Insulated Concrete Forms Home Building with Macon Contractors

[marcop2487]

Hey tuners, anyone of you'll every heard about a housing contracting company by the name of Macon construction in Maraval?

Would like to know if anyone is familiar with the use of the styrofoam blocks which are then filled with concrete and steel rebars or if anyone utilized their services.

[Halfbreed07]

Nope, have you considered AP Scott steel frame and infill panel housing solutions?
We are using them on a proposal and I'm liking what I see so far.
Check the AP Scott website.

[marcop2487]

Nope, have you considered AP Scott steel frame and infill panel housing solutions?
We are using them on a proposal and I'm liking what I see so far.
Check the AP Scott website.

Are you getting cost savings with this construction method or is the construction cost similar to the traditional brick and mortar method?

[Rory Phoulorie]

Hey tuners, anyone of you'll every heard about a housing contracting company by the name of Macon construction in Maraval?

Would like to know if anyone is familiar with the use of the styrofoam blocks which are then filled with concrete and steel rebars or if anyone utilized their services.

The new hotel by Ato Boldon Stadium was built using insulated concrete forms (ICFs).

I personally like the system, especially the Fox Blocks system, and am currently researching if this method of construction is feasible in T&T. Either we purchase the license to manufacture the blocks locally from a proven system (like Fox Blocks), or we import the ICFs, which means foreign exchange going out of the country,

[pugboy]

heading north, just before chase village turnoff/smi industries
on the left there are a bunch of 2 storey houses that were built using this method.

Padna bought one a while back, they seem to be very sturdy and should be once proper rebar used as it is a full cast wall.

Only thing is if you drilling the wall to anchor a tv mount or something you go through 1" of styrofoam.

[rspann]

I was doing some research on building a pool and came across it. The only thing is ,what about the surface, is it soft and easily damaged ,what about painting, tiling etc? Does it mean plumbing and electrical conduits have to be done before and cast into the wall? It will save time, but is it cost effective? Was it really designed for tropical climates or is it really cost effective when used for insulation purposes?

[nissan4life]

Hey tuners, anyone of you'll every heard about a housing contracting company by the name of Macon construction in Maraval?

Would like to know if anyone is familiar with the use of the styrofoam blocks which are then filled with concrete and steel rebars or if anyone utilized their services.

They are in maraval opposite lindays bakery. I passed there alot during the construction of their building ,they used the foam blocks to construct where they are now, it seems to be done well as it basically rebar and concrete within the foam, I would expect drilling through would be a pain, so laying pipe work for electrical and plumbing should be done before the casting of concrete.
This application would work nice for a retaining wall or anything that does not need to look nice aesthetically, if its a home you talking about then inside you would have to use drywall ( which is what they did), they used a fine mesh and stucko for the outside.
Not sure if you can apply concrete in similar manner or use a cladding system like they do in other countries.
This may be the deciding factor in overall cost.

[marcop2487]

Hey tuners, anyone of you'll every heard about a housing contracting company by the name of Macon construction in Maraval?

Would like to know if anyone is familiar with the use of the styrofoam blocks which are then filled with concrete and steel rebars or if anyone utilized their services.

They are in maraval opposite lindays bakery. I passed there alot during the construction of their building ,they used the foam blocks to construct where they are now, it seems to be done well as it basically rebar and concrete within the foam, I would expect drilling through would be a pain, so laying pipe work for electrical and plumbing should be done before the casting of concrete.
This application would work nice for a retaining wall or anything that does not need to look nice aesthetically, if its a home you talking about then inside you would have to use drywall ( which is what they did), they used a fine mesh and stucko for the outside.
Not sure if you can apply concrete in similar manner or use a cladding system like they do in other countries.
This may be the deciding factor in overall cost.

They plastered the internal walls apparently. I'm considering using them later on this year to build my house.

[marcop2487]

heading north, just before chase village turnoff/smi industries
on the left there are a bunch of 2 storey houses that were built using this method.

Padna bought one a while back, they seem to be very sturdy and should be once proper rebar used as it is a full cast wall.

Only thing is if you drilling the wall to anchor a tv mount or something you go through 1" of styrofoam.

That's my primary concern. How difficult would it be actually launching something into the concrete within the form which has the steel within it.

[marcop2487]

I was doing some research on building a pool and came across it. The only thing is ,what about the surface, is it soft and easily damaged ,what about painting, tiling etc? Does it mean plumbing and electrical conduits have to be done before and cast into the wall? It will save time, but is it cost effective? Was it really designed for tropical climates or is it really cost effective when used for insulation purposes?

It punched a ICF wall pretty hard. Once the concrete is set and cured it pretty solid. Afterwards they apply a plastering on both ends.

[rspann]

I was doing some research on building a pool and came across it. The only thing is ,what about the surface, is it soft and easily damaged ,what about painting, tiling etc? Does it mean plumbing and electrical conduits have to be done before and cast into the wall? It will save time, but is it cost effective? Was it really designed for tropical climates or is it really cost effective when used for insulation purposes?

It punched a ICF wall pretty hard. Once the concrete is set and cured it pretty solid. Afterwards they apply a plastering on both ends.

The concrete is hard but what about the styrofoam? If you still have to plaster,then regular clay blocks/ plaster would be cheaper. You ever look at the Thermal Impac option?

[Rory Phoulorie]

Usually you would have to install gypsum board on the interior side, and on the exterior, you can use a number of different finishes, such as, stucco, siding (vinyl, wood, etc.).

Electrical conduit and small diameter water pipes could be installed in chases cut into the foam, which you would then seal back up with expanding foam and then cover over with the gypsum board. You don't usually have conduit and pipe runs in the wall itself.

A few quality concerns that I have with blockwork in T&T are:

1) The reinforcing steel installed in the cores is hardly ever placed properly and lapped properly
2) The infill grout to the cores is usually a weak material and does not fill the cores properly
3) Local masons like to retemper mortar, that is, add water to improve workability when it begins to set and this weakens the mortar

I find that you have to stand up 24/7 over the masons in T&T to get a proper job.

You avoid these quality issues with the ICFs. As a good ICF has plastic braces internally which help you position the horizontal and vertical reinforcing steel properly. You also typically use readymix concrete to fill the forms which gives a more consistent quality concrete than hand-mixed or site mixed concrete. The ICFs also have better insulation properties so your a/c would not have to work as hard to keep the interior of your building cool. In fact, with ICFs and some good quality windows, you may not need to put on the a/c.

[fokhan_96]

Anytime i come across things like this, and 'light frame roofing', 'pvc board', 'epoxy countertops', 'prefab septic tank', etc for some reason i get uneasy. I probably just old school and too stubborn to try new things.