Flower Mound, Texas, is the home of this 26,000-square-feet church, built using 41,000 square feet of Nudura ICFs. This project was the winner of the Heavy Commercial category of the 2023 ICF Builder Awards in part due to the intricate and complex large, poured-in-place pilasters and the monolithically poured tall walls. At the time of submission to the awards program, it was the tallest ICF project in Texas, with the tower ICF wall plate at 106 foot elevation. Because the walls were so tall, a temporary stairwell carried both men and materials to higher elevations. With the 10-inch ICF core tower, project manager and builder Jimmy Stewart of J&E Companies explained that careful attention to concrete truck-spacing was required. Each 3-foot pass corresponds to 9.3 yards, or one 10-yard truck per pass. Since it was only 100 linear feet of wall, J&E Foreman Isaias Martinez elected to go with 40-minute spacing per truck to ensure proper consolidation.

High Elevation Construction
Safely working effectively at high elevations was a priority focus for the J&E installation team. Their plan to work the ICF from the inside reduced the impact of occasional high-wind conditions. During tower construction, ICF bundles were ferried up from the outside via a configured pulley system. “This was my first opportunity to lead an ICF team on a project with walls in excess of 100 feet,” says Isaias Martinez, foreman for J&E Companies. “Our focus was on safety first and production second. We worked smart and safe with great production and we stayed on schedule. We even installed the cast-stone peak at an elevation of 121 feet.”

Sustainability and Impact
ICF was selected primarily for strength, fire resistance, and energy efficiency. “Peak loads were substantially reduced, allowing for savings on A/C tonnage,” says Stewart. The project site is close to a main thoroughfare, which meant that sound attenuation was an important consideration. The project achieved a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of more than 55, which was a significant plus. An STC rating of 45 is considered good for soundproofing and privacy. Stewart says St. Philip The Apostle Catholic Church is the tallest ICF structure in Texas, exceeding the 8-story Hilton Garden in Lewisville, Texas, which was the first Hilton Garden Inn in the United States.

J&E worked closely with architect Scott Martsolf, who has worked with Nudura on several other church projects, including the award-winning Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas. Martsolf is considered to be a leader in church construction, and frequently recommends ICF construction for churches. J&E Companies was selected because they have worked successfully on several other ICF projects in Texas, and their connection to Martsolf provides the opportunity to introduce new construction managers and general contractors to the ICF technology. “J&E has major depth in ICF installation talent and equipment,” notes Stewart. “For example, they have worked on as many as six large commercial ICF projects simultaneously.” Nudura was the basis-of-design for this project and J&E selected the Nudura product.

Because the church is on a main thoroughfare in a busy part of the city, Stewart says the company has received a number of leads and opportunities on various commercial and residential projects due to drivers seeing the project.