Jerry Coombs, President
info@CoombsEngineering.com
www.CoombsEngineering.com
214-287-4696

LOCAL PROJECT WINS NATIONAL AWARD
Affordable, Energy-Efficient Design Was Key

A private residence in Princeton, Texas, just outside of Dallas, was recently recognized as one of the most innovative projects in the country, winning a prestigious ICF Builder Award. The awards are presented annually to projects that demonstrate outstanding innovation, quality, and craftsmanship in insulated concrete forms construction.

The all-concrete home won the title of Best Unlimited Residential because of its outstanding design and other use considerations. Coombs Engineering, P.C., of Plano, Texas, provided the structural design for the building, which was approximately 15,600 square feet, including balconies and covered patios. The total height of the building to the top of its viewing deck is 71 feet. Judges cited the complexity of the design, its striking architecture and the challenges the construction team overcame to set a new standard for the custom home and ICF industries.

The honor was presented as part of the ICF Builder Awards, an international competition designed to showcase the advantages of building with ICFs. The presentation, attended by hundreds of construction professionals, took place recently at the World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The home’s construction consists of concrete floors, foundation and walls using ICFs for the walls and Insuldeck Concrete joist system for the floors. ICFs are hollow foam blocks that are stacked and then filled with steel-reinforced concrete. The finished structure combines the strength of concrete with the insulating properties of foam, which stays in place to insulate and protect the walls.

This construction method can reduce energy bills by up to 70 percent, eliminate exterior noise and is extremely disaster resistant. For those reasons, it is one of the most popular ways to “build green,” costing only 5 to 10 percent more than regular frame construction.

Photographs and profiles of all the winning projects can be viewed on the ICF Builder Awards website, www.builderawards.com.

“The variety and scale of projects being built with ICFs is truly astounding,” said Clark Ricks, editor of ICF Builder magazine and organizer of the competition. “It’s time these outstanding projects received industry-wide recognition, and we feel privileged to take a leading role in that.”

More information about the construction is available at www.CoombsEngineering.com, or by contacting info@CoombsEngineering.com.