Bob Vila meets with Jim Costello from Superior Walls of America to discuss the difference between precast panels delivered to the site and a traditional poured concrete foundation. The precast panel is made of an outside shell wall of high strength concrete combined with rebar reinforced concrete pillars. The ten-inch thick pillars give a look similar to a traditional stud wall with Styrofoam insulation. Pressure treated furring strips attached to the pillars make drywall or paneling easy to attach. The panels have an R factor, the measure of a materials resistance to the passage of heat, of 5 (concrete block has an R factor of about 2). Polyurethane caulk with special concrete adhesives is added between each panel to insure a tight seal. The panels are attached to each other and the base with pre-installed saddle bolts. A typical home�s installation takes about five hours and without having to wait for the foundation to set or dry, contractors can begin framing immediately. The walls are guaranteed for 15 years compared to poured concrete walls, which generally have a warranty of one year.

Bob talks with Jim Niehoff of the Portland Cement Association about building homes using concrete. For builders, constructing homes with concrete can save a lot of time and give homeowners a very energy-efficient home. Building a home with this combination of concrete and foam can save homeowners about 30-40 percent on heating and cooling costs. Building with concrete is particularly desirable in disaster-prone areas, because it provides stronger protection against hurricanes and tornados. Bob talks with the homeowner, Howard Brickman, about the experience of building the addition with concrete. The process has been very efficient. The crew has only been on the site for seven work days and has accomplished a great deal in that short amount of time. The construction process has eliminated the need for any exterior wall framing or insulation. The shell of the addition is already complete except for the rafters on the roof. The finished addition will look like a traditional shingled home and will be indistinguishable from the original section of the house. The radiant heating system put into the addition was downsized because of the energy savings involved with concrete construction. It is estimated the concrete addition will cost 30 percent as much to heat as the rest of the house.

Bob is joined on the site of the Punta Gorda, Florida, storm-ready home by Jim Crain of Precise Forms. Precise Forms partners with Mercedes Builders to create high-quality, reinforced concrete homes throughout Florida. Precise Forms began in 1967 by supplying cast-in-place forms for subterranean foundations and basements. In 2000 they began to set forms for full wall, cast-in-place houses for Mercedes Homes. Once the forms are set, Bob walks through the layout with Jesse Gonzalez of Mercedes Homes. Gonzalez points to window placements that are encapsulated behind the aluminum forms as they walk past view windows in the family area, past the three bedrooms, bath, laundry, and two-car garage of this four-bedroom home with master suite. Mark Newton of Solid Wall Systems joins Bob as the pour begins. He explains that they are using a 2,000 pound psi, small aggregate concrete mix for the entire pour. We watch as the concrete is pumped into the forms, which are braced at the top by two-by-fours that hold the tops of the forms square to prevent movement as the forms receive the static pressure of the concrete. Newton explains that they will vibrate around all door and window openings before allowing the concrete to set. This will help eliminate voids, honeycombing, or any blowout due to bad adhesion or conformity of the concrete.

Bob talks with homeowner Howard Brickman about drying out of the new addition. Concrete can pose problems for the wood-floor installation business. Brickman's consulting business created a device that measures the relative humidity of the interior of the concrete and predicts what will happen after the concrete is covered with a floor covering. The whole exterior structure of the addition, except for the roof, is made of concrete. It's critical that the concrete that makes up the floor is dried before the wood floor is installed. This is especially true in Southern climates where there is a high amount of humidity.

…company - which conducts all design, stocking and shipping in house - was recently featured on ABC’s Eye Witness News, the New York Times Current section, the Wall Street Journal, and on “Love it or List It” a home-makeover show on Canada’s HGTV. An…

…Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina…

…green-manufactured concrete, says Jeff Wilson…
…In non-green cement] the raw ingredients…
…green-manufactured concrete, it s not a particularly…
…last forever. New York City-based Savanna…
…glass combined with concrete, called Icetone…
…designed a 60-foot cement bar top for a local…

…will work for you. Stamped Concrete Stamping is the process…
…pressing it into the poured concrete to create patterns over the…
…International of Liverpool, New York, sells a proprietary concrete deck mix, trains licensed…

…patterns to suit any design. Concrete Countertop Basics A concrete countertop mix includes sand, stone, and cement along with proprietary ingredients…
…reaction between water and the cement is regulated. A concrete surface must be kept moist…

…inch bagged concrete like Sakrete s 5000 Plus Concrete. A safe concrete mixture comprised of Portland cement (the most common type of cement mix), sand and gravel, Sakrete 5000 Plus Concrete costs approximately $5.00 for a 50-pound bag…