ICF

Equipment and Systems - Home Energy and Building Envelope pillar

Also known as: Insulated Concrete Form

Insulated Concrete Form. A wall-construction method using stay-in-place foam blocks filled with concrete, delivering R-22 to R-25 effective with minimal thermal bridging.

Insulated Concrete Form construction uses interlocking expanded polystyrene blocks (Logix, Nudura, BuildBlock) as both formwork and permanent insulation for poured concrete walls. The result is a R-22 to R-25 effective wall (continuous insulation, no thermal bridging) with extreme airtightness. Common in Ontario new-build basements and increasingly in above-grade walls. Adds about $8 to $15 per square foot of wall area versus stick framing but eliminates a separate insulation step and produces a 50-100 year structural envelope.

See the full Ontario HVAC and home energy glossary or browse the Home Energy and Building Envelope pillar.