ICFs Deliver STAR Quality to Television Home

The producers of Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition turned to ICFs to create an ENERGY STAR rated home in Athens, Vt. 

In what was possibly the fastest ICF installation ever, forms for the 2,900 square-foot house were installed overnight and the concrete pouring completed shortly after sunrise.  As many as two concrete trucks were unloading into the pump truck at a time with two more trucks waiting to offload right behind them.

To complete the home in time, interior walls and siding were installed while the forms were being stacked, and an accelerating admixture was included in the concrete to allowed the roof trusses to be put in place just a few hours after the pour. The new home was built from foundation to roof in less than one week.

The house was a welcome change for the Vitale family.  They had been living in a small hunting cabin that was shifting off its foundation.  Two-year-old Louie Jr. was born with several birth defects and the family needed a new home without the physical barriers of their current house.

In addition to ICFs, the home features fiberglass windows with low-e glass, sprayed-in urethane foam insulation, photovoltaic solar panels and ENERGY STAR rated appliances and efficient mechanical systems.

The general contractor donating the project was The McKernon Group.  Forms were provided by BuildBlock Building Systems. The house was completed in September.  The program featuring the construction is scheduled to air on ABC, December 9 at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central.
More information at BuildBlock.com

PCA Promotes Disaster-Resistant Homes

At the annual meeting of the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), Jim Niehoff, PCA’s director of residential programs, and Chuck Vance, IBHS's program manager for the Fortified program, provided an overview of the inherent disaster-resistant attributes of concrete wall and floor systems, roof tiles, and cementitious cladding. More than 80 seminar attendees learned how these products work within IBHS's Fortified …For Safer Living program.

IBHS is a nonprofit organization supported by the property and casualty insurance industry.  Its mission is to reduce the effects of natural disasters by conducting research and advocating improved disaster-resistant construction techniques for homes and buildings.  An increasing number of concrete homes have met the criteria of the Institute’s “Fortified…For Safer Living” program. 
For more information about IBHS, visit www.ibhs.org

PCA Repeats Successful Economic Seminar

PCA will again offer "Practical Application of PCA Economic Forecast & Market Assessments," a seminar that allows marketing and corporate planning professionals to fully understand and utilize PCA's market and economic data. Attendees will gain insight into how PCA creates the projections and the risks and turning points contained in each economic forecast. The seminar will show how market professionals can monitor macroeconomic indicators to determine if PCA projections are on track.

The seminar will be held August 12-13, 2008, at PCA headquarters in Skokie, Ill. Cost is $295 for PCA members and $895 for non-members. All attendees will receive several PCA Economic Research publications including the 2006 Annual Yearbook.
Register on line at www.cement.org/learn

Ad Supplement Builds Awareness for FDR

PCA and the regional promotion groups produced “The Road Recycled,” a 12-page advertising supplement on full-depth reclamation (FDR) with cement. The special section is  bound into the November issue of 11 McGraw-Hill Construction regional publications.

PCA produced the national section; regional promotion groups had the option of producing a localized companion piece appearing in only those magazines covering their region.

The goal is to build awareness of the process and its benefits through case histories and information on design and construction. McGraw-Hill’s regional publications reach 75,000 construction professionals. Both printed and PDF versions of the section are available at no charge while supplies last.
Contact Wayne Adaska
View or download a PDF.

PCA Appoints McConnell as Pavement Engineer

Portland Cement Association (PCA) named Tim McConnell as its soil cement/RCC pavements engineer.  He will assist in the promotion of soil cement and roller-compacted concrete for pavement applications in the United States and Canada.

McConnell has worked in stabilization and rehabilitation of pavements for more than 12 years.  He most recently was a cement stabilization specialist for the Southeast Cement Association.  Prior to that position, he served as a GeoPavement engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation where he developed specifications for the use of full-depth reclamation.

A registered geologist, McConnell received his Masters of Science degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and his Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C.
Contact Tim McConnell

Indian Cement Plants Look To Fruit Plantations
For Fuel Source

Indian cement plants are looking for alternate sources of energy to offset historically high crude oil prices and the rising cost of coal.

According to a recent article in Business Standard, several companies are turning to tire-derived fuel, wind power and steam power, while one company is planning to use biomass fuel from the jatropha tree. 

ACC, the country's largest cement maker, expects to plant 5 million jatropha saplings by 2009 in a phased manner, in and around the cement plants.  On an average, for every million jatropha trees, the plantation can supply biomass fuel equivalent to 5,000 tons of coal from the fourth year onwards. ACC plans to plant 1.7 million jatropha saplings by December.

According to the report, the jatropha fruit and its biomass is fired into cement kilns to replace fossil fuel. The maintenance cost is minimal and returns are favorable as the biomass and the fruit will be available for the full 36-year life of a cement plant.
Read the article at Business-Standard.com

Mota Receives ASTM Award

PCA’s Mike Mota is the 2007 recipient of the Alan H. Yorkdale Memorial Award from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Established in 1987 by ASTM’s C15 committee on masonry, the award honors the author of the best paper concerning masonry. Mota’s paper, "Diagonal Tension Strength of Partially Grouted Concrete Masonry Assemblages," was presented at the 10th North American Masonry Conference in June. Based on PCA research, the study hopes to expand the use of masonry cement by addressing current code provisions that hamper the use of masonry cements in high-seismic risk areas.
Contact Mike Mota

Results From Last Week:
Durability Tops Green Building Priorities

Last week, construction professionals gathered in Chicago for Greenbuild, the annual trade show of the U.S. Green Building Council. What should be the top priority for sustainable development or green building?

> Durability and resource efficiency: 37.70%
> Energy efficiency: 36.07%
> Ability to be recycled and to incorporate recycled materials:  14.75%
> Efficient water use:  11.48%