DID YOU KNOW?

It requires 3 to 6 million BTU's of energy and 1.7 tons of raw material, mostly limestone, to make 1 ton of clinker — one of the main ingredients in concrete.
This limestone must be heated to 1450 degree C which produces significant amount of CO2 emissions, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter.
Worldwide, 2.5 billion tons of cement are manufactured each year.
One ton of CO2 is emitted per one ton cement produced.
Cement production is one of the most significant sources of CO2 accounting for 5% of the Earth's CO2 emissions.
Cement is the most abundant manufactured material in the world.

Chapter 3: Building Materials – Concrete

by Mark Turner, CEO, GreenSpur, Inc.

Preparing and leveling the surface for the pre-framed and pre-insulated wall foundation system from Superior Foundations.

If you are a builder, chances are you like concrete as a building material. I know I do. It's strong, dependable, proven and been around since the ancient Egyptians. If you are in the business of building, you are in the business of concrete. This is not a story about getting rid of concrete, it's a fundamental part of the building process. This is a story of how we can start to use it more efficiently.

Walls are set in place on 8" of 1/2 inch crushed stone. The foundation is constructed faster and provides better drainage around the foundation.

Our design team originally had a traditional pour-in-place concrete footer and walls for the basement portion of our home. After some thought and research, we all decided that we can do better. The better ended up being a product caller Superior Wall Foundations. Simply put, its a prefabricated, pre-insulated, pre-framed wall foundation system.

Superior has been around for 20 years. Its walls do not require typical concrete footers, instead they sit on 8" of 1/2 inch crushed stone—which means less concrete, faster construction, and better drainage around the foundation. Research indicates that an uninsulated basement can account for 33% of total heat loss in your home. These walls come preinsulated with a 12.5 R value. The walls are made of up 5000 psi concrete completely water tight and gauranteed against moisture for 15 years. No mold means cleaner air inside your home. The pictures above show how the foundation was installed from start to finish—less than 3.5 hours—no waste or petroleum based form releases. In the end this wall system used almost 70% less concrete than the pour-in-place system.