The ICF Effect: ICF walls reduce air infiltration by 75%. The effects of hay fever, asthma, and other airborne allergies can be greatly alleviated as a direct result of the reduced leakage of outside air, which brings dust, pollen, and other pollutants.
Indoor air pollution is a great health concern today. ICF walls are non-toxic. The measurement of air contents of actual ICF houses shows an almost complete absence of any emissions.
Homeowners lose millions of dollars every year in medical bills and costs, and lost wages due to inefficient and unhealthy living conditions. Molds are fungi that can be found both indoors and outdoors. Molds grow best in warm, damp and humid conditions. Moisture is a major cause of harm and damage to humans and building components.
Moisture and mold can cause:
- Upper respiratory problems
- Asthma symptoms
- Micro toxins
When addressing mold problems, address the source of the mold problem or the mold problem may simply reappear. Consider an old, poorly insulated building. It shows evidence of mold and mildew. Since the building is leaky, its high natural air exchange rate is the problem. Providing mechanical ventilation in this building will not solve the problem.
To prevent the development of mold in a building, it is essential to keep it dry. Since ICF walls create a virtually airtight building envelope, it is easier to control the humidity and moisture in an ICF structure than in other types of structures.
In 2002 the Portland Cement Association funded a study to determine if ICF walls have any inherent properties that make them prone to moisture activity. After constructing a test structure, and one year of monitoring in a controlled atmosphere, the walls were "disassembled and materials from the walls were visually examined for moisture-related damage such as mold, mildew, corrosion, rot and fungi attack." The report concluded that visual inspection revealed that none of the materials from any of the walls suffered moisture damage.
ICF systems will create a solid monolithic wall with no cavities like those found in metal or wood frame construction, and will allow your family to live in peace and comfort. |