Insulating Concrete Forms Construction : Demand, Evaluation, & Technical Practice [Hardcover]

Ivan S Panushev (Author), Pieter A. Vanderwerf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0071430571 | ISBN-13: 978-0071430579 | Edition: 1

Ever year, thousands of general contractors and subcontractors must grapple with whether to bid Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) projects, how much to charge for them, and how to manage the job. ICFs are stronger, energy-efficient, and offer great design flexibility, and their use is growing by 30% a year. This invaluable work walks the contractor through both business and technical considerations in evaluating and adopting Insulating Concrete Forms for both the residential and commercial markets.

* Details the entire ICF construction process
* Training and supplier information
* Actual job site experiences

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CUTTING-EDGE CONSTRUCTION METHODS

Draft-defeating, quiet, energy-efficient, strong, durable, lightweight, easy to cut and piece together, stably priced, and offering design flexibility -- it's no wonder ICFs are being used in construction at a briskly growing 30% a year. If you want authoritative, detailed answers on whether insulating concrete forms are right for your business or project -- on what it's like to work with them -- on how they perform -- on installation or post-installation trades work -- you've come to the right place. Look inside for:

* The business and technical facts you need to make pro or con decisions about ICFs
* Construction process details, including plumbing and * First-hand, from-the-site reports on working with ICFs
* Comparisons of ICFs in commercial and residential construction
* Getting a good ICF crew
* Estimating ICF jobs
* Tips from the pros on marketing; working with building officials, architects, and engineers; and more
* Future trends in ICF construction
* Training and supplier information

Supported by the Insulating Concrete Form Association

About the Author

Ivan S. Panushev is a licensed engineer who has researched ICFs for the past three years. He is a graduate of three ICF training programs and labored on several job sites to learn the details of ICF construction first-hand. His articles on ICFs have appeared in such magazines as Concrete Construction, and he is the author of the Prescriptive Method for Connecting Cold-Formed Steel Framing to Insulating Concrete Form Walls in Residential Construction.

Pieter A. VanderWerf, Ph.D., is an expert on insulating concrete forms in construction who has been researching the subject since 1993. A columnist for Permanent Buildings and Foundations, a trade industry publication, he is the co-author of two other books on insulating concrete forms: Insulating Concrete Forms for Residential Design and Construction and the Insulating Concrete Forms Construction Manual. He also co-authored The Portland Cement Association's Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems. (All three books are also published by McGraw-Hill.) He has served as general contractor on ICF homes and for a year he moderated an online ICF message board.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (February 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071430571
• ISBN-13: 978-0071430579
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Masonry

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good for the Layman and Contractor, January 29, 2007

By 

Hugh Watkins (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Insulating Concrete Forms Construction : Demand, Evaluation, & Technical Practice (Hardcover)

I am having a house designed to use ICF construction, but I wanted to come up to speed on the construction methods used. This book was a good source to get that knowledge. I covers many specifics about ICF as well as general concrete construction methods.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair intro to ICF for building contractors, March 27, 2009

By 

Danny Thorpe (Ben Lomond, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Insulating Concrete Forms Construction : Demand, Evaluation, & Technical Practice (Hardcover)

This book is not a how-to of ICF construction. It is an introduction to ICF terms and practices geared primarily toward building contractors interested in expanding their business into ICF construction.

There is quite a bit of text on the topic of marketing ICF to homebuyers and justifying the costs of ICF construction, which as a DIY owner/builder I found mostly uninteresting.

A lot of text is spent describing the benefits of ICF construction against wind damage, but almost no mention of the benefits of reinforced concrete against seismic damage.

There is also a lot of repetition of content between chapters - advice and anecdotes found in the early introductory chapters are repeated verbatim in later chapters. This makes it feel like the authors were trying to bulk up their page count without actually adding any content.

This book deals only with generalities. For specific details on things like wall thicknesses required or rebar placement this book always redirects you to the ICF manufacturer's documentation or other ICF books by the same author.

Overall, this book is a reasonable introduction to the lingo and general practices of ICF construction. It might be useful for a building contractor who is clueless about concrete or to keep this book on hand to loan out to prospective clients, but as it does not contain any specific information it is not a reference that a builder or designer will return to again and again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good review of ICF construction, September 5, 2008

By 

J. Southard (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Insulating Concrete Forms Construction : Demand, Evaluation, & Technical Practice (Hardcover)

Read the entire book because I'm thinking of using ICF for construction of my house one day. I've added it to my library at my structural engineering office. This is not an engineering text but should equip the reader in the ICF construction process and available options.