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Concrete home construction is more resistant to the wind and rain of hurricanes, tornadoes and other major windstorms. When Hurricane Andrew roared through South Florida, concrete homes protected families far better than their wood-frame counterparts. Especially those built with steel reinforced concrete walls can also be designed to withstand the destructive forces of earthquakes. Unlike traditional wood-frame builds that use foam or fiberglass insulation, ICF construction utilizes interlocking forms with a lightweight foam exterior. These forms are available in many sizes and styles, enabling their use in every aspect of a home seamlessly and efficiently. The key is the hollow space in between the foam walls of the forms.
Insulating Concrete Forms
Additionally, concrete houses offer an energy savings of about 20% to 30% over traditional wood-framed houses. Discover the magnificent collection of concrete house plans (ICF) and villas by Drummond House Plans, gathering several popular architectural styles including Floridian, Mediterranean, European and Country. The majority of our concrete house plans offer a default monolithic slab foundation (verify in the foundation section and details for each model).
Gorgeous Concrete Houses With Unexpected Designs
The home in which product designer Thomas Meyerhoffer and his wife, graphic designer Mary Kate, live in, looks quite different from the original cinder block house they resided in. First in our selection of modern cinder block homes is the Melon House by Sin TÃtulo Arquitectura. The house measures 160 m², and was completed in 2019 in Morelia, Mexico. There are four very popular types of concrete used for building houses. You can use concrete in a variety of ways, to create some very interesting homes, and due to a variety of advances in the cement industry, concrete has become a very sustainable material for the environment.
Tilt-up concrete homes
Many insulated concrete wall systems use polystyrene blocks or panels as the concrete formwork into which reinforcing steel and concrete are placed. These polystyrene forms are left in place to give your home an exceptional R-value. For concrete masonry homes, insulation choices range from foiled-backed batts to polystyrene panels. Standard hollow masonry units can be filled with insulating materials. The walls of a concrete block home can be manufactured off-site.You will find that there are two panel systems available when you choose concrete blocks as your building medium. You can opt for precast or tilt-up concrete in addition to the stacking method that gets commonly used today.
Anako Architecture Concrete House in Switzerland
Concrete homes can often reduce energy bills by over 50 percent compared to wood-frame homes. Land for home building is becoming more scarce and we’re forced to build our homes closer together and near noise sources like highways, railways, and airports. Concrete homes provide the necessary sound-reducing qualities to provide the kind of quiet comfort we all look for in a home. Tilt-up construction refers to casting concrete panels on the ground at the building site rather than at a factory.
They’re stronger than wood frame homes and safer during tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. One insurance agent in St. Louis, Missouri, offers discounts on homeowners insurance policies of up to 25% for ICF homes. No one, however, can put a price on the peace of mind that comes with owning a concrete home. When designing today’s concrete forms, smart builders are able to realize considerable savings by using concrete’s energy efficiency to justify smaller heating and air conditioning systems. This results in a comfortable home with correspondingly smaller heating and air conditioning bills. The bottom line – savings are realized up front and throughout the life of a home.
If you only use the cement from the concrete blocks to finalize the look, then the appearance may not offer the curb appeal necessary to create a sale later on if you need to move. Concrete block homes are practically soundproof.The design of a concrete block home creates a natural soundproofing layer that is perfect for urban environments or properties near military bases. If you have jets flying overhead or a commercial airport nearby, then this material can reduce the sound issues that you’ll encounter every day. About 75% of the outside environmental noise that exists outside gets blocked when using this material, and you can enhance those results by using double-pane windows.
Filling a wall with rebar and concrete adds an additional $2 to $8 per square foot to the project. Some walls need large footings, which should be considered when estimating the cost. If your wall is load-bearing, then a poured concrete footing may be necessary, which can increase total costs. Still, it is without question that the residences embody an innovative and historic part of Wright’s career. This new system of construction, in addition to Wright’s ability to take the rawest building material and create something beautiful, only confirms Wright’s proficiency in architecture.
As the forms are placed in the appropriate configuration to create the walls of the home, concrete is poured inside and left to set. This bonds the forms together and creates contiguous walls throughout the structure. It doesn’t take an Einstein to understand why concrete homes are more energy efficient than wood-frame homes.
Matt's writing focuses on a range of topics, including windows, flooring, HVAC, and construction materials. With a background in construction and home renovation, Matt is well-versed in the latest trends and techniques in the industry. His articles offer practical advice and expert insights that help readers tackle their home improvement projects with confidence.
Fox Blocks all-in-one wall system combines five building steps into one, including insulation, structure, air barrier, vapor retarder, and attachment. This feature saves time and money because it expedites construction by removing the need to hire and synchronize multiple trades. For the homeowner, the best concrete house construction should create a high-performing energy-efficient durable, and low-maintenance home. In addition, the concrete house must provide safety and excellent indoor environmental quality. Concrete houses provide long-term savings and positively impact the environment.
Concrete, on the other hand, requires little or no maintenance, stands up to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and fires. Concrete’s sheer durability over decades of use goes a long way towards waste reduction. Fire can endanger the lives of everyone in the family and destroy those things that cannot be replaced. Living in a concrete home can bring peace of mind to homeowners concerned about fire. Technically, tilt-up construction (see below) could also be considered a type of precast construction, but usually when we discuss precast concrete, we are talking about concrete that is precast in a factory.
For this reason, some blocks will usually be cut into shape to more accurately fit the wall. When evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of concrete block homes, you’ll want to balance its cost against the efficiency of the structure. With the right levels of care, it can be a structure that future generations can enjoy. This material may not be suitable for some regional preferences.Concrete block homes aren’t always the preferred option to use in some communities. That means this product may not always be readily accepted in some parts of the world.
But you may be surprised to learn that concrete houses are not expensive. In fact, if you are buying an existing home, it comes out to paying just $1 more a month for a concrete house. Most people think of concrete blocks as being these big, solid, blocks that are usually three-by-four.
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