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Technology Briefs
Concrete Home >
Technology Briefs
The latest research results on concrete homebuilding systems:
Concrete Homes Save Energy (1)
Summarizes the comparative energy savings of insulating concrete form construction over conventional frame construction.
Building a Better House With Concrete (2)
Describes the superior features of insulating concrete form construction including even temperatures, quietness, and disaster resistance.
Plastic Foams for Concrete Homes (4)
Describes the various types of plastic foams used for insulating concrete forms and compares composition, benefits, and cost.
The Quality of Concrete Costs Little More (5)
Compares the cost of insulating concrete form construction versus wood frame construction.
Comfort and Quiet With Concrete Homes (6)
Discusses the dramatic reduction of sound penetration, air infiltration, and temperature fluctuations inside concrete homes.
Concrete Homes: Built-in Safety (7)
Summarizes research on concrete, wood, and steel walls to determine their effectiveness in resisting wind driven debris from tornadoes or hurricanes.
Concrete Homes: Structural Load Resistance: ICFs
vs. Steel & Wood-Frame (8)
Describes the results of testing that compared the ability of ICF walls
and traditionally framed walls to resist the types of structural loads
that occur in earthquakes.
Compare: A Quality Concrete Home for Only 3% More (9)
Results show building a new house with concrete exterior walls will add roughly 3 percent to the sale price, compared to the same house built by the same crew, using conventional wood framing.
Concrete Homes Stand Up to Earthquakes (10)
Built according to good practices, concrete homes can be among the safest and most durable types of structures during an earthquake.
Mold and Moisture (11)
Mold growth in homes is the hot topic in the home building industry today.
Building Green with Gray Concrete (12)
Sustainability or "green building" seeks
to balance resource efficiency, health, and social concerns throughout
the life cycle
of a structure. Concrete has a variety of benefits to offer in achieving
this goal.
Concrete Basements (13)
Basements are a valuable part of any new home, with benefits far outweighing
cost. Concrete is the material of choice for basement construction,
with 98% of North American basements built of one of many
available concrete wall systems.
Fiber Cement Siding (15)
Fiber cement siding offers the appearance of traditional
wood-based siding materials with much lower maintenance requirements,
while maintaining its shape and color much better
than vinyl siding. About 12 to 15% of all new homes are now clad
with fiber cement siding.
Concrete Roof Tiles (16)
Concrete roof tiles most often last the lifetime of a house, typically
carrying
a limited lifetime, non-pro-rated, transferable warranty.
Decorative Concrete (17)
This moldable material we call concrete has gone mainstream, catching the eyes of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners with an ever-increasing variety of colors and textures. Decorative concrete’s popularity has grown rapidly due to the myriad design possibilities now available.
Concrete Pavers (18)
Concrete pavers offer a variety of patterns and colors that add to the character of any home. They create style, color, vitality and eye-catching patterns. They provide value as a durable yet low maintenance surface for patios…walks… pool decks…driveways…parking areas…public spaces…subdivision entrances…streets. A growing number of builders use concrete pavers with other exterior features to add style to landscaping that increase curb appeal and sales.
Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (19)
Permeable interlocking concrete pavements (PICPs) offer an environmentally friendly way of providing long lasting, beautiful walks and driveways. They effectively filter and drain stormwater back into the soil, while the availability of many lighter colors can help reduce heat on site. These rich looking pavers feature patterns and textures to complement any home landscaping.
Sustainable Concrete Solutions for LEED for Homes (20)
LEED for Homes, created by the US Green Building Council, (USGBC), establishes a construction program for housing built upon the criteria of previous Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems. The many sustainable benefits of concrete technologies provide residential architects and builders with solutions that can help a project more easily qualify for certification.
Easier Energy Star® Compliance with Concrete Homes (21)
A Thermal By-Pass Checklist must be completed for all homes earning the Energy Star® Label. Properly installed continuous concrete
and foam wall systems, such as Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) inherently provide alignment of insulation andair barriers with no gaps, voids or compression. Concrete wall systems reduce the more expensive and time consuming challenges and coordination of attempting to obtain compliance with conventionally insulated frame construction.
Concrete Solutions for the NAHB National Green Building Standard™ (22) ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard ™ (Standard), developed by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), is a comprehensive program which provides guidance for improving the environmental performance of residential construction. Many sustainable features of concrete homebuilding technologies can contribute to the certification of successful, well performing green homebuilding projects under this Standard.
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