ForConstructionPros.com

Green building is on the rise, along with energy prices and customer demand for buildings that can hold up to severe weather. As a result, many customers are turning to concrete for their homes and buildings - and a growing number of them are choosing to build concrete structures with ICFs (insulating concrete forms).

These stay-in-place forms produce a building that can stand up to high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes and seismic forces. In addition, some ICFs offer up to a three-hour plus fire rating and produce a structure with a quieter interior than more traditional building systems. For clients looking to save money on energy costs, ICF structures typically require 44 percent less energy to heat and 32 percent less energy to cool.

As ICF popularity grows, contractors from many facets of the construction industry are learning to integrate ICFs into their businesses. Concrete contractors are in a particularly good position to take on ICFs.

"For some concrete contractors, adding ICFs to their lineup of services isn't such a large step to take," says Sherri Bebee, director of marketing, training and communications at Arxx Building Products. "They already have the working knowledge of how to build concrete walls." Bebee adds that ICF construction uses less equipment, fewer people and is physically less demanding because workers don't have any heavy equipment to move around.

"It's a simple transition to ICF if you're already doing traditional basements using removable formwork," says Gary Brown, director of sales and marketing with Amvic Building System. "With ICF, you're putting the forms on a footer, placing rebar, bracing and pouring concrete into the forms. With traditional forming you're doing all that, but you've got to go back to the jobsite and take the forms off at the end of the job.