Page 30 - Green Builder Homeowner's Handbook 2016

The Homeowner’s Handbook SEVENTH 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.

Virtues Caveats LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE BLOCKS
Lasting Value
¦¦ Easy to handle ¦¦ May not be locally manufactured
Lightweight concrete is a structural material that’s been around
¦¦ Less energy intensive ¦¦ Contractors/masons since at least the 1920s. To create these blocks, the manufacturer
than concrete may need training replaces a portion of the concrete with something lighter and
better insulating, such as an industrial waste product like fly
¦¦ Durable and termite proof ¦¦ Waste components ash or petroleum-based polystyrene. Some companies such as
should be tested/verified 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
the material to keep heavy metals and other toxins out of the end
Poured concrete walls alone have very little insulating value. Yet product.
concrete can last forever, or nearly so, if it’s protected from erratic
moisture changes and freeze-thaw cycles. That’s what makes ICFs STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS
an excellent structural system. They enclose both sides of a poured Many Strengths
cement wall within a water-resistant cocoon of rigid foam. Another
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

VISION HOUSE® AT MARIPOSA VISION HOUSE® AT MARIPOSA
MEADOWS SPONSOR MEADOWS PRODUCT

CICFI Norbord Inc. SteadiTred Stair Treads

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

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