BuildBuck Accepted as Part of Full ICF Wall System for Miami Dade and Florida Building Codes Oklahoma City, OK—BuildBlock Building Systems, manufacturer of BuildBlock Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs), has had its product, “BuildBuck” accepted in Miami Dade and Florida Building Codes as part of the BuildBlock ICF wall system. This action grants BuildBuck code approval in areas adhering to both Miami Dade and Florida state building codes and continues the general acceptance throughout Florida and in other coastal construction regions. Reliance on ICF building materials continues to grow nationwide through proven performance in high-velocity wind zones, wildfire-prone areas, and
READ MORE →The BuildBlock ICF Plan Review gives you a great start in preparing for your ICF project. In the third installment of our Installation Video Series we’ll cover the plan review process. This video lays out much of the information you’ll need to consider before you start stacking blocks. When reviewing your plan for ICF construction you’ll need to keep several things in mind. We’ll discuss wall placement best practices, how to adjust openings, reinforcement requirements, planning for service penetrations, and much more. This video is intended to help you have a basic understanding of the steps you need to consider before building your
READ MORE →The BuildBlock ICF Site Review gives you a great start in preparing for your ICF project. In this episode of our Installation Video Series we’ll cover one of the most important first steps for your project; site review. This video talks about the building site and things you need to consider before building your ICF home. Topics include solar gain, aesthetics, water runoff and drainage, elevation footings and more. Knowing how much solar gain you will have on your structure is important when planning where to put your home. The amount of heat from the sun on your structure will help
READ MORE →The BuildBlock ICF Construction Overview gives you a great start in preparing for your ICF project. Welcome to the BuildBlock Installation Video Series ICF Construction Overview. The videos in this series are intended to cover the entire ICF construction process with important topics, tips, and techniques. This video covers many of the important steps you need to be aware of before beginning your BuildBlock ICF project. These steps include site review, solar gain, drainage, aesthetics, elevation and prevailing winds. These videos will hopefully make your project easier. Stay tuned as we’ll be publishing more steps in the building process in the coming weeks. The
READ MORE →BuildBlock ICF forms are ideal for building a solid, dry, energy efficient ICF basement. This video in the BuildBlock Insulating Concrete Forms Installer Series takes you through a pre-prour review of an ICF basement. We’ll demonstrate wall stacking strategies for your basement and/or first floor walls. See each step with tips and suggestions for your project. . Basements built with ICFs are not just inexpensive space for heating systems, water heaters and laundry tubs but can also become recreation areas, Hobby rooms, offices or extra bedrooms. Because of the high efficiency of the thermal mass your basement will feel warm in
READ MORE →The Energy Efficient BuildBlock Vineyard House in Paw Paw, Michigan has caught the attention of many around the country and has improved the opinion of ICFs in the state. This attention came from the low cost, the design, and the sheer beauty of this sustainable home. All of these features are not the usual factors that someone might think of when considering a home with this extraordinary level of sustainability. You can’t tell by looking at it but this house is made of ICFs, with 4kw of Photovoltaics, geothermal units, concrete flooring, and much more. The design of this home is one that the
READ MORE →BuildBlock IRC-IBC code compliance research report updated from Intertek Research Report (IRR-1003) to the new Code Compliance Research Report CCRR-1003. After Intertek and ATI completed their corporate merger, the IRR and CCRR reports were also merged. BuildBlock IRC-IBC Code Compliance Research Report updated to reflect compliance with new codes and standards. BuildBlock’s new code compliance research report number is CCRR-1003 and will now be displayed on all products labels. This new verification is one of the most trusted ETL marks in North America. The Code Compliance Research Report ensures that BuildBlock products comply with the 2015 International Residential Code and the International Building Code product standards. Currently BuildBlock has
READ MORE →Continuous R-Value, reduced air infiltration and thermal mass all make up the ICF Effect New energy codes, higher fuel prices, and colder winters have all contributed to an increased awareness of energy efficient construction. For consumers and builders, this means a stronger focus on increased “R-value” of the building envelope. Understanding the history of code prescribed R-value will give perspective of this measurement as it is used today. Prior to the oil crisis in the 1970’s, energy was cheap and little focus was placed on insulation, as evidenced by the lack of any insulation in “midcentury” homes. The skyrocketing fuel prices triggered a
READ MORE →The DIY Plowman Home using BuildBlock ICFs is a true do-it-yourself project from start to finish. Science Teacher, Phillip Plowman and his father are sharing their BuildBlock ICF project. They have been building an entire home themselves from top to bottom for the last year, using much of summer break and weekends as peak working hours. Phillip is a science teacher in Virginia and has been working on this home for the past year with his father. Phillip mentions he is fortunate to have weekends and summers off to work on building his own home. Phillip and his father
READ MORE →The Form-A-Drain (FAD) product is no longer available with fabric attached to the lineals. This change to FAD happened for several reasons. There is a tendency for the fabric to blow off, or otherwise become unattached in shipping, variance of codes around the country and detailing different application scenarios for the fabric. Some jurisdictions prefer to have the fabric attached directly at the FAD, while others prefer to have a layer of stone against the drainage system, with silt cloth laid over the stone. With the variance in codes, and the storage and manufacturing issues with keeping two nearly identical products in stock,
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