Insulating concrete forms: Installed cost and acoustic performance

Technical Report · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1999

OSTI ID:679030

The NAHB Research Center conducted a study to compare the cost and performance of Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) walls to conventional wood-frame exterior walls. This report contains the results of the cost study and sound transmission tests. Three home were built and monitored. One home has an ICF plank system, one has an ICF block system, and one is of conventional 2x4 lumber construction. The homes have identical floor plans and are located side by side. The findings indicate that the labor costs for the ICFs were slightly to moderately higher than the wood framing. However, the sound tests indicate that the ICF walls perform significantly better than the wood walls when no openings were present. The report summarizes the findings and recommends ways to increase the cost-effectiveness of ICFs.

• Research Organization: NAHB Research Foundation, Inc., National Research Center, Upper Marlboro, MD (United States); Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 679030
• Report Number(s): PB--99-160475/XAB; HUD--8695
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
BUILDING MATERIALS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONCRETES
COST
HOUSES
PERFORMANCE
THERMAL INSULATION
WALLS