Traditional building methods, such as steel, traditional ICF and standard precast all require additional expenses to finish exterior walls as they each require a significant amount of on-site building time. With the PRECAST ICF system, panels provide a finished exterior and can be prepared months ahead of site preparation, excavation and/or demolition of existing structures.
|
|
Cost |
To Finish Interior |
Finished Exterior |
Insulation Provided |
Man Power Required |
Onsite Storage |
Fire Rated |
|
PRECAST_ICF |
Low |
Easy |
Yes |
Yes |
Low |
None |
Yes |
|
Steel |
High |
Hard |
No |
No |
High |
High |
No |
|
ICF |
High |
Easy |
No |
Yes |
High |
High |
No |
|
Precast |
High |
Hard |
No |
Yes |
High |
Moderate |
Yes |
- PRECAST ICF is a complete building system We provide ready to install panels in a time an resource efficient manner. All factors considered, the cost of the PRECAST ICF system is significantly lower than all other methods approved for buildings greater than three stories.
- Steel is a very expensive material; despite providing internal support, it requires considerable interior and exterior cladding, as well as insulation of the facility, significantly adding to the cost of the building. Steel framed buildings require the most diverse skill set of trades and many of these come with high per hour rates. Due to the stick frame nature of steel construction, a considerable amount of space is required for storing steel beams until they are needed, which can be days to weeks. Lastly, steel alone is not fire rated.
- Traditional ICF technology acts as a mold which concrete is to be poured inside. While these blocks typically come in standard lightweight sizes, they still require additional costs to finish both interior and exterior surfaces. In many cases stucco is sprayed on, or real bricks are applied by masons, to cover the EPS, contributing to increased project costs. The EPS blocks/forms typically arrive in large batches and require onsite storage. Also, ICF block construction is not fire rated; thus further time and effort are required to meet code.
- Standard precast is composed of casting two concrete slabs around an EPS panel. The additional concrete required proves to be very costly and less than ideal to finish. As each panel requires a licensed welder to install steel plates on each panel, construction time is longer and costlier than that of PRECAST ICF. Onsite storage is minimal for standard precast, however, space is required to manage equipment and products for finishing interior and exterior surfaces. Of all construction methods discussed in this section, precast is the only other method to PRECAST ICF, which is fire rated.