Hilldale Elementary Builds 11-Classroom Safe Room

On April 29, 2016   /   BuildBlock Projects, Video  
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20160405-hilldale-school-saferoom-oklahoma-city-010

  Hilldale Elementary Builds 11-Classroom Safe Room addition, which will be able to protect all of its students, teachers and staff during severe weather or a tornado. These classrooms will be a warm, comfortable learning environment all year, sound proof and energy efficient. Should the need arise, they would also function as a safe room for the entire school. The project is located on NW 16th St. in Oklahoma City. Classes run from August through June, which includes Oklahoma’s worst storm season. After the devastating effects of previous tornadoes, you can see why it is important to have a proper safe

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Press Release: BuildBlock ICFs Releases BuildBuck ICF Door & Window Bucking

On December 1, 2015   /   BuildBlock Products, Press Releases  
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BuildBuck ICF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BuildBlock ICFs Releases BuildBuck ICF Door & Window Bucking Oklahoma City, OK – BuildBlock Building Systems is excited to announce the release of BuildBuck ICF Door & Window Bucking. BuildBuck is the ideal insulating bucking solution for door and window openings in a BuildBlock ICF project. BuildBuck is the longest EPS ICF buck on the market at 52-inches (132mm) and is designed to create a 4040 (4-ft x 4-ft) rough opening without any cutting. This product is available in 11-inch and 13-inch widths for 6-inch and 8-inch BuildBlock, BuildLock, and 6-inch GlobalBlock products and will be available

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Press Release: BuildBlock ICFs Releases BuildShield Fire Stop Protection

On December 1, 2015   /   BuildBlock Products, Press Releases  
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BuildShield Termite & Fire Stop Protection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BuildBlock ICFs Releases BuildShield Fire Stop Protection Oklahoma City, OK – BuildBlock Building Systems is introducing BuildShield, a barrier for firestop protection in an ICF wall. BuildShield is a combination of two materials when combined offer fire stop protection providing additional protection in fire prone areas. This product will be available in early January 2016. BuildBlock built an ASTM 814E Fire Stop. BuildShield combines an extruded PVC plastic track with an adhesive stainless steel material applied together between near the top of the wall in an above grade course when constructing an ICF wall. The track supports

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Asked & Answered: How Do I Design Door & Window Openings in an ICF Home?

On October 26, 2015   /   Asked & Answered, BuildBlock News  
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Asked-&-Answered

Door & Window Openings in an ICF Home Generally, there is little difference in door and window placement in an ICF home when compared to standard wood-framed construction. The biggest thing to keep in mind are openings really close together or really close to corners. Since the supporting structure to the wall is the concrete inside the walls, you need to make sure there is enough in the right places to carry the weight of the rest of the structure. Door & window openings in an ICF home have two structural elements: post and lintel. The post is the support on either side

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The Lloyd House: An ICF Project

On October 26, 2015   /   BuildBlock News, Featured  
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Lloyd ICF Home Construction

We are going to step inside the Lloyd House: An ICF project showcasing the resiliency and versatility of BuildBlock ICFs. This project was a flagship project for Lloyd Concrete Services and BuildBlock of Central Virginia. The natural beauty of this lot inspired the homeowner to make as little impact on the environment as possible.The efficiency of the ICF wall system in addition to the geothermal heat pump are expected to drastically reduce the carbon emissions over the life of the home.  Utilizing online CAD details and the Prescriptive Method, the home owners easily designed this home to the highest standards of efficiency and

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Asked & Answered: Why don’t walls with corners layout in even foot dimensions?

On October 12, 2015   /   Asked & Answered  
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Asked-&-Answered

Why don’t walls with corners layout in even foot dimensions? This is an interesting question we receive occasionally from designers, engineers, and builders. It is possible to create a building that will have even foot dimensions. This is typically achieved by shortening blocks at some other point in the wall away from the corners since corners are one of the greatest challenges in any type of construction. A number of factors, from a product design perspective come into play when creating modular products that will be used in multiple ways and scale. A few challenges include: molding constraints (limitations on

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Asked & Answered: ICF Myths, Half-Truths, and Misconceptions

On October 7, 2015   /   Asked & Answered  
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Asked-&-Answered

  Separate fact from fiction and dispel ICF Myths, Half-Truths, and Misconceptions. ICFs are too expensive… ICFs cost 3%-7% more on average compared to using traditional wood construction. This difference can be reduced by smaller HVAC requirements, energy-efficiency tax breaks, and lower utility bills. ICFs are too complicated to use… Building with ICFs is like any other technology. Make sure your ICF installer is well trained and is familiar with the product. ICFs, in general, are simple enough for DIY and even simpler than building with wood. I can get the same efficiency with wood… Wood structures can be built

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The Puddingstone Cottage

On July 23, 2015   /   BuildBlock News  
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The Puddingstone Cottage is a 1,200 square foot all ICF earth bermed home. Even the retaining walls utilize ICFs for their toughness. Puddingstone Cottage is an all ICF home that utilizes full height earth berms on three sides of the house to achieve its ultra-high energy performance and added protection from Mother Nature. This hybrid home is an all-electric house built among 50+ year-old cottages near a lake in southwest Michigan and blends in handsomely with its surroundings. Puddingstone Cottage was designed and built by National Award winning designer/builder Adam Bearup of Hybrid Homes, LLC. Using the research gathered from Bearup’s

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Asked & Answered: What is the expected lifetime of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam?

On April 8, 2015   /   Asked & Answered  
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Asked-&-Answered

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is essentially inert. There have been multiple studies of EPS in the soil for 15 to 30 years demonstrating only minor degradation of the EPS foam. EPS foam is expanded using steam. It is the entrained air that provide the insulation value in the material. EPS is a plastic and aside from contact with hydrocarbons or exposure to UV from sunlight, it is relatively unaffected by other naturally degrading processes. Geofoam® placed in the ground for decades increased its compression resistance (strength). The lifespan of EPS is long, potentially unlimited. Most of the testing has involved placing

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Project Spotlight: Building an ICF Castle Part 4

On January 22, 2015   /   BuildBlock News, BuildBlock Projects, Video  
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 Micheal and Sue Drew are building an ICF castle to last, but wish they would have done ICFs all the way up to the gables. Micheal and Sue Drew are building an ICF castle in eastern Michigan. Being the last video of the series, we learn why they initially chose to use ICFs and what they would have done differently. Mike says, ” The framing is never as good, is never as tight and is never as strong as ICFs, it just isn’t. That’s the one thing I regret is not doing the gables in ICF”. He demonstrates how the quality of

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