PRESS RELEASENew Concrete Construction Tool & Training for Residential ConstructionVANCOUVER, February 3, 2009 – Builders and key industry officials will soon have a new tool to understand requirements for insulated concrete form (ICF) construction in accordance with Part 9 of the BC Building Code. Members of BC Ready-Mixed Concrete Association’s (BCRMCA’s) ICF Committee today announced several new initiatives in their ongoing partnership with the Homeowner’s Protection Office (HPO).
The Committee is working with the HPO on an ICF update to the Building Envelope Guide for Houses, published by the HPO in 2007. “The Building Envelope Guide for Houses has been received as an important tool for assisting in understanding the requirements of the design and construction of new homes in accordance with Part 9 of the 2006 British Columbia Building Code,” says Carolyn Campbell, Executive Director of the BCRMCA. “The Guide has always been regarded as a dynamic publication with the expectation that revisions and additions will be produced from time to time, in an effort to reflect changes in industry and codes as well as to embrace a widening range of construction methods.”
Murray Frank, Principal of Constructive Home Solutions was engaged to write the first revision to the Guide, focused on ICF construction, with an expansion of the options for window installation. To address the ICF module, Frank will add an entire section to the guide and will include a generic description of the construction method from the ground to the roof and examine the requirements of penetration and opening details, such as waterproofing, and describe the water management strategy of this mass wall solution as compared to lightweight stud construction. The revision is targeted for publication in May 2009.
Throughout the fall of 2008, as part of HPO’s Building Smart Series, a province-wide road show featuring ICF and particular construction details was presented in the latter half of 2008. In all, over 1,000 people attended the 22 sessions throughout British Columbia. “Murray Frank did an excellent job and was extremely well received wherever he gave this presentation” said Campbell.
In order to reach a broader audience and accommodate those who were unable to attend one of the previous sessions, Frank will be presenting these materials at Buildex Vancouver, February 12 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and at the Building Officials of BC (BOABC) conference being held May 3-5 in Nelson, BC. BCRMCA’s ICF Promotion Committee representatives will be in the exhibit hall for both events, to answer any follow-up questions.
Details for upcoming events and news relating to new code/guide release information can be found on the partners’ websites:
www.hpo.bc.ca and
www.bcrmca.ca/events.
The Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) is a provincial Crown Corporation formed in 1998 in response to the need to introduce basic consumer protection legislation and regulatory improvements within the residential construction sector.
BCRMCA is a not-for-profit association whose membership includes ready-mixed concrete producers and suppliers to the concrete industry in British Columbia. The ICF Promotion Committee is made up of representatives from the five major ICF manufacturers in BC: ARXX Building Products (arxxbuild.com), ECO-Block Inc. (eco-block.com), LOGIX Insulated Concrete Forms (logixicf.com), Plasti-Fab (plastifab.com) and Quad-Lock Building Systems Ltd. (quadlock.com).
Constructive Home Solutions Inc. performs building envelope design and assessments. Murray Frank has been an instructor of building science at the University of British Columbia, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and other North American post secondary institutions. Mr. Frank’s combined technical expertise and practical experience in the residential, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors helps bring about an understanding of construction issues found in the various climate regions throughout BC.
More information:
Carolyn Campbell, Executive Director
BC Ready-Mixed Concrete Association
Office: 604-626-4141, Mobile: 604-516-9698
www.bcrmca.ca
