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Question from Hope Fox

My husband and I are researching Insulated Concrete Forms for our soon-to-be constructed ‘safe house’. Do any of you with MCS have a specific brand of ICF that you can recommend (or not!)?

We are interested in using ICFs for our walls (we have no basement in the design) – we live in upstate NY so we need a well insulated wall system.

I have read endless debates on green building websites regarding the safety of polystyrene used in many ICFs, as well as the blowing agent used to expand the styrene beads, and the flame retardants that are often added. I want to get beyond the theoreticals and hear directly from people with MCS. My husband is gung-ho and ready to use IFC’s…. I am worried about the safety, but can’t find anything to recommend that would be better. We live in a very eco-conscious town, and lots of folks have used Ecoblock brand and Rastra, and contractors know how to install them.

We briefly considered AAC (aerated autoclaved concrete) but it does not really have enough R-value to be of much use in this climate, and the nearest distributor appears to be in Georgia and no one uses it around here.

There is an Air Krete installer in our town, but I wasn’t sure what to use on the interior/exterior cladding and for framing that would be nontoxic, not smelly, and be combatible with the Air Krete.

We expect some level of offgassing to take place despite our best offorts, and are planning to install an HRV/HVAC system.

Debra’s Answer

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