August/September 2011

Description

The 2011 ICF Builder Awards
The most popular ICF project-of-the-year competition is back again for the seventh year. Here’s how winners are selected, and how to submit a project to maximize its chance of winning.

Fire Retardants and EPS
HBCD, used as a flame retardant in EPS foam, has been shown to cause serious health concerns, and has already been banned in Europe. Fortunately, at least one alternative compound is already being developed which will allow ICFs to be even more healthy and green than ever before.

Project Profiles: The Small Residential Winners
These remarkable residences prove ICFs can overcome tremendous jobsite challenges to create beautiful, functional homes to suit virtually any style.

• Maertz Cottage
• Voitehovich Residence
• Selkirk Boathouse

Sound Attenuation: An Overlooked Benefit
ICFs noise dampening ability can be a major selling point. Theaters, apartment buildings, and developments near noisy industrial sites are just a few examples of jobs won by promoting sound attenuation.

Window Bucks: A Market Comparison
Lumber, OSB, vinyl, EPS, and steel are all being used as bucking materials, and each has unique advantages. This groundbreaking article compares the cost, durability, labor savings, insulation, and other considerations of the major bucking systems currently on the market.

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