ICFp or insulated composite concrete pre fab wall panels is your next great choice if the original ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) is currently beyond your budget range.
These insulated pre fab wall panels costs lower than ICF but is slightly faster to build but its major difference is that the factories are only in major cities in the Philippines – Cebu, Manila, and Tagbilaran Bohol. If your project site is not within those areas, you will incur additional shipping costs on these pre fab walls – nevertheless it still costs less than the original ICF.
These insulated pre fab walls are your next best thing to the original ICF. This wall panel is a pre manufactured concrete wall mixed with EPS (Expanded polystyrene) – the same material used in ICF insulation – but the way it is added is that the EPS granules are mixed into the concrete which is sealed, and then sealed on both sides by drywall at the factory – the same drywall used in the original ICF construction.
Based on its composition you can already conclude that this is not a load bearing type of wall unlike the original ICF, so you will need to have columns and beams in your house design. Once your columns and beams are built, then you will add these insulated pre fab walls, and since it is already smooth due to its dry wall surface, then the finishing and patching during painting will be faster.
As far as insulation characteristics, based on our own tests, there is little difference between the original ICF construction and the pre fab composite walls – meaning both achieves almost the same insulation capabilities, but another difference is that these walls are only 5-6 inches thick, unlike the original ICF where the total thickness is 10.5 to 11 inches total due to its minimum 5 inches solid concrete core composition, then you add 2 inches of EPS layer on both sides then top it up with the .25 inch thick dry wall on both sides of the wall for the original ICF construction.
The major difference between the original ICF and the the insulated composite pre fab wall panels (ICFp) is that in the original ICF – concrete is poured unto the forms on site, while the ICFp – concrete is mixed with EPS at the factory.
See this latest finished house in Talisay City Cebu using the insulated composite pre fab wall panels.
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