{"id":2870,"date":"2024-12-28T04:31:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T04:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prairieprod.vcnastaging.com\/?p=2870"},"modified":"2024-12-28T04:31:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T04:31:59","slug":"one-for-the-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/one-for-the-books\/","title":{"rendered":"One for the Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOur taxes will pay for the building today, but our kids will pay to heat and cool it down the road,\u201d local resident\u00a0Chad Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0told the\u00a0Farmington Area Public Library<\/strong>\u00a0board at an open meeting.<\/p>\n

Plans to replace the current library,\u00a0a 3,000-square-foot building dating to 1906, were finally moving forward after taxpayers in the Central Illinois community voted down two funding measures but approved a third.<\/p>\n

Now, Johnson felt the community should make another wise choice by building the library with insulated concrete forms, or ICF.<\/p>\n

While new to many, ICF has proven its value in providing superior insulation that can cut energy costs by as much as 25%. The method also creates a resilient building envelope that stands strong in storms like the\u00a0EF-4 tornado<\/a>\u00a0that leveled nearby\u00a0Washington, Illinois<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Johnson and his wife,\u00a0Candy<\/strong>, had built an ICF home in Farmington years earlier. \u201cOur utility bills are a fraction of what we paid in our 1920\u2019s-era home,\u201d Johnson reports. Convinced of ICF’s value, he founded\u00a0Sustainable Building Solutions, LLC<\/strong>\u00a0to promote its use.<\/p>\n

But will it work here?<\/h2>\n

Architect\u00a0Mark Misselhorn<\/strong>,\u00a0AIA<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0Apace Design\u00a0<\/strong>in Peoria had seen ICF homes but wasn’t immediately sure the method was right for the library project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to know more before I could agree it was good for a public building, where design and construction standards are very different from homebuilding,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Cost was a key concern. Area taxpayers weren’t about to approve a budget increase. “Also, our plans called for a dramatic high-low roof line,\u201d says Misselhorn. \u201cI wanted to be sure that structurally, ICF would support all the features we had in mind.”<\/p>\n

Experts weigh in<\/h2>\n

Sensing deep doubts, Johnson invited energy and construction experts to meet with the decision-makers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to show facts and studies that made the potential savings real,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen the board had all the facts, they were excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Misselhorn did a thorough study of structural considerations, costs and benefits before recommending ICF for the new building.<\/p>\n

The learning curve<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Officials led by Library Director\u00a0Barbara Love<\/strong>\u00a0hosted the ground-breaking celebration in September 2013 after\u00a0Bishop Brothers\u00a0<\/strong>of Peoria had signed on as general contractor.<\/p>\n

Though they\u2019d never built an ICF structure before, Bishop\u2019s skilled team was up for the challenge. \u201cThere was definitely a learning curve, but we like working with new methods,\u201d says Project Superintendent\u00a0Justin Bishop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Chad Johnson worked with forms maker\u00a0NUDURA<\/strong>\u00a0to provide training for Bishop\u2019s crew. “The lightweight forms fit together easily,” Johnson says, “but precision is key, just as it is with conventional framing. Carpenters can readily adapt their skills to this method.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working through the polar vortex<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bishop crews made a fast start last fall, but fierce winter weather threw challenges their way.<\/p>\n

During the first wall pour in late December, 30- to 40-mile-per-hour winds whipped across the open job site. \u201cHandling the styro forms was like flying huge kites!\u201d Justin Bishop says. “After getting them in place, we had to check and re-check for correct alignment while we pumped in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

January\u2019s record-low temps forced delays, but workers finished the walls during a second pour last month.<\/p>\n

No accelerators, despite low temps<\/h2>\n

Prairie\u2019s Central Illinois team provided 4,000-psi mix with uniform, \u00be-inch aggregate for the job, notes Peoria Area Manager\u00a0Dave Minor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo accelerators were needed, thanks to the insulating properties of the forms,\u201d he says. \u201cAs the concrete generates heat from the hydration process, most is retained in the walls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Standard cold-weather batching practices were performed at the plant, aiming for a 70\u00a0+\u00a0degree batch temperature with an expected temperature loss of 10 degrees during transit and placement.<\/p>\n

Sustainability wins<\/h2>\n

As soon as the weather breaks, Bishop Brothers will place the concrete slab and move forward with all other elements. Despite delays, the 9,000-square-foot facility may open as early as September 2014.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, visitors to the existing library can learn all about ICF construction at a special hands-on exhibit, says Library Director\u00a0Barbara Love<\/strong>. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of interest in what we\u2019re doing, and though ICF is not well-known in our area yet, people want to know more about it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Love and the board take special pride in the new building\u2019s sustainable, ADA-compliant design. An added dividend: the concrete walls will make interior spaces especially quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are improvements we\u2019ve needed for a very long time,\u201d Love says. \u201cThe new library will serve the community well for many, many years to come.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOur taxes will pay for the building today, but our kids will pay to heat and cool it down the road,\u201d local resident\u00a0Chad Johnson\u00a0told the\u00a0Farmington Area Public Library\u00a0board at an open meeting. Plans to replace the current library,\u00a0a 3,000-square-foot building dating to 1906, were finally moving forward after taxpayers in the Central Illinois community voted […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prairie.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}