Hilldale Elementary Builds 11-Classroom Safe Room
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…
NBC Bank Utilizes BuildBlocks ICF Disaster Resistance Capabilities
NBC Bank Utilizes BuildBlock ICF's Disaster Resistance Capabilities for security of important documents and equipment. As far as banks go, this is one of the most energy-efficient banks in Oklahoma. Banks are high traffic, and considerations for foot traffic must be accounted for in the design. ICFs coupled with the spray…
BuildBlock ICF Above Ground Safe Rooms
Tornado season is upon us, and once again, we in the Midwest and Southeast will see thunderstorms forming and rolling across the plains, and we will look up and wonder if that is just a low hanging cloud, or something more ominous. Safety is of primary concern during a tornado. …
BuildBlock ICF Home Comfortable in Southern Heat
[one_third][/one_third] [one_third][/one_third] [one_third_last][/one_third_last] This BuildBlock ICF Home Comfortable in Southern Heat with 45% humidity inside on a 100+ degree & 90% humidity South Carolina days. The home resembles triple wythe masonry, which is common in Charleston architecture and engineering. The window jambs and door details have the “Classical…
Asked & Answered: What is the expected lifetime of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam?
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…
BuildBlock FieldNotes – 006 ICF Safe Rooms
We’ve all seen what happens on the news when disaster strikes: shattered homes and lives after the tornado or hurricane, smoking ash after the wildfire, and collapsed rubble after the earthquake. Disasters happen when we least expect them,but are something we need to be prepared for. We wear seat belts and have…
Educare Childcare & After School Program Building 75+ Person Safe Room & Media Class Room in Perkins, OK
Educare Childcare & After School Program Building 75+ Person Safe Room & Media Class Room in Perkins, OK Educare child care is using BuildBlock ICFs to build EF5 multi-purpose safe room tornado shelter for children and staff at First United Methodist Church in Perkins, OK. (Oklahoma City, OK, June 12,…
Video: Perkins Educare Safe Room Part 2
Perkins Educare Safe RoomConstruction continues on the Educare safe room in Perkins. While the kids had a blast helping stack the first two courses of block Educare Director Betty Weems and James Ladwig, Ladwig Construction discuss the challenges of the project and their hopes for the future.Look for more updates as…
Video: BuildBlock Helps Build 75+ Person Educare Safe Room Part 1
Oklahoma has been in the middle of "Tornado Alley" since it was first defined in the early 1950s. We see our share of tornadoes and strong storms throughout the year. In May 2013 devastating tornadoes hit the community of Moore, Oklahoma and took the lives of several children who were sheltered…
BuildBlock Safe Room Plans & Construction
Growing up in Oklahoma, BuildBlock is familiar with tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. That’s one of the reasons BuildBlock designed our products the way we did. Tight interlocks, integrated rebar hangers, and other features that take the hassle out of building with ICFs. BuildBlock has added FEMA Compliant Safe Room…