In the past six months there have been devastating natural disasters here in America and abroad. We accept the tragedies that natural disasters bring as unavoidable and inevitable, but we don’t have to. We don’t have to lose our schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes, that much is preventable. Consumers have to demand more from the construction industry. They have to speak up and say, “Stop building me a house that keeps falling down, burning, molding, getting termites, etc. Build me something better. Build me something with Insulated Concrete Forms.”
We have to think critically and ask ourselves, why haven’t we learned from our mistakes? Why do we keep building with wood? A recent article in the Los Angeles Times reports, “The Wine Country wildfires destroyed at least 8,400 structures”2. If any other industry made products that continually failed, consumers would demand innovation, especially if that product was essential to your everyday life. ICF is that innovation in the building industry, and Forming Solutions is here to supply it.
The Time to Educate is Now
Forming Solutions is here to help contractors, architects, homeowners, business owners, and investors, take initiative and educate themselves on a better way to build. If people don’t, a considerable amount of the reconstruction in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Spain, Portugal, and The Wine Country will be rebuilt using conventional stick frame methods, perpetuating the cycle of destruction whenever disaster strikes. With all of the unthinkable misfortune that came with these disasters, societies now have the opportunity to rebuild in a way that can prevent an incident like this in the future.
ICF Disaster Facts
Insulated Concrete Forms perform excellent in fire rating tests. In these tests ICF walls were subject to continuous gas flames and temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours. None of the ICF walls ever failed structurally3. Unlike wood, concrete doesn’t burn. Therefore, an ICF structure is less likely to spread fires as well. In addition, ICF structures can withstand winds over 200 mph and projectile debris traveling over 100mph4. ICF is also a great option for structures in areas prone to flooding. ICF is water resistant due to the non-absorbent nature of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) that is used in the insulated concrete formwork5. Hurricanes, tornados, floods, and fires will continue to happen, but we can make them less devastating. Forming Solutions wants people to keep their homes, businesses, and livelihoods after trying times, such as natural disasters. Meet us halfway and choose ICF for your next building project.
1 “Survivor Stories.” Floridagreenconstruction.us. Accessed October 25, 2017.
2 Vives, Ruben, and Richard Winton. “Fire loss total surges to 8,400 structures in Northern California.” Latimes.com. October 23, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2017.
3 “Fire Resistance of Concrete Homes.” Forms.org. Accessed October 24, 2017.
4 “ICFs and Severe Weather.” Foxblocks.com. Accessed October 24, 2017.
5 “Flood Resistant Design.” Nuduraicfs.co.uk. Accessed October 24, 2017.
6 “Katrina_web.” Icfdirect.net. Accessed November 7, 2017.
Written by Allison Devlin