who makes styrene blocks

Does anyboby know who the company is that makes a styrene block system for building walls of houses. They are an Australian company.

I saw a large house being built on Bribie Isaland a few years ago using this method.

They are blocks which lock together and then concrete is poured into the hollow center. This system would be ideal for me to build a small weekender in the country as it would not only be easy to quickly construct the main walls but have excelent insulating properties and be easy to clad and line with wallboard.

www.eco-blockaustralia.com.au

Hebel

hello,

one company is "Rmax", located in Kensington, VIC from memory

most polystyrene manufacturers will know/have a block to suit

basically acting as formwork for the concrete

just watch the rendering over this stuff, extremely important to get rendering/coating over any polystyrene product right otherwise get many cracks

you are best to get it coated as soon as possible as raw styrene will slowly go yellow and form a brittle skin, at least a preliminary coat of render

thankyou
myla

thanks guys, thats got me off and running.

I looked into this type of building system a while ago and found a WA based company importing the same type of system as Ecoblock but cheaper as the panels are made in China see them at www.formcraft.com.au . A great system and one I would use, at least for the perimeter walls if I was building.

Hi,

Zego seem popular www.zego.com.au and I have searched before and came up with http://www.insulbrick.com.au/ as well.

Try searching for "ICF" (insulated concrete forms)

Hope that helps!

Regards,
Yvonne

I am building (external walls of a new home) with an ICF product, but my private certifier will not approve it. I disagree with him, but he claims that the product doesnt comply with the building code. All the professional advice I have received clearly suggests that they do meet the BCA - as they are only formwork. However he will not approve it and we are now forced to consider brick veneer - we are very frustrated as this seems a backward step (relative to the benefits of ICF.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. By law we can not change certifier without State Ministerial approval (and months of delay (and cost)).

Has anyone built with an ICF product that was approved by a certifier that may be able to talk with my certifier?

Thanks

Does your local government body (council) not have a Building Surveyor, or the equivalent? Access the state building code on-line for yourself, or ask your council for access - if specific information is not included then an application rider to your building permit application will gain for you a positive result.
We should all remember experts are often "drips under pressure" and are not almighty - they do make errors.:p

soth

Speak with the company that is going to supply the polystyrene to you.They would have something to support their use,unless they are a new company and you are their furst customer !

Tools

hello,

i suggest you also examine the Building Code of Aus and specifically ask why you cannot use this wall system

i find many certifiers are enforcing owner/builders to brick veneer for some reason (i think water damage)

they love weep holes, flashing, timber frames etc

keep in mind that any solid wall construction must be coated with an acrylic paint system and have an extremely good damp proof solution

they should also have a seperate engineering document (form 13) for things like slenderness ratio's, wall thickness, wind loading, lintels etc based on your specific project

a cavity brick or solid brick wall would also require this certificate

thankyou
myla

Form 13 doesn't exist anymore...same deal but it is called something else now that escapes me.

Tools

Thanks for your all your comments. I will try the council Monday.

I forgot to include originally that I have reviewed the BCA, sought opinions from a number of sources including Planning SA (Govt Dept), the Master Builders Association, Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia and the ICF manufacturer. They are all surprised that my application is not being approved owing to ICF.
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They all advise that ICF products meet the requirements of the relevant Australian Standards and BCA requirements AND are in quite wide use in Australia.<o:p></o:p>

The certifier has all the manufacturers technical specs, but seems to believe that ICF is a composite construction that is not covered in the BCA. He has not been able to clearly articulate any other objections - but he is a bit vague.

Based on the manufacturers information I have advised him in writing that ...
ICF construction is not composite construction as the structural integrity of the wall system comes entirely from the concrete and reinforcement as specified by the design engineer. The only difference between an ICF concrete wall and a conventionally formed concrete wall is in the forming technique, the permanent insulation and the fact that they can also provide better quality concrete in warmer climates. The EPS panels do not play any part in the structural elements of the building. The foam could be removed after the concrete has cured (but the is not the intent).

But he seems to believe the only way he can approve it is if I have CSIRO testing and acceptance.

Another problem is he wont contact any of the technical bodies above that may assist - he advises that it is his job to assess what I provide to him (i.e. it seems he doesnt want to call others). And, those bodies say it is not there role to lobby private certifiers for an individual building application (I can accept this more than I can accept the certifiers views).

Hopefully the council assist, but I am not holding out much hope. Any further comments would be greatly appreciated. Note we have built brick veneer before without any problems.

Thanks

Darren

hello,

do you have specific engineering for your project or are you using generic figures from the ICF supplier

dealt a lot with Hebel and this was a continual problem where people would use info out of tech manuals, but not have specific details for thier own projects

some certifiers would accept some wouldnt

thankyou
myla

The engineering is by my engineer, not from tables provided by the ICF manufacturer - but the resulting design is the same anyway in this case. I think my engineer is surprised by the certifiers stance, but he is not saying much as he referred me to the certifier in the first place.

Darren

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darrent

I am building (external walls of a new home) with an ICF product, but my private certifier will not approve it. I disagree with him, but he claims that the product doesnt comply with the building code. All the professional advice I have received clearly suggests that they do meet the BCA - as they are only formwork. However he will not approve it and we are now forced to consider brick veneer - we are very frustrated as this seems a backward step (relative to the benefits of ICF.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. By law we can not change certifier without State Ministerial approval (and months of delay (and cost)).

Has anyone built with an ICF product that was approved by a certifier that may be able to talk with my certifier?

Thanks

---

What do you mean by 'Private Certifier' ? Wouldn't this be purely in the hands of the council

I originally asked the question about this system after seeing a house being constructed on Bribey Island in Queensland. This house was on the islands prime site, tip of the northern shore of the island on a block which went for over $1,000,000.

On the Lifestyle channnel a couple of weeks ago there was a story of a house being built with this construction in the UK. It was actually circular and the blocks were supplied to specifications by the company.

Main point of the show was this method of construction was said to be more than 3 times as strong as conventional building methods for the walls.

In South Australia we can use a Private Certifier or local council. They are basically the same as I understand it. Tommorrow I will provide a list of councils (in WA) that have approved buildings using the ICF product. I am getting really frustrated as the certifer appears to have the final say (in spite of advice to the contrary from a cement industry body, my engineer, the manufacturer, other ICF manufacturers, and the fact that other councils have approved it).

The certifier to date has discounted the professional opinions provided to him - so it is hard to know when I stop throwing money at getting other professionals to provide an opinion only to have hime reject it.

Any BCA/concrete wall experts about?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Darrent

In South Australia we can use a Private Certifier or local council. They are basically the same as I understand it. Tommorrow I will provide a list of councils (in WA) that have approved buildings using the ICF product. I am getting really frustrated as the certifer appears to have the final say (in spite of advice to the contrary from a cement industry body, my engineer, the manufacturer, other ICF manufacturers, and the fact that other councils have approved it).

The certifier to date has discounted the professional opinions provided to him - so it is hard to know when I stop throwing money at getting other professionals to provide an opinion only to have hime reject it.

Any BCA/concrete wall experts about?

---

Darrent,
I'd be sacking the Certifier and just using the council.

I live in the Bayswater shire here in West Australia. I'm currently building a steel framed house that will be clad (externally) with ICF sheeting, all approved by the council. Initially I was considering the core filled foam blocks. Before I started I enquired with the shire and they did not have a problem any of the foam type constructions.
Yesterday arvo I was at Unitex's depot here in Perth and the bloke told about a ICF house that is currently being rendered in my area (Bayswater shire WA) so on the way home I checked it out. It was a core filled blocks that have been used.

Thanks - unfortunately in SA we cant sack the certifier - I can encourage him to resign, but that is my only way out - assuming he will. The ICF product we are proposing to use is from WA. I may try contacting a council that has previously approved one and have a chat. Thanks again.

There are some pretty insecure little people out there! little people with a lot of power and not much sense. What a turkey your inspector is.

Just wondering? I assume you got a building permit to start constructing? When we did our extrension we had to have engineering specs for parts of it, which was arranged by the builder (who organised the intial drafting, permits, etc.). When the plans went to council, complete with the engineering documents, the council still had to check over the plans AND the engineering figures before given approval to proceed.

Seems to me that if your council approved your plans and specs then your inspector guy ought not have a leg to stand on, as basically you have built what the council has given you approval to build with the materials you nominated during the planning/permit process.

Hope you have a win with this one!
Jeff

Darrent there is obvious confusion by readers & just to clarify - you have opted to go with a private firm to process your building application. They process your application to ensure it meets the Building Code of Aus. & any local council reg's then issue a building permit, notify the local council, do the prescribed inspections [not necessarily in that order]
As far as the ICF product goes the company will have documentation as to how it meets 'the deemed to comply' requirements of the B.C.A.
If they don't - don't use it.
If your certifier doesn't have this documentation then i'm with him.