Thanks to Greg Smith of PermaCrete for sponsoring this page.

Right around July 4th Crude Oil reached $140.00 per barrel. On the financial news I just saw one senator say it’s the speculators (spare me) and the other said it’s a supply and demand issue, that we need to drill more to exceed demand to drive down the price.

T Boone Pickens, the legendary oil man makes the most sense and says stop using so much oil. His solution is alternative energy like wind, and solar which can reduce our dependance on foreign oil which has risen from 20% to 70% of U.S. consumption during the last 40 years.

Alternative energy and conservation is the solution. The solution is not to increase the supply of oil like Senator so and so said, try the other way around and decrease demand.

Photograph courtesy of Reward Wall Systems

ICF buildings are one real solution. I spent a considerable amount of time during the past week discussing ICF Buildings (Insulating Concrete Forms) with Greg Smith of Permacrete and how they significantly reduce the cost and need for energy in residential homes and commercial properties.

Greg and the entire team at Permacrete are experts on this topic since their decorative concrete is the finish coat on many exterior and interior ICF walls.

Photograph Courtesy of Permacrete – contact Greg Smith for more info about this project at 1-800-607-3762 ext 250 or e-mail at gsmith@permacrete.com

ICF is constructed with what looks a little like white foam cinderblocks. Then concrete is pumped inside the blocks creating a sturdy structure with exterior and interior foam insulation. The “performance” R Value results are in the range of 32 compared with wood frame 2 x 4’s of 10.5 and 2 x 6’s of 16. (”performance” meaning finished project).

Additionally heat loss is significantly less with energy savings of 50% – 80%. Reward Wall Systems , an ICF manufacturer, mentioned one of their case studies is of a 7,000 square foot home in Minneapolis with annual energy costs of $750.00. Thats probably 10% the cost of oil heat for the same home.

Another considerable feature of ICF structures is the opportunity for reduced insurance costs. Flooding and fires pose much less risk.

Design and function are increased with Permacrete vertical decorative concrete coatings, an ICC-ES code compliant product. ( ICC-ES is a non profit, public benefit corporation that evaluates building products). Permacrete has made significant investment in Research & Development producing highly durable Green products for resurfacing vertical and horizontal surfaces.

Graco RTX 1500 Hopper Gun Spray system for Permacrete

Their concrete mixes come in white or about 170 premixed colors. The mix is sprayed on ICF block (and many other substrates) . One of the most popular sprayers for applying Permacrete mix is a Graco RTX 1500 texture sprayer. After the first coat is sprayed on a fiber mesh is troweled in place. A second coat is then applied followed by the texture finish coat and sealed with an acrylic stain sealer.

Controlled spray system with Permacrete

ICF with Permacrete decorative concrete finish coats have been applied on homes , retail centers, office buildings, schools and lots more. Finishing where I started, this system will substantially help reduce energy demand and contribute to the health of our environment.

If you want to know more about Permacrete coatings contact Greg Smith of Permacrete at 800-607-3762 ext 250 or e-mail Greg at gsmith@permacrete.com .

I also want to thank Brandie Allen-Rezac of Reward Wall Systems for educating me about ICF buildings. You contact Brandie at 1-800-468-6344.

Let me know what you think about this topic and if you would like to know more about other energy saving products for your residential or commercial property.