Concrete Home Building Council - 03/15/2007 (Plain Text Version)CHBC Chairman View Graphical Version | Subscribe
to NAHB Publications | Email our
Editor... In this issue: Concrete Walls Save Lives, Property from FireCouple is grateful ICF construction is more than energy efficient and quiet. On July 12, 2006, Neal and Linda Anderson moved into their Neskowin, Ore., dream home, again. Just three months after they first moved into the home in 2005, a fire burned through the home’s garage, attic and roof. But the blaze didn’t completely destroy the house or its contents, because the couple had chosen to build a concrete house using ICFs (insulating concrete forms). Bileyu Homes in Salem finished the home in May, and on Memorial Day, the Andersons settled into life near Neskowin, population 169, in a remote area along the Oregon coast. “The house was absolutely everything we wanted it to be. We had a beautiful view of the beach, the shoreline and a waterfowl sanctuary. It is tremendously quiet. We never heard the wind. The quietness of this house was something to behold,” Anderson said. In addition, it was energy efficient. On September 10, hot cigarette ashes emptied into a trashcan in the garage started a fire that smoldered and slowly spread into the ceiling and attic of the home. Meanwhile, Anderson, unaware of the danger in the garage, prepared dinner in the kitchen. A smoke alarm alerted the couple to the fire. The Andersons, their two dogs and the neighbors stood on the driveway and watched the house burn for 35 minutes before the volunteer fire department arrived. “Any other house would have burned to the ground,” said Mary Lou Fletcher the Fire Marshall in Pacific City, Ore. According to Anderson, the concrete walls did an excellent job of containing the fire. They held up the roof over the house and did not burn, which allowed the family to get to safety and, the Andersons were able to save their furniture, photographs, clothing and jewelry. Special thanks to Reward Wall Systems for this article. To learn more about Reward Wall Systems, Inc. visit: www.rewardwalls.com
For more information or to contact us directly, please visit www.NAHB.org | ©2005, National Association of Home Builders |