block construction

[skydawg]

Hi,
I was wondering why there seem to be few,if any,houses built from block in Hawaii,when that`s all you see in Florida.Seems like a good cure for the termites,as well as cheap,at least on the mainland. Tom

[Orchidlandguy]

You might want to check out the building forum here on punaweb.
I know the folks here who have the cement block buildings have MOLD problems, maybe that is why there are so few of them.

[Rob Tucker]

Cement block goes by a number of names. Here in Hawaii it is generally referred to as "hollow tile". Mainland in the trades it is called C.M.U. (concrete masonry unit). Probably used more commercially in Hawaii than for residential but there are a number of them around. If you have interest in termite proof building methods my company specializes in that subject though I don't sell CMU. My company info is at www.castleblock.com

PS I am going toi move this topic into the Building Forum soon.

Assume the best and ask questions.

Punaweb moderator

[OpenD]

My impression is that cement, cement block, concrete, ready-mix... all that kine stuff... is considerably more expensive here on the islands than it is on the mainland, due to transportation costs.

Is that so?

[Rob Tucker]

Generally true for all materials that are shipped here.

There is new technology available that improves the efficiency and costs of concrete construction. The Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) system I use gets the full strength of a concrete wall with only 26% volume of concrete. German engineering. It is also 6 hour fire rated and R-30 insulation.

[OpenD]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rob Tucker

The Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) system I use gets the full strength of a concrete wall with only 26% volume of concrete.

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I'll have to follow up with you about that. I'm very interested in ICF construction, bought a book on it, think it's great for Hawai'i, and I am considering it for (among other things) an off-the-ground slab floor in place of wood construction. Saw it used on the East Coast for a second floor in a thin-film ferro-cement dome and it was brilliant.

Seems like ICF would also be good for a circular stem wall on sloping ground under a dome too, but it would have to be engineered to include a compression ring in a ring beam at the top.

One day maybe my wallet will catch up with my imagination... [:p]

[Hotzcatz]

Hollow tile, CMU's, whatever you call them, you can't call them "earthquake friendly".

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"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson

[Rob Tucker]

I have to disagree as far as ICF is concerned. The concrete system my home is built from is tested and passed at over 900% of wood frame capacity in a shear rack... and it didn't really cost more. Plus 6 hour fire rated.

[TrevorKane]

Friend of ours husband works in the government, speaks Farsi, has done a lot of work in the middle east. When it was time for him to build an addition on the house, he spec'ed concrete block poured full with concrete and rebar rods.

Not the cheapest method of construction, but according to his experience it is very hard to break, even with bombs.

[laniA]

@ Rob :How many houses on the East side of BI are built with ICF blocks?
What subdivisions? Thanks.
@ TrevorKane : Can you ask your friend what is the price comparison if he 'd built the same with wood? Thanks.