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There’s a crisis in the home construction industry, and it’s a combination of many different factors, from affordability to sustainability to a growing labor shortage. These urgencies have been compounded to make driving efficiency and innovation more critical than ever.
Fortunately, there’s a solution that’s proven, respected and the ‘not-so-secret’ solution to contractors across North America. It’s Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction, and it has become a sustainable, durable and affordable cornerstone of modern home construction.
But like all other concrete applications, the success of ICF depends significantly on the reinforcement material used within the concrete. Unfortunately, concrete reinforcement installation has been the bain of every laborer’s existence, that is until Helix Micro Rebar emerged.
It’s a groundbreaking one-inch, twisted, all-steel reinforcement mixed with concrete prior to placement to create a singular durable material. Here’s why Helix Micro Rebar is such a game-changer for ICF while resulting in more sustainable homes.
Reduce Your New Home Construction Time
Rebar installation is an incredibly labor-intensive process involving tying and placing the bars before pouring the concrete. This can be particularly cumbersome in the confined spaces of ICF construction.
Helix Micro Rebar reduces this issue by being mixed directly into the concrete, significantly reducing labor time and costs. And let’s be honest – rebar installation is the least fun aspect of ICF construction.
Contractors can now complete projects faster while also improving concrete’s durability and allowing installation crews to move on to the next phase of the project sooner.
Helix Micro Rebar helped popular YouTube Handeeman replace all the horizontal and corner rebar for an ICF home. And the results were shocking!
Helix Micro Rebar Makes ICF Blocks Even Easier to Install
Traditional rebar installation requires lugging long lengths of rusty metal, careful placement and many hours of work.
Helix Micro Rebar simplifies this process by mixing directly into the concrete mix, eliminating the need for manual tying and positioning. This not only reduces the workload for crews but also decreases errors. For contractors, this means a smoother workflow and simpler job site logistics.
Listen to what other ICF professionals are saying about Helix Micro Rebar with a listen to the recent “Build With ICF” podcast, joined by Helix Steel’s very own Erica Marr.
Improve Job Site Safety
Storing, handling, cutting and installing traditional rebar is ripe for safety risks, including cuts, strains and other injuries from working with heavy and long steel materials in awkward positions.
Helix Micro Rebar is mixed directly into the concrete at your batch plant, allowing your crews to work more efficiently and safely, keeping your job site safer while removing a major safety issue.
The Concrete Reinforcement That Adapts to ICF Complexities
ICF construction can involve unique layouts, which can make traditional rebar placement challenging.
Since Helix Micro Rebar is uniformly integrated into the concrete mix, it can adapt to any angle/design/size, no matter the complexity. This means that you will receive the same amount of strength, safety, sustainability and support without requiring custom configurations.
Increase Crew Satisfaction and Resource Allocation
Crews love building with large Lego blocks but not so much installing rebar. By eliminating the bending, cutting and tying of rebar, Helix Micro Rebar reduces the physical strain on installation crews.
Contractors can then also use their resources more effectively, focusing their construction crew on other aspects of the build instead of labor-intensive rebar tasks. Additionally, the reduced workload on physically demanding tasks can contribute to higher job satisfaction and retention.
Learn more about the ‘how-to’ of Helix Micro Rebar for ICF here.
Sustainability Benefits
All of these benefits are great on their own, but there’s yet another powerful reason to choose Helix Micro Rebar. It reduces your overall steel use, minimizes waste, and, thus reduces the carbon footprint of the entire home.
And as you may know, if you’re already an ICF convert, ICF is a far more efficient way to build, lowering household heating and cooling costs by a large margin for the entire lifespan of the building. Let’s make a difference for our environment together!
Contractors Who Know Trust ICF With Helix Micro Rebar
For contractors and installation crews, Helix Micro Rebar offers a totally new and jobsite-alterign way to complete ICF construction. By saving time, simplifying installation, increasing sustainability and improving safety, it allows projects to be completed better in every way.
For your next ICF project, trust the ICF experts and use Helix Micro Rebar makes the job easier, safer, and more cost-effective—helping you deliver high-quality results every time.
Rethink everything you know about rebar – a one-inch (22-mm) twisted piece of metal is here to deliver shorter construction schedules and cost savings for every insulated concrete form project.
Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction is a practical construction technique that improves construction processes, while also providing many other benefits for residents. ICF is often chosen as a superior material to construct homes for its energy efficiency, structural integrity, acoustic insulation and construction simplicity. But not everything with ICF is an advantage – installing rebar and flowing concrete around it can be a time-consuming, difficult and expensive process. In most ICF applications, more rebar is required when compared to conventional construction, so although it can be argued that ICF is stronger than standard concrete-poured foundations, it can also be more costly. Frustrations often continue to arise with rebar inspections, which can set a project back valuable days.
It is time to make ICF even better. That’s why Helix® Micro Rebar™ was created. It is a one-inch twisted piece of metal that is mixed with concrete right in the truck. The patented twist in the metal gives it incredible strength that stops concrete cracks before they even start, outbeating rebar in practically every category.
How to Save Time on ICF Reinforcement
Think of all of the time spent on ordering rebar, delivering rebar, storing rebar, moving rebar, bending rebar, cutting rebar, installing rebar, tying rebar and inspecting rebar. For a single home, it can add up to days of man-hours – wasted.
Produced by Michigan’s Helix Steel, Helix® Micro Rebar™ can reduce the need for rebar in entire ICF structures, from the basement concrete slab all of the way to the top of the ICF walls. A construction schedule that was once a complex and logistically challenging plan can be drastically cut, which means tenant or homeowner occupancy will happen sooner, and the construction crew will move onto their next project faster.
Since Helix Steel is an American-based manufacturing company (ISO 9001: 2015, ISO 17065), delivery can take place in as little as two days, and arrives in easy-to-handle boxes. The Helix® Micro Rebar™ is poured directly into the concrete mixer, then pumped into ICF, which expedites the pour time and eases onsite frustrations. Its lighter doses help the concrete to smoothly flow down the forms.
How to Save Money on ICF Reinforcement
The purchase price of Helix® Micro Rebar™ is similar to standard rebar, but the real savings of 20% to 30% is seen when you consider all of the other cost-saving advantages.
The biggest cost savings benefit is that a reduction in rebar installation also reduces all of the hours that laborers would have spent on the project.
There are also cost efficiencies with the engineered strength and durability of Helix® Micro Rebar™ in an ICF project. For example, a typical ICF basement wall is eight inches wide, but with Helix® Micro Rebar™ it may only require six inches. This could save significant concrete costs and pour time.
The importance of safety on a jobsite as a time saving benefit can not be underestimated. Helix® Micro Rebar™ results in fewer laborers, less time, smaller storage requirements and less contact with steel reinforcement – all of which add up to a safer environment. In many cases, choosing Helix® Micro Rebar™can also reduce the use of pumps and cranes.
Simplifying and Savings with ICF
Helix® Micro Rebar™ saves time, saves money and simplifies the jobsite. From what was a complex, costly and time-consuming process is now just three words: “stack and pour”.
Compound the benefits with complimentary engineering support for dosing, mixing and pouring, and you end up with the perfect concrete reinforcement.
Helix Steel’s team of in-house engineers have engineering tables pre-designed for most form sizes and conditions. We also have the tables stamped and approved in our ICC report, and full code approval to carry building loads under the ACI 318, IBC and IRC.
ICF Improved With Helix® Micro Rebar™ Concrete Reinforcement
We all know that ICF is a great product, but add in proactive Helix® Micro Rebar™ and you will have more time to spare, lower costs and all of the benefits you would expect from one of America’s leading concrete innovation businesses, Helix Steel.
Learn more about some of the thousands of ICF projects that Helix Steel has played a role in using our online Helix® Micro Rebar™ project finder.
For more information on using Helix® Micro Rebar™ in your ICF project contact Helix Steel right now.