Press Releases
INNOVATIVE ICF SOLVES LAST MINUTE PROBLEMS
Released: November 01, 2002
INNOVATIVE ICF SOLVES LAST MINUTE PROBLEMS
Omaha, Nebraska, November 2002-Kevin Keillor had a problem. As project manager for Arid Resources, Inc. of Elkhorn, Nebraska, the insulating concrete form (ICF) subcontractor on one of Nebraska's tallest ICF building projects, Keillor had just been asked to make the walls eight inches taller.
The problem? The request for taller walls had come less than 24 hours before the final concrete pour was scheduled.
Arid Resources, which specializes in environmentally friendly construction and is experienced in installing Reward ICF walls, had been hired several weeks before to install the walls of the 18,000 square foot Hoich-Lemke corporate headquarters building in Omaha, Nebraska. Engineering details were especially important, because with wall heights of 24 and 28 feet, the 18,000 square foot building is one of the tallest ICF buildings in Nebraska.
"Once the walls were completely stacked according to plan, we ended up with a two-inch parapet above the roof," said job site superintendent Marty Griesbach of John Luce Company, the project's general contractor. "Although we could have gone ahead with it that way, I wanted to extend the walls up eight inches to make more room for wrapping the waterproofing, attaching the flashing, and to increase safety for anyone who needed to be on the roof in the future."
Keillor received the request for the higher walls in the afternoon, and the walls were scheduled for the final pour the following morning. "We would have liked more lead time," he said, "but I wasn't really worried because of the design of the ICF we were using."
Keillor was using iForm™ by Reward Wall Systems. Designed for maximum ease of installation, iForm is universal-flippable and reversible with no top or bottom, no male and female ends, and no left and right corners. The horizontal centers of the forms are marked, acting as a guide as the forms are cut in half horizontally, producing two identical eight-inch high forms, each with its own rebar tie. Both halves can then be used, eliminating waste.
"All we had to do to gain the extra eight inches in height was to saw the 16" iForms in half horizontally. We were able to use both halves of each form because the tooth design is the same on the top and bottom," Keillor explained. "We were still able to make the pour on time, and it turned out great," he added.
Daniel Taylor, president of Arid Resources is very pleased with the speed of installing the iForm walls. The walls, including the additional eight inches, were poured in three 8-foot lifts, and were completed in just six weeks. "This is a very versatile product and is easily configured to the floor plan," he said. "In addition, you can build with it year around, it's environmentally friendly, and when the walls are complete, so is the insulation and furring. You're further along in the project."
ARID Resources, Inc. is a specialty contracting company, based in Elkhorn, Nebraska. ARID sub-contracts with new homebuilders and commercial contractors to install insulating concrete wall systems. ARID also provides waterproofing systems, termite pre-treatments and other construction support services.
Located in Omaha, Nebraska, for the past 14 years, Reward Wall Systems, Inc. was the first national manufacturer of two complete and diversified lines of insulating concrete forms used in residential and commercial structures. Reward's customers include general contractors, residential contractors, concrete contractors and construction supply distributors. To learn more about Reward Wall Systems, Inc. go to www.rewardwalls.com.