Isocynene Block Home-Tough Rough!!-PGP

Paul Pollets

Vitodens with 79g V100 tank

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Paul Pollets

Have Chain Saw...Will Rough

We're just finishing up this radidiant home in Renton, WA. that has a complete Wirsbo RFH system, AquaPex and AquaSafe sprinkler system with A/C and economizer. The 3600SF home will be faced in brick, and uses the ICF blocks for all levels.

The rough-in for the plumbing and elec. required an electric chain saw to cut the grooves for the piping, venting and wiring. We teamed up with Bates Plumbing to do the plumbing and sprink, and stayed with the HVAC. Without open scissor trusses, it would not have been possible to install the mechanicals.

The owner is a Boeing engineer who carefully considered all the mechanicals that were going to be included, before he started construction. Somewhat of a rarity these days. BTW, The radiant heat loss is 22K Btu's.

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Mark Eatherton1

Nice job Paul...

`Here's some interesting factoids.

1. NO one has ever died from fire in a home with fire protection. NO ONE. And with the exception of the attack on the twin towers, no one has ever died from fire in a comercial setting.

Also, when we did our first foam home, the sparkies had this really cool (pun intended) hot wire foam cutter that they let our guys use. To quote our lobster eating fans, "It cuts the foam like buttah".

They have varying wattage capacities. Google hot wire foam cutter.

As for the metal reinforcements, they found that a RotoZip with a metal cutting blade did wonders.

Are you considering getting into the sprinkler biz?

Not only do we keep you comfy, but we also save your lives:-) Has a nice ring to it.

ME

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Constantin

That's a great looking job and...

... proof that a good looking home doesn't need to be weird, ugly, or whatnot to be energy efficient and safe. Yet another home for which even the smallest US-available boilers are too large most of the time...

Mark, your note that no-one has ever died from a house fire in a home with a sprinkler system gives me a lot of hope. It's one the the reasons why I installed a sprinkler system in my home when we removed the ugly and unsafe external fire escape while oversizing the electrical system, removing almost all open flames, and generally fireproofing where we could.

Congrats Paul, you and your crew did great. I'd love to see more pictures from this home as it evolves. I'm sure it'll be great.

Darin Cook_3

That is the future of building

We work with a builder who uses the Arxx block system. It has a impressive TRUE R-50 rating on the walls. That will be what my next house will be built from. Paul, what did you use for a ERV/HRV set-up? Extremely low to non existent air exchanges per hour with those foam block homes. How many of the foam block homes do you see in your location? I use my Rotozip tool also if I have to channel something in the wall. I will have to look into the hot wire tool ME spoke of. Keep up the nice work.








Darin

Steve Ebels_3

I have one of those going right now too

What are you using for a heat source Paul? 22K is even less than the one we're working with.

hr

ICF's

are becoming more prevelent in my are also. We have three ICF jobs going currently. There is a huge difference in the construction and flow between the DIY job and the ones done by contractors with a few years of ICF.

TOOLS, as Mark noted are key. Cutting with power saws is always a mess and a tad dangerous, as the blade gets hot it gets grabby.

The plumbers do their best to get all the piping in interior walls. Kitchens located under windows get loop vents or those AAD's. Nail protection gets challanging when you run up the foam with plastic piping. No hub cast may be a wise idea!

ICF sure does make a nice solid, quiet, thick feeling home

hot rod

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Paul Pollets

Economizer

we designed an 8" economizer package on the air handler for .35 ACH. There's a Panasonic fan on the upper floor thta's tied into a Durodyne control center. The economizer also opens when the kitchen exhaust comes on.

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Paul Pollets

Thanks...

Thanks Mark, but I'm not interested in doing sprinkler. Had my share of commercial sprink in Union days. When the client asks, we provide. My sub is very good at it, and had him Wirsbo certified. I'll check out the foam cutter.

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Garett

TRUE R-50?

> We work with a builder who uses the Arxx block

> system. It has a impressive TRUE R-50 rating on

> the walls.

Checking all the refrence material I can find it would take a full 10" of foam to get R-50. I dont know what the new arxx forms are made of but with 6" of Concrete(R-6) and 6" of foam max I think the advertising is way overstated.

That said, I think the ICF and SIPS are the wave of the future. I would be nice to see some truth in advertising though.

Garett

Darin Cook_3

Garett

Go to www.arxx.net This will give you the full specs on the product. Conduction thru the studs in a wall are a huge part of your heat loss. That does not happen with this product. No wind washing of a wall cavity which would wipe out the R value of a traditional fiberglass insulated wall. Your thermal and pressure boundries are exactly where they should be together. The concrete is in the center of the block surrounded by foam on both sides. The thermal efficiency of a home built this way far far surpasses a stick built home insulated using traditional methods.








Darin

Garett

Darin,

I went to the arxx site (http://www.arxx.net/r50.htm) and it verified what I was trying to say...TRUE r-22, Equivalant r-value = 50???

To get equal performance out of a stick framed FG insulated wall you would have to insulate w/ FG to r-50. But in the same chart r-19 Insulation in stud wall 16" o.c. only equals r-16. Can we conclude that the r-50 wall will equal r-42.1.

Sorry about the rant but the ICF guys have been spouting this R-50 crap for so long people just nod and agree. The test they use to get these "EQUIVALANT" numbers does not ever state that the "R" value of the IFC product is 50...not once. It is a good system for building a tight home. Is it the only way to get a tight building envelope with a TRUE R-22, not even close. It's not cheaper or easier than the other methods either.

Look into spray-in-place foams, SIPS and dense pack celulose. All are easier to work with after the wasll are up and can give equal or better resulst most situations.

Garett