News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
You don't have to imagine. Just drive out to Buck Run and take a look at John and Sarah Rahm's new 3,200 square-foot home, now under construction.
The primary building material is preformed "grids" of a product called Ener-Grid. It is made of 86 percent recycled Polystyrene and 14 percent Portland cement. The grids are 15 inches high by 10 feet long and look like concrete. But while concrete weighs up to 150 pounds per cubic foot, Ener-Grid "elements" weigh a mere 20 pounds per cubic foot.
The grids, when stacked and glued together, create forms to be filled with concrete. Iron rebar is crisscrossed through the interior grid and concrete is poured in around it. The Ener-Grid elements remain in place permanently as an integral component of the structure.
The result is a very strong structure with an insulation value of R-36.44, and when you add plaster and stucco, that increases to R-40. Wood-frame houses built with 2X6 studs and filled with six inches of fiberglass insulation have an R-value approximately half that.
The new wall system also creates a sound barrier up to 53 decibels.
The matrix formed by the concrete, rebar and Ener-Grid is said to provide "higher stability than any other framing method used today," according to an article in Builder/Architect Magazine.
Wayne Previti, of Bend, who with the help of only one man did the Ener-Grid construction and concrete work on the Rahm house, said the material is very easy to handle. Two men can pick up the largest grid pieces. The material can be cut with a hand saw, he said.
Virtually any siding can be added, including wood products, which are simply glued on. Previti favors paint mixed in stucco, which he said remains looking great for the life of the building.
Rahm likes the Ener-Grid because of its significance to preserving the environment. "The Styrofoam is not in a dump someplace. It is being put to good use helping reduce the amount of energy used to heat and cool buildings.
"It won't rot and nothing eats it and you can put a blow torch on it and go to lunch."
The Builder/Architect Magazine article also said, " A four-man crew can frame a 2,000 square-foot house in four days."
The system apparently can be used anywhere a wall-frame system is needed, such as commercial buildings, apartment buildings and industrial buildings. McDonalds Corporation has reportedly constructed seven restaurants using the system as part of its "McRecycle USA" program.
Previti said the product concept was developed in Europe and has been in use there for at least 20 years. Ener-Grid, Inc. is based in Buckeye, Arizona with its main production plant in Riverside, California. The local distributor is Specialty Exteriors of Prineville.
Previti said there are two homes constructed of the material in Bend's Higher Ground subdivision, a project that emphasizes the use of recycled materials and energy conservation.
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