Page 24 - The Homeowner's Handbook 2017

THE HOMEOWNER’S HANDBOOK EIGHTH EDITION

Lightweight Glossary of Terms
Concrete Blocks Know the Lingo

■ ■ Dimensional Lumber: Wood that has been cut and shaped
from a single tree, typically used for framing.
■ ■ Load-Bearing Wall: A wall that helps hold up the house.
Interior walls may not be load bearing, but external ones
almost always are.
■ ■ Engineered Wood Products (EWP): Structural
products made in the factory from industrial wood scrap
or fast-growing species, assembled with resins under extreme
pressure.
■ ■ Oriented Strand Board (OSB): A type of engineered
wood panel. The thickness of OSB used in most
SIPs is 7/16”.
■ ■ Fly Ash: Controversial waste by-product from coal-fired
power plants. Used as a filler in some—but not all—brands of
lightweight concrete blocks.
■ ■ Sound Transmission Class (STC): Refers to how well
a wall partition attenuates sound. Products such as ICFs have
high STC ratings and greatly reduce noise levels
inside the home.

LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE BLOCKS
Virtues Caveats Lasting Value
Lightweight concrete is a structural material that’s been around
■ ■ Easy to handle ■ ■ May not be locally manufactured
■ ■ Less energy intensive ■ ■ Contractors/masons since at least the 1920s. To create these blocks, the manufacturer
than concrete may need training
■ ■ Durable and termite proof ■ ■ Waste components replaces a portion of the concrete with something lighter and
should be tested/verified better insulating, such as an industrial waste product like fly
ash or petroleum-based polystyrene. Some companies such as
Cresco Concrete, creator of Liteblok (www.crescoconcrete.com)
use a temporary agent that leaves nothing but air gaps behind.
INSULATING CONCRETE FORMS If a product does include fly ash, make sure the manufacturer
Light and Tight provides data showing that they have carefully tested and screened
Poured concrete walls alone have very little insulating value. Yet the material to keep heavy metals and other toxins out of the end
concrete can last forever, or nearly so, if it’s protected from erratic product.
moisture changes and freeze-thaw cycles. That’s what makes ICFs
an excellent structural system. They enclose both sides of a poured STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS
cement wall within a water-resistant cocoon of rigid foam. Another Many Strengths
advantage to ICFs is that their assembly is quite simple, and the The concept here is simple. Two sturdy panels—typically oriented
completed walls have an average insulating value of about R-22. strand board (OSB)—are glued under pressure to a super-
insulating layer of plastic-based rigid foam (either polystyrene

CICFI Norbord Inc. SteadiTred
Comprised of leading ICF companies,
the Council for ICF Industries (CICFI) is a Stair Treads
non-profit dedicated to promoting and These sturdy stair treads are available square-
enhancing the social, environmental and edged or bullnosed, and come pre-sized
economic value of ICFs in North America. in popular lengths and widths for faster
Advantages of ICF construction include construction. Moisture and wear resistant,
versatility, strength, energy efficiency and SteadiTred stair treads are made from OSB
speed of construction. from rapidly renewable aspen trees.
www.cicfi.org www.norbord.com

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