Issue 23

May 2009  

The economy is still slow, which gives all of us time to take a thorough look at our businesses, make improvements and get ready for the better times ahead.

We at Quad-Lock Building Systems, do not only want to sell a "green" building material, we want to be and live "green". We believe that this strongly distinguishes us from our competitors, not only in the ICF and insulation industries, but in the whole building materials industry.

In order to be and live "green", we have utilized the past months to work towards the following goals:

ISO-14001 Certification: ISO-14001 is the internationally recognized environmental management system standard. It provides a framework to manage the prevention of pollution. We are planning to certify Quad-Lock Building Systems to this standard in the early part of summer 2009. We will be the only company in the ICF industry (and one of the very few in the building materials industry) to do so.
Emissions reduction: We are actively working towards reducing our emissions to the lowest levels possible by doing energy audits on our equipment and implementing the commendations made.
Scrap reduction: We are working hard at reducing our scrap to even lower levels than what we have accomplished already. A reduction in scrap not only means fewer product that has to be reworked/recycled, but also more product that we can sell.
Minimize garbage: We are trying to minimize the garbage going to the dumps from our plants. We are doing this by recycling our and other's EPS scrap, and by recycling metals, other plastics and paper.

By working on all of the above goals, we will not only improve our environment, but we will also save energy and money.

And that is also what our products and services are all about: save energy and money for our customers and reduce our customers' impact on the environment. We do that by offering you the Quad-Lock wall systems with R-Values up to R-38, the Quad-Deck floor/roof systems with R-Values of up to R-33, and the R-ETRO insulation system with an R-Value of R-18.

Thank you for your continued support in these hard times. We do appreciate your loyalty.

Best regards,
Hubert Max Kustermann, CEO

In the January 2009 installment of "What's So Green About ICFs?", we talked about Energy Conservation and Carbon Footprint Reduction. The main point was that to reduce the life-cycle cost of the building and reduce the carbon footprint, the biggest impact was gained by controlling the building's appetite for energy and reducing energy use during the operational phase of the building's life, where 90% of the total energy use is centered.

In this issue, let's take a look at how to minimize material consumption in the building shell, and at opportunities for on-site recycling of materials.

Minimize Concrete and Steel Consumption: As pointed out in the last issue, one of the biggest detractors from thermal performance in the building envelope is uncontrolled air leakage, or convection. Concrete walls offer a 100% effective air barrier, which studies have shown to reduce building air infiltration rates as much as 60%, with no extraordinary measures taken around windows and doors. (Source- CMHC "Monitored Thermal Performance of ICF Walls in MURBs" Dec-2007)

Whether the concrete is 12" [300mm] thick or 4" [100mm] thick, it will still act as an air barrier. In addition, concrete has very little R-Value, in fact almost negligible. Consequently, "more" is not necessarily "better". Unless there is some compelling reason to use thicker concrete walls, the minimum wall section size should be used in the building envelope design. Structural factors like seismic and wind loading should govern the selection of concrete wall thickness. Quad-Lock offers wall cavities as small as 3.75" [96mm], and the Quad-Lock, high density, EPS panels provide the same insulation values for all cavity sizes

Steel Fibers: Steel consumption can be minimized in many instances by employing steel fibers in the ICF concrete mix as a replacement for rebar. Steel fiber technology has made tremendous gains in the past few years and Quad-Lock customers have saved tens of thousands of dollars by substituting steel fibers for conventional reinforcing bar. The corresponding net reduction in the steel required makes this option very attractive from the 'green' point of view.

Quad-Deck: Recently, Quad-Lock had a structural engineer compare the material consumption in a conventional two-way slab versus a Quad-Deck 'one-way' slab design for a similar structure. The calculation revealed a 33% reduction in steel consumption and a 50% reduction in concrete usage for the same span and loading conditions by the Quad-Deck structure. Additionally, supporting elements would be of a much smaller size due to the lighter weight of the Quad-Deck T-beam structure.

A graphic illustration of this calculation follows:

Waste Reduction: Another way to 'green' a Quad-Lock project is to minimize waste generation. One of the greenest features of the Quad-Lock system is the ability to utilize panel off-cuts from the construction process. First, any piece of Quad-Lock panel that will fit between two ties can be used without danger of blow-out. As long as the seams fall between the two tie flanges of any tie, there is no danger. Workers need to develop the habit of looking first to the scrap pile when cutting panels. Mid-way through the installation, any piece of panel that can be cut to a multiple of 12" [300mm] should be prepared and used in the job.

Second, 10" [254mm] and even 8" [203mm] pieces of panel should be grouped and saved to serve as in-fill pieces at seams or near doors and windows, when a full panel doesn't quite reach. They can also be made into end-caps and used with Quad-Lock Window Brackets to terminate a wall.

Third, even the smallest panel pieces can be recycled on-site and used as insulation/protection over buried utility lines, like water and electrical supply lines. Under-slab insulation is another excellent use for panel scrap.

Cut ties should be collected and the tie flanges salvaged for use in corner and T-wall construction. Any leftover tie material can be recycled at most community recycling centers as 'HDPE', category 2.

Quad-Lock packaging should be used for jobsite clean-up, and later recycled. Quad-Lock plastic bags are "LDPE", category 4.

Tie boxes are recycled as "corrugated cardboard".

You can find resources for 'greening' your project on the Quad-Lock web site. Look for Technical Bulletin 1.90 on Best Material Utilization Practices and Quad-Lock's "Green Checklist" for design professionals and builders.

Call the Quad-Lock Training and Technical Services department for more information about steel fibers.

Douglas Bennion

Dealer Sales & Product Supply

How frustrating is it to think of a couple more important items, AFTER you've hit the "print" button? That's what happened with our last installment of Beyond the Block that focused on total project solutions for foundations. Therefore, here are a few more points to consider when talking about total project solutions:

• Get the project off to a good solid start by doing some planning and prep work. Recognizing the fact that your ICF work is only a portion of the complete job will give the customer confidence in the fact that you are a real team player with THEIR best interests in mind.
   
• Look over the ENTIRE project before you start. Have a good understanding of the big picture, including the scope and timing for the various phases of work, especially where YOUR part fits. Think through the timeline for your project and line up supplies, laborers, inspections, etc., so the project isn't stalled by poor planning.
   
• Meet and coordinate with the excavator before digging starts and stay in touch as the excavation proceeds. Dig only where needed and don't over-excavate!
   
• Take the time to set batter boards (Boards erected at the corners of a proposed building to specifically locate and show corners and foundation wall height) and strings both before excavation and again after the footing is in place to be sure your footer is square and level. This "extra" work in the beginning will save re-doing, re-moving, re-setting, and re-GRETTING down the road as your Quad-Lock walls and floors will go up much more smoothly and quickly.
   
• As mentioned in the previous article, when pouring the footer and stem wall at the same time you can eliminate one pump trip (saves $$) and get your project ready for the first floor install sooner (saves time). A word of caution with this method; make sure your concrete is flowing properly into the footing forms as it may "hang up" on the support member at the top of the footing and cause your wall to sag. Refer to pages 57/58 of the Quad-Lock manual and follow the monolithic pour diagram closely.
   
• An electrical ground is required for the structure. A relatively simple solution for this nationwide electrical code requirement is the "Ufer Rod" method that takes advantage of the conductive properties of concrete; luckily, you will have plenty of that available with an ICF structure! How to: run a 20-foot piece of rebar UNDER your footing in direct contact with the soil so it can be connected to the main electrical panel. "Google it" and learn a little more.

John Hatfield - Regional Sales Manager, Rocky Mountain Region

Proven Energy Efficiencies

As part of our on-going development of materials to assist in the sale of Quad-Lock, we want to create a library of statistics about structures built with Quad-Lock Insulating Concrete Forms. You can help us by submitting your energy bills, along with the bills from a comparable house in your neighborhood for us to add to our library. When you do this Quad-Lock will pay your highest month's energy bill for your troubles.

Contact us for more information.

Hope you enjoyed reading your Quad-Lock E-Connection. Remember that you need to tell us, if you'd like to receive future issues. It's as easy as entering your email below.

Do you have information on new projects or items of interest in your area? Share it with us and we'll follow-up and make sure it gets previewed in upcoming issues.

Join our Mailing List

Best regards,
Quad-Lock Building Systems