Masonry Home Wins Design "Showdown"

It lies low on the hillside, like a gunslinger in an old Western—flat on his belly peering over the scrubby ridge down to Tucson. Surrounded by the looming column-and-arms of the saguaro cactus of Old West iconography, you half expect to stumble across a bleached cattle skull.

Instead there is the structure which the designers wanted—in its design and execution—to appear to grow out of the steep hillside without disturbing the fragile landscape. Concrete block, prominent inside and out, was a large part of achieving that aim—a material that supported the structure on its hillside perch and tied the home aesthetically to the rough country outside. More

Three 2-story ICF homes are under construction in Olympia, Wash. for the South Puget Sound affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. The homes are part of a larger, 15-home development, all of which will be built with ICFs. Additional concrete features of the development will be HardiPlank fiber-cement siding on the homes and the use of pervious concrete in the parking areas. More

Precast Moves into Milwaukee Neighborhood

After winning a design competition to redevelop an industrial corridor within the city of Milwaukee, Vetter Denk Architects set out to give new life to the area along the Milwaukee River known as the Beerline “B” neighborhood. More

Little Precast House on the Prairie

A new technique for making log homes replicates the look of wood logs so well that it might fool termites—at least until they tried to bite into one. Precast concrete components that are cast and stained to resemble wood logs, create a design that offers great potential for homes around the country, its makers say. More

Concrete Technologies Tour: The Hot Ticket in Phoenix

This year's Concrete Technologies Tour, produced by the Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) was held in Phoenix, Ariz., June 11-13.

This is the second year that CHBC has produced this three-day event, which attracted nearly 100 home builders and industry executives. Attendees networked and learned about the latest developments in the use of concrete and cement-based products in residential construction. More

Faull Resigns as CHBC Manager

Effective June 28, 2006, Dawn Faull stepped down as program manager of the Concrete Homebuilding Council. She was hired in 2004 and was the first to hold that position, which was created shortly after the council was formed. More

Removable Concrete Forms Homes

This DVD explores the growing trend towards using removable concrete forms (RCFs) to build above-grade walls for residential structures. The energy savings, durability and quietness of RCF concrete homes are discussed. For the builder/developer, an accelerated building timeframe and reduced construction waste are highlighted as prominent benefits. Approx. 6 minutes. 2006.

DVD524—$5.95