Tilcon Participates in Hartford Habitat’s Construction of First Concrete House
Section: Ready Mix Concrete

Tilcon's concrete mixer pours concrete through pump into insulated forms of Hartford Habitat's ICF house

Concrete is being poured via a pump guided by a PolySteel worker (at top) into the hollow foam blocks for the walls

Connecticut’s Concrete Promotional Council (CCPC), of which Tilcon Connecticut is a long-standing member of, and Hartford Area Habitat for Humanity joined forces to build Hartford Habitat’s first full course, meaning below and above-grade, concrete house or how they say it in the industry, Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) house. The ICF house, located in Bloomfield, features the latest in concrete construction technology and is being built for the Jumpp family. Tilcon, and other concrete suppliers, helped Hartford Habitat and the CCPC by donating the concrete for the home.

ICF homes are one of the fastest growing residential construction methods. They have many benefits such as superior energy efficiency, a quieter indoor environment, and greater resistance to natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornados.

According to the CCPC, ICF’s are hollow foam blocks used to frame the exterior walls of a home instead of the usual wood or steel frame. Reinforced concrete is pumped into the forms to create a solid wall, sandwiching the concrete between two layers of high-insulation foam. Traditional dry wall is attached to the interior surface, while any type of exterior finish – siding, stucco, brick or stone – can be used. The home, once completed, looks like any other home in the neighborhood, but has the energy and disaster-resistance benefits of concrete.

PolySteel Northeast, LLC, one of the largest insulated forms suppliers in CT, donated the forms for the project.