ICF Wall Survives 90 MPH Car Crash

Early on the morning of June 26, 2004, as Mr. Demczyk and his wife slept inside their ICF home, a potential tragedy was unfolding outside. At approximately 2:00 a.m. an intoxicated driver was speeding down the Demczyks' street and fell asleep at the wheel. His Pontiac Firebird left the road, became airborne, and slammed into the exterior wall of the Demczyk residence at a speed of 90 miles per hour.

The ICF wall’s sound class rating of 48 offered the sleeping Demczyks no clue of disaster. Stirred by a light thud, Mrs. Demczyk left her bedroom to identify some household object that had fallen to the floor. To her great surprise she found a set of headlights shining brightly through her living room window. More

Subscribe to the New At Home With Concrete

Learn more about building with concrete by subscribing to NAHB’s new, monthly, free e-newsletter, At Home with Concrete.

Produced by the newly formed NAHB Concrete Home Building Council, At Home with Concrete is a resource for all cement-based building materials in residential, multifamily, and light commercial construction, including the latest trends and most current information on concrete driveways, foundations, decorative concrete, concrete wall systems, and more.

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Subscribe to At Home with Concrete by October 31 for a chance to win a Dell Axim X30 with 624 MHz and integrated wireless PDA. The drawing will take place November 1.

To subscribe, e-mail Dawn Faull at dfaull@nahb.com. Include your name, e-mail address, company, and company mailing address.

The fourth annual Residential Design Symposium, sponsored by the National Concrete Masonry Association and PCA is scheduled for January 12, a day before the opening of the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Florida. More

ICFA Leaves Some Forms in San Diego

The Insulating Concrete Form Association (ICFA) left more than brochures and positive feelings behind after its fall meeting and expo, which concluded Wednesday, September 15, in San Diego.

ICFA initiated a new partnership with San Diego Habitat for Humanity (SDHFH) by helping a needy homeowner replace her destroyed residence. Eighty-year old Rosemarie Michelsen lost her home in the firestorms of October 2003. In response to the wildfire devastation, San Diego Habitat for Humanity initiated its Rebuilding Community” program to reconstruct homes for fire victims in need who were uninsured or substantially under-insured. Ms. Michelsen met the qualifications for assistance. More

Air Force to Test Concrete Walls for Blast Effects

PCA led a team of allied trade associations in briefing the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineering Support Activity and Research Lab on the potential benefits of concrete sandwich panel, insulating concrete forms, autoclaved aerated concrete, and reinforced masonry walls to aid in attenuating the blast effects of terrorist bombs. More

Performance with Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements

A small residential subdivision near the southeastern coast of Connecticut imparts a big message about the potential pollution reduction from permeable interlocking concrete pavements (PICPs). Glen Brook Green subdivision in Waterford, Connecticut, includes over 15,000 square feet of PICP driveways and roads. More

HVAC Sizing for Concrete Homes

Developed as part of a HUD-sponsored project, this software provides an alternative means of estimating heating and cooling system capacities for single-family homes. The software calculates the system capacities based on the house dimensions, construction materials, location (U.S. and Canada) and thermostat set point.
CD044—$59.95