ICF Supply & Exports
ICF made in the UK and available for Export
Made in the UK.
PolySteel ICF is manufactured by Moulded Foams Ltd. based in the Blackwood Industrial Estate in Newport, South Wales.
Moulded Foams is the UK’s leading designer and manufacturer of moulded foam materials. Our ICF PolyBloks are manufactured by molding machines and moulds made by Hirsch. Hirsch has led the world in designing and manufacturing EPS moulding machines for 35 years.
At PolySteel, we carry a very large stock of PolyBloks so that we can deliver to any customer within 2/3 days of payment. The warehousing and delivery is carried out by the Virgina Hayward Logistics from their 400,000sq ft warehouse that lies just south of the A303 between Shaftesbury and Wincanton.
For standard projects, we can usually supply ICF PolyBloks to UK customers within 2-3 days. However, large orders may require a few weeks notice, depending on the size of the project.
ICF Exports.
PolySteel is suitable for hot climates
Ideal for hot climate projects
ICF has many unique qualities that make it particularly suitable for hot climates such as those in North Africa and the Middle East.
Thermal Mass
Using ICF creates buildings with a narrow thermal envelope because of the high thermal mass of the concrete. Concrete is heavy and therefore requires more energy to raise it’s temperature. For instance, if a building reaches 100°F during the day and it drops to 40°F at night the thermal envelope is 60°F.
On the other hand, timber frame buildings will heat or cool at about 1°F an hour and if there are 10 hours of heating and 10 hours of cooling the building will have a thermal building envelope of 20°F.
An ICF house with high thermal mass will heat or cool at about 1/4 of a degree an hour which creates a thermal building envelope of 2.5°F heating and 2.5°F cooling which is a 5°F envelope. PolyBloks provide an increased Thermal Mass effect because the steel ties increase the conductivity of the concrete so that the cooling effect is even more pronounced.
Fire Resistance
ICF walls provide a solid concrete exterior with a 3-4 hour fire rating. While the exterior Styrofoam insulation simply melts off, the solid concrete core will provide people inside with the protection they need to get to safety. A study by the Southwest Pacific Research Institute found the emissions from burning Styrofoam are “no more toxic” than smoke from wood-frame housing.
In ‘fire-wall’ tests, ICF walls have been subjected to continuous gas flames with temperatures exceeding 2000°F for as long as 4 hours. None of the walls made from ICFs failed structurally. Timber-frame homes typically collapse after being exposed to fire for an hour or less and deaths and injury can occur from collapsing walls and falling debris.
Blast Resistance
In any country there is always a risk of terrorist attack. In an ICF building the EPS outer leaf acts as a shock-absorbing cushion for either direct impact or the compression shock wave from an explosive blast. The steel ties in PolyBloks that attach the inner EPS panel to the outer EPS panel restrain concrete fragments from penetrating into the interior of the building. ICF construction is the most cost-effective way of blast-proofing any building.
ICF is now being utilized in military buildings. In 2003, the US Army conducted a series of blast resistance tests at the Quantico Marine Base where ICF walls survived explosions as close as six feet. Another test in 2007 in Florida, showed ICFs could withstand sustained fire from a 50-caliber machine gun.
Design & Supply for Exports.
PolySteel will provide ICF on a Supply only or Design & Supply basis for any customer outside the UK. This can include projects of any type or size including blocks of flats, manufacturing units, agricultural buildings and individual residences. PolySteel will supply anywhere in Europe and can provide quotes including the transport costs to anywhere in Ireland.
Send in your drawings or a Specification of your requirements and we will provide a quotation for the Design of the Project and transport of the ICF by container to a port of your choice.
We can also provide the detailed design and the supply of all the pool equipment for indoor or outdoor luxury swimming pools as provided by our sister company Bluepools.
ICF Construction
Call us if you need more detailed information for your ICF project, browse our technical library and FAQs for construction details using Polybloks.
