Habitat for Humanity has started work on a house in Dallas using a different method of construction. Habitat has built about 100 homes in the Joppa neighborhood in southern Dallas over the past eight years.
The house being built now is the first in Joppa and the first in Texas to use "Insulating Concrete Form" construction. Instead of a wood frame, the house is being built with foam panels that will be filled with four inches of concrete.
"The foam then stays in place. It provides the best-insulated envelope for any kind of building construction you can buy," says Gregg Lewis, executive vice president with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
The association is working with Habitat for Humanity to build 50 ICF homes in 50 states.
"Most folks, once they've had the chance to do this, they become enamored of it," Lewis says. "Concrete and ICFs wind up becoming the systems a lot of folks will use."
"I didn't even know it was the first home in Texas like this," says Yizet Tomb, who is helping build the house and will move in with her two kids next March. "I'm just shocked."
Last week, lumber prices hit a six-month high. Lewis says ICF construction is becoming more popular as concrete becomes more cost-competitive.
Lewis says, in addition to providing better insulation, ICF construction can better withstand severe weather, including strong winds and high water.
"These houses, they do not burn, they do not blow down in a hurricane or tornado. They're just as safe and sound as you could hope for," he says.
Lewis says the finished home looks the same outside, with builders able to use whatever trim the homeowner wants.
"Most folks, once they've had the chance to do this, become enamored of it," he says. "Concrete and ICFS end up being the systems a lot of folks will use."
The building supply company, Lehigh Hanson, donated the concrete.
"We're very interested in the technology," says Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications David Perkins. "But the exciting part about this is this home we are building is going to be durable and resilient and is going to last for decades."
Perkins says ICF construction can better withstand both triple-digit heat and sub-freezing temperatures while also being more likely to limit damage in strong winds.
The house should be completed in March.
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