For more than 30 years, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the building materials industry. Ask anyone—the way we design and build homes today is drastically different than in the late 1980s. Not just energy-efficiency requirements, engineering design or the building materials themselves; the needs of structures, expectations of code officials, and desires of customers has fundamentally shifted. Luckily, at the same time, building material science has more than kept pace and in many cases exceeded the needs and requirements for today and into the foreseeable future.
ICFs were initially chosen as a building material to build basements and other below grade structures more cost effectively with higher energy-efficiency than traditional construction methods. The choice of foam insulation for the ICFs was one the greatest developments for ICF technology. Foam insulation in its many forms is the only type of material that delivers insulation for all types of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. By choosing this material, ICFs create the most highly efficient building envelope possible. Even today, other wall systems are turning to foam to create continuous insulation on the outside of structures to meet code requirements.