning projects were judged by industry experts and were chosen for creativity of design and use of materials, teamwork, craftsmanship and overall quality. The jury panel consisted of:

• Gregg Borchelt, Vice President of Engineering & Research, Brick Industry Association, Reston, Virginia
• Brent Davis, Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects Tucson, Tucson, Arizona
• Dawn Faull, Director of the Concrete Council, National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C.
• Roy Hickman, Masonry Consultant and Master Mason, Roy Hickman Consulting, Tucson, Arizona
• Richard Michal, Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Arizona Architectural School

Craftmanship & People's Choice Award Winner

Thanks to the Arizona Masonry Guild for this article.

New Jersey Home "LEED"s The Way

Patrick Murphy, president of American PolySteel, and PolySteel’s Regional Sales Manager, Jeffrey Childres, were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the BASF Near-Zero Energy Home in Paterson, New Jersey. The demonstration home is 80 percent more energy efficient, more durable and is faster to construct than conventionally built homes.

The site will host a number of seminars and tours to architects, builders, government officials, homeowners, realtors, financial institutions and other interested parties throughout the summer of 2006. Once the demonstration phase is completed, the home will be donated to St. Michael’s Housing Corporation. This organization will then turn over the home to a local family with a quadriplegic boy to occupy. As such, the project is also designed to showcase elements of accessible design.

ICFs were used to construct the basement and first floor of this prairie-style home in an establish Paterson neighborhood. The home will dramatically out-perform its neighbors on the inside, with a high-performance thermal and structural envelope, solar panels for water heating and electric generation and high-efficiency mechanical systems and appliances to maximize the use of the energy provided from all sources.

Murphy said, “BASF has done a superb job of understanding and integrating the role of the building envelope in achieving a high-performance structure with sustainable building practices. ICFs make this happen in ways that are just not possible with wood-frame construction.”

The home is a cornerstone of BASF’s “Better Home, Better Planet” initiative. Over 120 supporters heard the comments of key representatives from HUD, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Mayor and City Council of Paterson and the Chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation, as they discussed the value of affordable, sustainable, energy-efficient homes for this urban renewal community.

Klaus Peter Löbbe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BASF Corporation, said, “We have constructed this home in order to inspire homeowners, builders and architects locally, as well as nationally. We want them to know that sustainable, energy-efficient and disaster-resistant homes are not a concept of the future, but a reality today. Homes based on the technologies demonstrated here are accessible to real people at affordable prices.”

According to BASF Senior Corporate Architect, Gary DeSantis, “Presenting a model for sustainable and energy efficient building starts with the building envelope. The integration of insulating concrete forms in the home gives us great confidence that we will achieve Gold or possibly Platinum - the highest LEED ratings there are."

ICFA Hires Technical Services Manager

The Insulating Concrete Form Association recently hired Vera Novak to become its Technical Services Manager. The newly created position will help promote the use of insulating concrete form building systems by fighting for code and standard advancements, creating publications and brochures and identifying potential uses of insulating concrete forms (ICFs).

Novak brings to the ICFA a unique combination of ICF and green building industry experience, as well as technical knowledge coupled with a marketing perspective. In her recent position as the Environmental Specialist for ECO-Block, LLC, Novak was a respected conference speaker and contributor to industry journals on matters of sustainability and building science. An MBA graduate from the University of Western Australia, Novak also holds several construction industry accreditations: USGBC LEED AP, EPA Green Lights Certification and Residential Energy Auditor. Novak has first hand experience working on ICF construction sites and also enjoys carpentry and home remodeling. She says, "I firmly believe that more technical and environmental knowledge will help us integrate ICFs into mainstream construction practices and accelerate the growth of our market share in North America. I am delighted to join the ICFA to contribute to this process."

The creation of the Technical Services Manager position is a huge step forward for the ICF industry, as it looks to makes a significant impact on the construction, code, standard writing and building materials communities. Joseph Lyman, executive director of the Insulating Concrete Form Association, says, "This is a value-added position that will not only help increase the credibility and acceptance of ICFs, but will also act as a resource to ICFA member firms."

Thanks to the ICFA for this article.

Green Builder Advocates Have Ties to Concrete Industry

Green building pioneer Ron Jones of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was named Builder Advocate of the Year at the 2006 National Green Building Awards Gala on Sunday, March 12, during NAHB's 8th Annual National Green Building Conference in Albuquerque.

"Ron served as charter chairman of the NAHB Green Building Subcommittee and has worked tirelessly ever since to help bring green building into the mainstream," said NAHB Green Building Subcommittee Chairman, Ray Tonjes, a custom home builder in Austin, Texas.

Ron Jones serves as an advisor on PCA’s Sustainability Committee, and his building company was involved with the Vision House, an ICF home that was the inaugural feature home of NAHB’s Green Building Conference.

The Sustainable Building Industry Council of Washington D.C. also received an award for Group Advocate of the Year. Helen English, Executive Director of the Council, accepted the award on behalf of SBIC and reiterated a few of the many contributions SBIC has made over the years to NAHB’s programs.

“This award clearly validates SBIC’s contribution as an industry leader and distinguishes us from the many other ‘green’ organizations. Our relationships with NAHB will continue to be critical as we educate and advocate for ‘Greening the American Dream,’” said Helen English. SBIC is encouraged by the exposure that residential sustainable building is getting and hopes for more of it to make an even greater impact. PCA is a member of SBIC.

"As consumers show greater interest in homes that employ energy efficiency, resource conservation and sustainable building, these experts help expand green building from a niche market by giving prominence to housing affordability," Tonjes said. "What our winners bring to traditional construction is a better knowledge of green building science so that all home builders and home buyers can benefit."

Thanks to the CHBC for this article.

Upcoming Events

Albuquerque chapter of USGBC tour of the Vision House from May 20th to May 21st. For more info, please call Mandi at (505) 883-3602.

Tile Roofing Institute Installer Certification Program in Ontario, CA from June 6th to June 7th. More

Concrete Technologies Tour in Phoenix, Arizona from June 11th to June 13th. More

Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco, CA from June 20th to June 23rd. More

Concrete Foundations Association Summer Meeting in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin from July 19th to July 22nd. More

National Concrete Masonry Association in Victoria, British Columbia from July 26th to July 30th. More

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