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News Releases
September 25, 1998
For Immediate Release
For more information, contact Jennifer Grover or Bruce McIntosh at PCA (847) 966-6200.
Centex "Performance Plus" concrete homes available for tour during 1999 Builders Show
Centex Corporation and Portland Cement Association build concrete homes to test insulating concrete form systems and open the experiment up for tours during NAHB
Results of the latest phase of the concrete home construction boom—homes built by a national production builder—will be on display during the 1999 National Association of Homebuilders Show in Dallas—January 15-18.
Centex Corporation will open the doors of a model concrete home built using insulating concrete forms (ICFs) to attendees during the Builders Show. The 3,026-square-foot home in the Vistas of Coppell subdivision is part of a demonstration project conceived by Centex to determine how the new building method compares to conventional building. The builder is constructing several houses using its six most popular floor plans in the Dallas area.
Randy Luther, Centex’s vice president of research and development, thoroughly researched the concrete construction technique before asking Centex to build the homes. Not only was the technical data favorable, but focus groups in the area gave the company reason to think that concrete would be a winner. "Homebuyers told us they were willing to spend a little more to get a concrete home," says Luther. "We sold the first two concrete homes right away."
Luther says building the homes also will give the company a chance to get accurate data on what it will take for Centex to build other concrete homes. "We’re using the same crews throughout the process," says Luther. "We’ll document costs, labor issues, energy performance and customer acceptance as we go along."
Once the homes are built, the Florida Solar Energy Center will monitor the energy performance of each home via modem.
A finished and furnished concrete model home will be open for tours during Builders Show floor hours. Free shuttle busses will leave the convention center every 30 minutes to bring visitors to the homes. Also open for tours will be two nearby concrete homes under construction. Builders Show attendees may pick up tour information at the Portland Cement Association Booth #3215.
Centex will keep a concrete model home open through February for consumer tours. The "Performance Plus" concrete home building program is sponsored by Portland Cement Association, Centex Corporation, Owens Corning, Lite-Form, the Concrete Promotion Council of Texas, Insulating Concrete Form Association, Texas Utilities and the Florida Solar Energy Center.
A trade association based in Skokie, Illinois, PCA conducts research, education, and public affairs work on behalf of its members—US and Canadian cement companies. Through its subsidiaries, Centex ranks as one of the nation’s largest home builders, mortgage loan providers and general building contractors. The company also has an investment real estate operation and owns the majority interest in a publicly held construction products company.
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