ICFs deliver the sounds of silence

ICFs are hollow blocks or panels made from expanded polystyrene (EPS). They are stacked to create an external wall, then reinforced with steel rods. Concrete is poured into the hollows to create a strong, energy-efficient and noise insulating permanent structure. 

For their single storey, four-bedroom home, Andrea Bell-Booth and her partner were looking for a more solid alternative to traditional timber framing and brick veneer cladding. They particularly wanted something that would reduce the transmission of noise from neighbours.

Eventually it was the ICF system that caught their eyes, offering both thermal and soundproofing in one solution.  The structural integrity of solid concrete walling also gave them the flexibility to add another storey in the future, as well as alter the internal fit-out whenever they wanted.

“As we used ICF for all external walls and conventional insulated timber walls internally, we now have total flexibility in re-arranging our ground floor to suit an expansion upwards,” Andrea says.  

For Andrea, the system has the potential to deliver real cost savings and provide practical benefits for homeowners, particularly when it comes to reducing the noise that is otherwise part and parcel of living in increasingly densified suburbs.   

“There is a pre-conception that using ICFs is so much more difficult and adds to the labour cost,” Andrea says.   

“However, once onsite we had nothing but positive feedback (from the sub-contractors), as they only needed a cutter knife and were quickly finished.   

“Once skilled up, it should be a very fast and straight forward building process, which in turn has cost savings.” Andrea and her family are delighted with their new home.    

“We love our house. It is so quiet. It is snuggly warm in winter; we don’t need heating and even run around in short clothes,” she says.   “Our kids have asthma and cold air has been a problem in the past. But not anymore.”