Press Releases
Habitat for humanity ventures into new construction technology with Reward insulating concrete forms
Released: October 01, 1999
Habitat for humanity ventures into new construction technology with Reward insulating concrete forms
Omaha, Nebraska October, 1999—Habitat for Humanity of Omaha and Reward Wall Systems, Inc. will team up to build the next sixteen Habitat homes in the Omaha area with Reward insulating forms (ICFs). Reward ICFs combine the insulating properties of expanded polystyrene and steel reinforced concrete to produce buildings known for their strength, safety and energy efficiency. According to Edward L. Storm, President of Reward Wall Systems, Inc., the company decided to support Omaha Habitat for Humanity because it directly improves the lives of many of Omaha's people, and in that way, the city of Omaha as a whole. "We believe in Habitat for Humanity and what it is doing to solve a very serious problem—quality housing for those in need," he said. "This is our way of assisting them in attaining that goal. We feel Habitat and Reward make a good match, and we feel good about the fact that we can help provide superior housing for those who need it most."
Reward Wall Systems, Inc., headquartered in Omaha, is one of the country's largest and most well-established producers of ICFs. Reward walls are constructed using a stay-in-place concrete forming system that consists of individual lightweight foam blocks. Each hollow block is made of two pieces of expanded polystyrene (EPS) held together with plastic ties. These foam blocks are stacked like building blocks, aligned, braced, strengthened with steel rebar and filled with concrete. The resulting wall is a solid, continuous airtight, steel reinforced concrete wall surrounded by several inches of insulating EPS. The forms stay in place after the concrete cures to provide insulation. The plastic ties within the forms create a nailing strip so the builder can install any type of interior and exterior wall finishes.
Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner families. Habitat houses are sold to the participating families at no profit, financed with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more houses.
Reward has committed to donating a significant portion of the ICF forms for 16 Habitat houses to be built during the year 2000. In addition, staff members from the Reward corporate office will be made available to work on several projects on a volunteer basis as often as possible.
"Using Reward forms to build our houses has several significant advantages for us," said Habitat's construction manager, Bob Pickeral. "The product we receive is brand new, top-of-the-line material, and the resulting house will be of superior quality in terms of energy efficiency, safety, durability, and indoor living environment compared to houses built with conventional building materials. And the product is easy to install and handle, which is so important for our volunteer, amateur builders."
Two Reward Habitat houses had been completed prior to Reward's offer. The second of these was the 100th Habitat house to be built in the Omaha area, and Reward donated the forms for this house also. Habitat for Humanity International's founder and president, Millard Fuller, attended a wall raising ceremony and laid the last of the Reward forms to complete the walls.
According to Pickeral, construction on the first of the 16 new Habitat houses is scheduled to begin in early spring 2000.