Think sandwiches and Legos.
Gary Freytag, construction manager at Omega Builders in Temple, said hollow blocks made out of a product similar to Styrofoam are assembled and locked together on the home’s concrete slab. Workers then fill the inside with cement, which completes the concrete sandwich.
“We use 2-foot long sections. You stack them up almost like Lego blocks. You fill it full of concrete and you are done,” Freytag said.
After the Legos are stacked and the concrete sandwich has been poured, workers cover the exterior walls with two layers of plaster that resemble a stucco exterior.
Home building professionals call the technology insulating concrete foam, or ICF. They say it is mold and termite free because traditional 2-by-4 studs and other wood products are not used. The “high-performance concrete walls” are also more energy efficient - concrete and foam make insulate better than wood, bricks and stone.
ICF homes are also more likely to withstand tornadoes, Freytag said. And the rock-solid walls make a quieter home, muffling the sounds of traffic and barking dogs. ICF can also be used on first floor ceilings of two-story homes, which creates an almost soundproof barrier between floors.
Freytag said although an ICF house costs between 5 and 10 percent more than a traditional home, the residence should carry a higher resale value.
Regarding a real-life example of ICF technology at work, Omega design consultant Rachel White likes to tell this story.
One day last summer, she stopped by the ICF home Omega had almost finished in the Villas of Lakewood, near Morgan’s Point. Workers were taking a break, sitting in the living room on plastic buckets. They explained how nice it felt inside the air-conditioned home. What they didn’t know - the A/C wasn’t operational, Ms. White said.
Omega’s emphasis on energy-efficient homes - called SuperStar Energy Homes - isn’t confined to just what’s between the walls. There’s more above them.
Up in the attic, they recommend foregoing that itchy, pink Fiberglas insulation that comes in long sheets or can be sprayed in bulk that rests between ceiling joists. Instead, they use a spray-on foam that sticks like a blanket to the underside of the roof.
Ms. White said the insulation looks like clouds.
Daren Degner, co-owner of DEK Insulation in Lorena, said he’s sprayed several homes for Omega.
“Foam is the future - no doubt about it,” Degner said. “I can’t say it’s new, but the last five years people are really looking into it.”
Degner said with all other building components identical except foam insulation, electric bills should be significantly less. Although foam insulation costs between two and three times more than Fiberglas, Degner said a homeowner can recover the costs in lower utility bills, depending on the size of the home, in about three to four years.
Omega was so eager to champion both the ICF and foam insulation technology that the company built its new office on FM 2305 with it.
Thursday, with the bank thermometer next door registering 39 degrees Fahrenheit, the inside temperature in the attic above the storeroom was a balmy 66 degrees.
“There is no air infiltration whatsoever,” Freytag said.
Combining both building methods - the Lego sandwiches and cloud-like foam insulation - Freytag said it won’t take a homeowner long to recover the initial investment.
“You can make your money back in five to seven years,” Freytag said. “It’s a no-brainer.”
nfafflerbach@temple-telegram.com
