Are you looking for ways to optimize your mid-rise development and boost revenues? Did you know that by choosing Logix insulated concrete forms (ICF) as your building material, you can build faster and get a more efficient structure?
This post will examine the benefits of building and operating a Logix ICF mid-rise building.
Cost-Effective Construction
Logix ICF offers a convenient, efficient way to erect mid-rise buildings. Typically, you can get a floor done every 10 days. What’s more, you only need a single crew to put together the entire superstructure.
Logix ICF also excels in wet and cold conditions. That’s because the insulated forms shield the freshly poured concrete from the elements. Where traditional construction calls for costly and time-consuming protective measures against the winter chill, rain, and snow, Logix ICFs let you get away with an insulated tarp and caps on top of the ICF.
You forgo the hassle of heating and covering your pours and build faster. Plus, because the concrete is perpetually insulated between 2.75″ of rigid insulation, it enjoys an ideal curing environment.
Using ICFs over lumber means a more straightforward design. Since ICFs don’t shrink the way wood does, your engineer won’t have to develop specialized details. And, because a monolithic ICF wall won’t crumble under lateral loads like masonry can, an ICF structure faces less risk of progressive collapse during a seismic event.
Not only are Logix ICF buildings more resilient to natural disasters, but they’re also simpler to insure during construction. In fact, they can command up to 80% less in premiums compared to wood-frame builds. Unlike their wood-framed peers, ICF structures present less of a fire peril for underwriters. Similarly, ICF buildings are less susceptible to moisture damage – another source of comfort for insurers.
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Cost-Efficient Buildings
With lower utility and repair bills, and more rentable square footage (RSF), Logix ICF buildings are a cost-efficient alternative to their stick-built counterparts.
When you design with concrete, it’s always easier to minimize non-rental square footage. Concrete is also less vulnerable to water and moisture – two significant culprits behind fungal outbreaks, dry rot, and other hazardous liabilities that endanger wood-framed buildings. So, by merely choosing Logix ICF instead of lumber, you’re maximizing space that will bring you money, improving tenant safety, and curbing your maintenance and repair bills.
Logix ICF structures also outpace their stick-built peers in energy efficiency. ICFs bring 3 real benefits to a building’s energy performance: continuous insulation, airtightness, and thermal lag.
Wood-framed structures rely on a patchy defense system of envelope layers to keep heat from leaving the interior. They’re not great at it – heat always seems to find a thermal bridge through which to escape. ICF structures, on the other hand, offer a continuous, monolithic wall of insulation. There are no weak links, like studs or sill plates, through which heat can leave.
Heat can also travel through convection or air movement. Wood-framed buildings can be notorious for crevices and other envelope imperfections that facilitate this type of heat loss. In contrast, an ICF wall is inherently far more impermeable – with basic detailing, there’s virtually no way for hot air to sneak its way through 3 solid layers to the outdoors.
Thermal lag is another vital, proven advantage of ICF walls. With high thermal mass-produced by 2 layers of insulation and a concrete core, ICF assemblies keep heat inside for a long time when outdoor temperatures drop, and vice versa on hot days. For your heating and cooling systems, this means staying idle longer and burning less fuel. Thanks to the improved insulation efficiency and reduced load on conditioning systems, you’ll pay less in utility bills.
Wrapping it Up
By choosing Logix ICF over lumber, your mid-rise building will:
- get built faster
- incur less heating costs during winter construction
- better withstand natural disasters
- demand lower insurance premiums
- have more RSF
- require less maintenance and fewer repairs
- cost less to heat and cool
