The Bent Page

Insulated concrete forms have been around for a long time. Imagine sheets of styrofoam on the outside and concrete and reinforcing steel on the inside. The advantage of this building system is that the forms remain in place, creating an insulating barrier on both the inside and the outside of the structure. At the same time, the concrete and steel create an incredibly strong wall, that when poured at once, becomes a monolithic feature.

Here in Aruba, I have not seen many ICF structures under construction. However, the other day I was in San Fuego where a number of new homes are under way. There I spotted a bunch of forms. Here’s what they look like when they are delivered un-assembled.

Just a stack of styrofoam. The next step is to use brackets to join two pieces. Take a look:

You can see how the cavity is formed in the photo above. At the same time, note that the forms have been “glued” to the footer and held in place with a wooden block. The rebar sticking up helps to connect the wall to the floor. Next, is a view of the portion of the assembled wall:

The vertical wooden braces help to support the forms when the concrete is poured. Significant pressures can develop as concrete is heavy. The story goes that this will be a wine cellar for the house above. I can’t wait to see the finished home. It should be impressive.

Bon dia from Aruba.