ICF Commercial Construction Example Projects CO - Energywise Sustainable Products

Project Details

Project Location: Denver, CO
Project Type: Multi-Use, Office & Warehouse
Finished Project Size: 10,700sqft
The design incorporated a warehouse, office and show room space into each section of the building for small developing companies and business requiring upscale office spaces. Building incorporated full brick veneer over Insulated Concrete Forms with glass curtain wall construction. Unique design in Denver Area market that fits the Historic Neighborhood created in 1880 of surrounding brick structures. High energy efficient design with solid R-22 walls and r-40 roof surface.
Why Quad-Lock was Chosen:
No staging room - form placement from the inside of the footprint
Energy performance
Standard details available for brick application
Run-off water load had to be carried by the structure
Architect had been to Quad-Lock training
Sound deadening characteristics
Recommended accessory products that saved time and money
Project Challenges:
The site was an inner city reclamation project next to the Light Rail transportation system that required a design to fit the project land area. ICF walls where chosen for the energy values that they would provide to the project and then covered with
masonry brick units for the old loft style warehouse and shop area. The project was designed to provide site run-off storage on the roof system due in part to the limited land footprint available. The development may eventually consume the whole city
block if the project design is accepted by the retail community.
Working on a landfill site that had to be removed and replace with compacted fill provided the initial challenge. Secondary challenge was the limited site foot print creating a cramped work area with limited movement of trades and finish applications

Project Partners

Project Manager: Energywise Sustainable Products LLC
Architect: Bison Ventures LLC - Arthur Raines
ICF Installer: Advantage Exteriors, Keith Bleeker
Contractor: Jonas Development

Products Used

ICF System: Quad-Lock Building Systems R-22
Brick Ledge Ties : Quad-Lock Building Systems (12" to 6" brick-faced wall)
Footings: FastFoot Fabric Form for Footings
Waterproofing : Colphene LM300
Other Products: Fero Brick Tie Units and Simpson ICFVL Ledger Insert Plates

Read the Project Summary for Kalamath Millshops here...

San Juan Eye Center with Quad-Lock Insulating Concrete Floors in Montrose CO

Project Details

Project Location: Montrose, CO
Project Type: Light Commercial - Optometrist's Office
Finished Project Size: 4746sqft
The design incorporated a complete energy envelope to reduce the long term operational costs of the building for this owner occupied structure. Instead of compliance to the local 2003 IBC the design incorporated all provision of the 2015 IRC into a commercial structure raising the performance bar since houses must meet higher energy requirements over commercial buildings. Included in the design was a radon/moisture barrier material (recycled 20 mil vinyl billboard sign face material) that covered an R-20 EPS insulation system to close the energy envelope under the structure.
The ICF portion of the structure cost less than wood frame construction that would require moisture and air barriers along with the addition of 2 inches of exterior foam for a comparable R-Value. Examination of the total energy envelope for any structure has determined that for comparable performance ICF can be cheaper than wood frame plus all the additional pieces necessary for code compliance.
The walls incorporated Quad-Lock Building Systems R-30 wall system with 4 inches of foam exterior of the concrete surface and thus moved the dew point exterior of the concrete plus creating a thermal bank area to buffer temperature swings.
The building used recycled billboard reinforced vinyl sign faces to provide a sealed crawl space moisture/radon barrier membrane that was 20 mils thick instead of industry standard products. The energy envelope design has reduced the sizes of the mechanical system and heat loss from the structure with a HERS rating of 55 that residential homes try to obtain. Because of the ICF wall product, sealed crawl space and attic along with the fixed window glazing the air infiltration entering the building was less than 1 ACH50. Although this is a residential test it allowed the mechanical system design to perform better than calculated due to reducing the cooling demand by 30%. Heating demand is just starting to be examined due to completing the building in October. Use of cement based stucco further provided a low maintenance surface decreasing exterior surface degradation and extending the design performance.