The REHAU MONTANA ecosmart house is progressing through the first snow in Bozeman. As of November 19, the Amvic Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) for the lower level walls were poured with concrete. ICFs are formwork for concrete that will stay in place as permanent building insulation for energy-efficient, cast-in-place, reinforced concrete walls. The forms are interlocking modular units that are dry-stacked, without mortar, and then filled with concrete. These units lock together somewhat like Lego blocks, creating a form for the structural walls.
During the week of November 22, the installation of the first floor AmDeck floor system will begin. AmDeck, also provided by Amvic, is a concrete forming system similar to ICFs. The system utilizes 10-inch lightweight steel framing studs which carry the temporary construction loads until the concrete gains its required strength.
The Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Montana State University has been involved throughout the construction process installing temperature-sensing probes throughout the concrete walls and slabs. These probes will provide valuable data that will tie into the overall web-based climate management system as well as data for confirmation of heat loss modeling assumptions made during the design phase.
