|
Concrete Homes Newsletter
Concrete Home >
Concrete Homes Newsletter > 2007 > January/February
January/February 2007
It's Showtime for The New American Home
The New American Home 2007, the official Show Home of the National Association
of Home Builders, is complete and ready to be displayed at the International
Builders’ Show, which takes place February 7–10 in Orlando, Florida.
For
the fourth consecutive year, The New American Home makes extensive
use of concrete products. This year’s home features precast concrete
structural walls from Standard Precast, hollow-core precast planks
from Gate Concrete
Products, concrete pavers from Flagstone Pavers, and pollution-fighting “TX
Aria” cement from Essroc Cement Co. that was used in the
stucco finish. Both PCA and the Precast-Prestressed Concrete Institute
(PCI)
are sponsors of the home.
An adjacent remodeled show home, The Renewed American Home, features a foundation
system from Superior Walls and a concrete masonry safe room provided through
the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA). The home was constructed
by the prestigious Orlando builder, Homes by Carmen Dominguez, with architectural
services provided by Bloodgood, Sharp, Buster Inc. For more information,
visit www.tnah.com.
Concrete Pavilion Growth Continues
The 2007 NAHB International Builders’ Show will spend its third year
in Orlando, Florida, and for the 19th year, the Portland Cement Association
will host the annual Concrete Pavilion. At 12,910 square feet, the Concrete
Pavilion surpasses last year’s Pavilion as the largest in the history
of the International Builders’ Show. PCA will be joined by 32 Pavilion
Partners at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Attendance in
2006 was estimated at 105,000, and the 2007 crowd is expected to equal that
number.
PCA (booth W5461) serves as the chief source of information for the Concrete
Pavilion, with PCA staff and promoters from around the country ready to
answer your questions. This year, an easy-to-use touch-screen kiosk will
demonstrate how insulated concrete homes can save you energy. You’ll
be able to choose style of home, location and type of wall system.
VanderWerf Wins ICFA Ritchie Scott Award
Pieter Vanderwerf, President of Building Works, Inc., was recently awarded
the 2006 ICFA Richie Scott Award. The award honors the individual who distinguished
himself as leader in the ICF industry over the past year.
VanderWerf, often cited as one of the pioneers in the ICF industry, has
created numerous publications and education courses to disseminate information
and promote the use of ICFs in construction, design and among the public
at large. These include: ICF Construction: Demand, Evaluation, and Technical
Practice; the ICF Construction Manual and ICFs for Residential Design and
Construction; as well as the National Association of Home Builders education
course "ICFs for Builders" and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
education course. VanderWerf's work in creating publications and education
seminars has provided a wealth of information to the industry and led to
the education of thousands.
After winning the award, VanderWerf said, “When I consider the other
people nominated for this award and the other people who could have been
nominated, I’m honored and humbled. There is amazing talent at the
vanguard of the ICF industry. There is also an electric excitement among
us at being involved in one of the truly revolutionary developments in construction
of the present day.”
Thanks to the ICFA for this article.
Weber Named One of Ten Most Influential People
in Concrete Industry
The United States has had a long love affair with wood-frame houses, even
though the benefits of living in concrete homes outweigh wood in almost every
way. This is especially true now when energy savings and reducing greenhouse
gases have become worldwide issues. More than any other person today, Mike
Weber is responsible for marketing and promoting cement-based building systems
and products.
Weber grew up in a family that owned a sand and gravel business in
Edgerton, Ohio, and later ventured into ready-mixed concrete. After
college, he moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and expanded his career with
the largest
ready-mixed concrete and block producer in the state. On his resume
he can list having been a ready-mix plant manager, customer relations
person, regional
sales representative, director of training and product promotion,
a master trainer for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, vice
president
for a construction company specializing in cast-in-place walls, and
director of residential construction for the Portland Cement Association
(PCA). His
work for PCA includes marketing responsibility for the entire United
States.
Weber's mission is to increase the amount of portland cement consumed in
residential settings, primarily by emphasizing the advantages of concrete
homes. A major achievement was to persuade the National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB) to form the Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) to promote
the use of residential concrete. Every year since 2004, The New American
Home (TNAH), NAHB's official show home, has had a significant concrete aspect.
Already complete, TNAH ‘07, a precast concrete home is ready for viewing,
and planning of TNAH ‘08 with autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) walls
has already begun.
Nationwide, in 2005, over 17.5% of all single-family detached above-grade
walls in new home construction were concrete. Florida leads the country
with over 80% of new homes constructed with a concrete building system.
The wood
industry isn't giving up, though, and expects to spend $500 million
over the next seven years to market the benefits of wood construction,
a staggering
amount of money compared to what the concrete industry is willing
to spend. Meanwhile, Weber will continue to promote construction of the
American dream
in concrete.
Thanks to Concrete Construction magazine for this article.
California Features Small Development of Big Homes
A high-end custom home development is being constructed in Monterey, California.
The development consists of three custom homes: an 11,000 square foot home
for the owner/developer and two 6,200 square foot "spec" homes.
The homes are in a gated cul de sac above the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey.
One of the spec homes has been completed and is on the market. The 11,000
square foot home is nearing completion. Both of these homes are Mediterranean
in appearance and detail. The concrete exterior walls are being constructed
with the Reward Wall System. Both are topped with 200-year-old roof tiles
imported from Spain. The walls are richly colored with ocher quarried from
France, and the floors are mainly of terra cotta tile made by a pair of Spaniards
in their 80s. Many of the doors are from the 18th century, part of a collection
of thousands of wood doors the owner and his wife came across in Spain. Stone
from France is used in the deep window casements and elsewhere.
Geoffrey de Sibert learned about the forms when he was looking for something
that would buffer household noise, and then was further attracted by the
energy efficiency and the strength of reinforced concrete. His contractor,
Tony Schaurer, a former aeronautical engineer, did more research and was
sold. "I think they are the thing of the future," Schaurer said.
Though the homes measure 11,000 square feet, de Sibert believes his monthly
energy bill will only be $15. How? The thick foam and concrete walls
are energy-efficient building blocks, but the home is also equipped
with a rooftop
photovoltaic system to capture solar energy. Radiant heat tubes are
in the floors, and a separate solar system heats water for the swimming
pool. The home will also have a 20,000-gallon cistern designed to capture
rainwater
for irrigating the landscape.
For the owner, it's a model of the kind of homes he saw growing up in Europe. "We
wanted them to be structurally solid, but with an Old World feel," said
de Sibert, who is partnering with realtor Jim Poulton and Schaurer on the
homes.
The Monterey project is just the latest concrete home development in California.
Sam Gallego of Cemex cited more than a half-dozen recent, sizeable projects
in the state, including a subdivision in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs,
that will have 160 ICF houses when it is finished. Among the other projects
he listed: 100 units in Bakersfield, including four-plexes and single-family
homes; 50 high-end homes in a Tahoe-area development; and a project in Paso
Robles with 35 cottages and 12 homes.
Kate Driscoll Named CHBC Senior Program Manager
Catherine Driscoll is the new senior manager of the Concrete Home Building
Council, one of several building systems councils of the National Association
of Home Builders.
The Council provides NAHB membership access to technical, educational, and
training experts on concrete building systems and concrete product applications.
Members include PCA and 10 other national trade associations involved in
residential concrete.
Prior to joining the Concrete Home Building Council, Driscoll served as
meeting and conference manager for Amnesty International.
Upcoming Events
- World of Concrete
Las Vegas, NV, January 23-26, 2007 More
- International Builders' Show
Orlando, FL, Feburary 7-10, 2007 More
- Manufactured Concrete Products Expo (MCPX)
Orlando, FL, February 22-24, 2007 More
- Hardscape North America
Nashville, TN March 7-10, 2007 More
- NAHB's Green Building Conference
St. Louis, MO March 25-27, 2007 More
> Return to top
|
 |
Select Year:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Download:
Adobe Acrobat Reader
|