ICF and Eco Friendly Building

When you look at our construction pictures, you don't see much wood yet, just funny looking white foam blocks. Those blocks are called Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) and are making our building both eco-friendly and tornado resistant! How this works is: 

• The blocks assemble like Lego blocks, so the walls can be built pretty fast. 
• The gap in the middle of the blocks is fitted with rebar and then filled with concrete, so the structure of the walls is steel-reinforced concrete, making the building exceptionally strong
• Unlike most concrete forms, these blocks stay in place after the concrete is formed, and the foam becomes the insulation for the walls (our Stone Lodge is 4" foam on the exterior side, 2" interior)
• That level of insulation makes our walls R-30, and the concrete makes them extremely airtight, so the building ends up being very energy efficient
• And super strong!!
• So although they cost a bit more up-front than traditional wood framing, ICF will save us money in heating and cooling bills.

This is a learning journey for us and as we continue moving toward opening to the public, we'll share what we're discovering in the world of eco-friendly and socially-responsible options from the obvious things like the solar panels you'll see going up to the less visible such as what soaps and shampoos we choose.  Stay tuned!

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