Use of foam in building design and construction

Yes, this foam is used in buildings. Generally on the outside of buildings such as banks and other buildings that look to have stone or concrete pillers. There is a column covered with foam with the welded mesh then covered with a stucco. More for decoration than load bearing. Contact a general contractor for information. There are also styrofoam cement forms, you set up the foam forms then pour them full of concrete and your wall is not only strong but it is also well insulated because you don't strip the foam off. Blue Max seems to ring a bell on that.Can be found on internet

Thank you "hilltopper" but your indications are incomplete. Can you help further ?

1.The material I have seen manufactured , once it has been covered onsite with concrete plaster on both sides , acquires in fact : load bearing status by all the supervising authorities in the country wherein it is used. It is not a superficial layer any longer. This enables multi storey appartments or commercial buildings being built.

The second point is that you are referring to a US manufacturer which with the indications you have given me I am not able to locate. Can you assist ?.

Thank you very much,

Best Regards,

This maybe the polystyrene foam material sandwich between 2 layers of gauge 11-2" x 2" galvanized wire mesh connected by a gauge 9 diagonal truss wire pre-fabricated in 4 ft. wide panel by lengths starting at 8 feet. The product was being manufactured by ICS 3-D Panelworks, Inc. of Brunswick, Georgia that apparently closed its manufacturing there and moved to another location, I am not sure of. I have been using this material and still want to continue using but had no luck contacting the company. There are several companies that I've tried contacting, one in New Zealand and another one in Australia and had not yet received any reply. There is also the one in Mexico Insteel Panelmex.

The material is very good structurally and very flexible in its application, and that it is insulated.

I've always been interested in foam panels so I did a little search and I think I found out where your company went as shown below.

StructurTech and StructurTech Construction Systems

Business Type:

Manufacturer

Primary Contact:

Bill Westin
President/CEO

Company Name:

StructurTech and StructurTech Construction Systems

Phone:

(843) 972-0660

Address:

1321 Chuck Dawley Blvd., Suite 201
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

Fax:

(843) 972-0665

Web Address: http://www.structurtech.com Email: bwestin@structurtech.com

California Small Business:

California Disabled Veterans:

California Micro Business:

Trash bag:

California DGS Reference Number:

0

Certification List: Verify the small, micro and disabled veterans status with DGS

Company Profile

Prefabricated 3-D Panel consists of a super-insulated core of rigid expanded polystyrene sandwiched between two-engineered sheets of galvanized steel welded wire fabric mesh. Nine-gauge galvanized steel truss wire is pierced completely through the polystyrene core at off set angles for superior strength and welded to each of the outer layer sheets of eleven-gauge steel welded wire fabric mesh. May be used in place of wood framed walls, metal-framed walls, and masonry block walls or in place of pre cast panels. This company was formerly known as: ICS 3-D Panel Works

I have been interested in foam materials in home construction also. The first example was in Popular Science around 1983. The design used 4ft x 8 ft x 12 in. panels for the walls. The panels had channels into the top and side edges. When the panels were placed, a cavity was made of the ajoining channels. Rebar and concrete filled the channel to provide the load bearing structure. Holes were made for windows and doors. The roof was made with 14 in. panels. An insulating concrete material was applied to the exposed ploystyrene, one inch thick. This was to make it fireproof. The article showed results of the fire test. The foam material was only melted in a small area. Because the test structure was airtight, the test fire went out and had to be restarted with a external air source provided. There was a house built this way in Norcross GA in the early 1980's. This process did not catch on because the external walls could not be used for wiring.

The PBS shows "Hometime" and "This Old House" have used designs similar to what you describe. They either use blue foam panels as forms in foundation construction and/or composit "chip" board as the form and fill the space between with polyurethane foam. These are non-structural panels.

Good luck

Try

SCA North America (or) Tegrant Corporation

123 N. Chipman St.

Owosso MI 48867

Kevin Pageau 248 835-4999 kevin.pageau@tegrant.com

Regards,

Thank you very much Lisa,

I will try and locate. Best Regards,

Labor Omnia Vincit

We have also provided mining company engineering support in the Southern Illinois area using these panels for mine entry, ventilation, corridor, etc.
They are also being used as you have noted for residential and some commercial buildings using the same method of shotcrete onto welded wire truss with sandwiched insulating and sealing foam.

The manufacturing facility for these panels (in this area of the country) is located in Ridgeway, Illinois - and since they are so lightweight I understand they can be inexpensively shipped just about anywhere by truck.

The company that "has patent rights" to fabricate the distribute them here is called PMR. Their website is http://pmri95.com.

Their local phone number is 618-272-7220 and they are very easy to work with, and eager to share their technology and product.

I do not know personally if they are partners or an otherwise related business venture with the "Structure Tech" outfit mentioned on another posted reply, but it certainly looks and smells like the same thing from both. One thing I do know, is that PMR is ready to produce and ship quickly, and can provide any length panel you request, from a standard 4'x8' to over a 4'x20' panel that they have on-hand.

I have also been investigating another company that makes an alternative to regular shotcrete with fire-partition properties, light weight with excellent strength, and think the two would be an ideal assembly composite from both a structural and weatherproof system perspective.

My brother in Florida is interested in the two of us doing some residential homes on the side, due to my judgement that a house designed properly and constructed this way with full rebar tie-in to the foundation should exceed the hurricane resistance guidelines easily, possibly even qualifying for insurance discounts. We'll see!

RASanders

Dear Mr Sanders,

In your earlier comments you are referring to a method of plastering (if that is the right word) a board made of foam. I have Principals in Australia and Europe who could be interested in such practice. As you would know , one of the main barriers to the foam panel is the fact that good plasterers are "far and few". If you have found a mechanical way of plastering I am sure you will be onto something worthwhile and I will appreciate your comments advices and if possible addresses . Thank you in anticipation.

LABOR

Dear Sandman,

I much appreciate your indications and will follow these ups. I would be interested in sharing some of the techniques that I may have , which could be of interest to you and your Brother.

Thank you for the message,

Best Regards,