Portland Cement Association

Building with Insulating Concrete Forms

Volume 19/Number 2 July 1998 5420 Old Orchard Road Skokie, Illinois 60077-1083 Phone: (847) 966-6200 Fax: (847) 966-8389 Web Site: www.portcement.org Residential contractors are looking for new ways to build. The continued decline in the quality of framing lumber and unpredictable price fluctuations have placed innovative concrete building materials in the forefront as workable alternatives to conventional homebuilding techniques. Insulating Concrete Form building systems, or ICFs, combine ease of form assembly, and the strength and mass of concrete, with the energy saving and low infiltration features of stay-in-place insulating forms.

by Donn Thompson Program Manager, Residential Technology, Portland Cement Association Insulating concrete forms (ICFs) are still new to many homebuilders and contractors. The simple suggestions given here highlight the practical aspects of construction using ICFs.

ICF Systems
Two characteristics are used to classify the various ICF systems that are available: the size and configuration of the forms, and the shape of the concrete core created within the forms.

Contents
Building with Insulating Concrete Forms

Types of Forms
Individual form units can be described as panels, planks, or blocks. Figure 2 illustrates these three types of forms. Depending on the manu-

Concrete Drying Time Hot Weather Concrete Workability Cement and Concrete Internet Sites New Literature Fig. 1. Insulating concrete forms can take on many configurations; those shown here have the traditional gable that is popular in homes. (65711) PL982

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Fig. 2. ICF panel, plank, and block systems.

Fig. 3. Cut-away views of flat, grid (uninterrupted), and post-and-beam systems that show both the formwork and the shape of the concrete wall.
ners until the entire first course has been placed. Gaps between forms are filled with adhesive foam. Placement of the first course is critical. It must be accurately leveled, which is done by shimming or shaving the bottom of the formwork as required. Units placed above the first course must be set carefully to maintain proper alignment of the vertical cavities for the entire height of the wall. This also ensures proper alignment of ties and integral fastening surfaces. Curved walls are easy to form. Vertical strips of material are removed from one surface of the form so that it can be bent to create the inside of the curve. The other form face (outside) is scored. The form can then be bent to create the curved wall section. Like conventional concrete foundation walls, below-grade ICF walls must be protected from moisture in the ground. Unlike conventional concrete, foam forms are not compatible with solvent-based dampproofing or waterproofing materials. The manufacturer of the form should be consulted to identify appropriate materials to protect the foam forms from ground moisture.

facturer, all three types can be preassembled in the factory and arrive ready for erection. The connection between units depends on the configuration of the form edges. Panel and plank systems usually have flat edges, requiring separate connectors or fasteners to hold individual sheets together. Since block systems are usually molded products, it is possible to create more elaborate edge profiles. Most blocks have edges that feature interlocking teeth or tongue and groove configurations, eliminating the need for separate fasteners. Form faces are held together by plastic or metal ties that are extended out to the exterior faces of the form to provide fastening surfaces for securing finishes. Block systems may contain integrally molded ties or may be designed with foam webs that connect the interior and exterior faces. Fastening of finishes for these systems can involve additional furring or fastening strips installed in the joints between each course of form.

form pattern. These posts and beams are connected with narrower webs of concrete. If the forms were stripped away, the appearance of the wall would resemble a breakfast waffle. Steel reinforcement is located in the post-and-beam portion of the wall. In addition to the flat walls and web walls, there are perforated walls. These walls are post-and-beam wall systems, distinct horizontal and vertical members that intersect at regular intervals. Forms for these walls are solid foam with vertical and horizontal cores for the concrete. The spacing of the post-and-beam members can vary from fairly tight configurations similar to screen grid systems without the solid concrete webs, to true post-and-beam systems with wider spacing. Reinforcement is placed within the separate horizontal and vertical members.

Wall Forming
Typically, three to four laborers can construct an ICF home. At least one member of the crew should be experienced with carpentry and concrete work. Any conventional concrete or masonry foundation system can accommodate ICFs. The forms are placed directly on the footer, stem wall, foundation wall, or slab. Short sections of rebar or dowel should be embedded in the top of the foundation, aligned with the ICF cavities above that will be filled with concrete. Chalk lines are snapped, and base plates are set to align the first course of forms. Base plates can be either strips of wood, like 2 x 4s, or metal guides that are attached to the top of the footing. Corner forms are set first. Straight forms are then set adjacent to the cor-

Types of Concrete Walls

The type of concrete wall created by the forms can be flat, grid, or postand-beam systems. Figure 3 illustrates these types of concrete walls. Forms that are flat inside create a continuous wall of constant thickness. The thickness of the concrete portion of the wall can vary from as little as 90 mm (3-5/8 in.) to a maximum with some systems of 280 mm (11 in.) or more with custom forming. Steel reinforcement is placed horizontally and vertically within the continuous wall of concrete. Grid systems create a wall profile that consists of vertical posts and horizontal beams running in a uni2

Wall Openings
At door and window openings, framework called a buck covers the ends of the forms around the entire perimeter of the opening. The buck prevents concrete from flowing out of the open ends of the forms at wall openings, and provides an attachment surface for the installation of windows or doors. During the placement of concrete, the bucks must be braced. Usually, bucks are built with pressure treated lumber, but several

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July 1998 manufacturers make premolded plastic bucks that can be cut and slipped over the ends of the forms. or rodding can weaken the form, resulting in form rupture as concrete pushes through weak spots. This is called blowout, and if it occurs, the placement of concrete in this area must be stopped immediately. Then steps must be taken to repair and shore the weakened section of form.

Framing
If the top of the wall will support a roof, the roofline is marked and the forms are cut. When the concrete is placed, anchor bolts or hurricane straps can be embedded for roof framing attachment. If the wall will support intermediate floor framing, there are two ways to attach the floor framing to the wallthe ledger method and the pocket method. With the ledger method, a framing member to receive the floor joist ends is bolted to the concrete wall with anchor bolts embedded in the concrete. If wood framing is used, the ledger coming in contact with the concrete must be pressure treated or protected from the concrete by sheet plastic. The pocket method involves slotting the forms at the floor joist locations and inserting wood blocks to create bearing pockets in the concrete for each joist. The blocks are removed and joists inserted in the pockets to bear on the concrete walls. Wood joists will need to be pressure treated or have water-resistant coatings applied to the ends bearing on the concrete.

Utility Installation
The installation of electrical wiring and plumbing involves the notching or routing of the form surface to create chases for the placement of utilities. Careful planning is required to locate sleeves where needed for any through-wall penetrations.

Interior finishes are attached to fastening surfaces provided by ties, or with furring attached to the foam ease of access around the construcforms. Kitchen cabinets are installed tion site. The concrete mix design rec- with blocking or plywood embedommendations of the project engided flush with the interior face of neer, architect, or the form manufac- the form. Exterior siding is secured turer should be followed. Flat wall like interior finishes. Brick or stone systems, having open forms and very veneers require masonry ties atfew obstructions, can be filled with a tached to the wall, and cement standard residential mix made with stucco requires the attachment of 19 mm (3/4 in.) coarse aggregate. metal lath. These are the most economical mixes, but placement requires delivery of the concrete close to the wall so it can Summary be placed by bucket or chute. More Concrete wall systems for residential Wall Bracing often, a pump mix with fairly high applications offer advantages to slump and smaller aggregate (pea Bracing is required to maintain both builders and homeowners. plumb, straight walls. Each manufac- gravel) will be used. The concrete can Building concrete homes with ICFs then be placed by boom or line pump requires some of the same skills of turer has recommendations for locations and spacing. In addition to cor- from greater distances and will have homebuilding with lumber, as well sufficient flow to penetrate smaller ners, bracing is placed at intermedias some new skills. A few of the new cavities (see Fig. 4). ate locations along the walls and at or different skills associated with Adding water beyond what the any areas of potential weakness. LoICF construction are highlighted in cations with numerous smaller form- mix design allows to increase the this article. ing pieces are particularly vulnerable. flowability of the mix should not be done since it will reduce the strength The top of the wall should be braced References to prevent the forms from spreading. of the concrete. The concrete supplier should be provided with the specific 1. VanderWerf, Pieter A. and others, InBracing materials can consist of concompressive strength, aggregate size, sulating Concrete Forms for Residential ventional wood framing or specially Design and Construction, McGrawand slump required for the project to designed braces provided by the Hill, New York, 1997, 326 pages. form manufacturer. Some systems in- eliminate the need for adding water [Available from Portland Cement Asto the mix. Plasticizers can help incorporate stand-off platforms supsociation as SP208.] crease the slump of the concrete ported by the bracing to be used by the crew at the top of the wall during without adversely affecting strength. 2. VanderWerf, Pieter A. and Munsell, W. Keith, Insulating Concrete Forms Concrete must be consolidated concrete placement. Construction Manual, SP202, Portland during placement. Tapping on the Cement Association, Skokie, Illinois, side of the forms, rodding the conConcrete Placement 1996, 150 pages. crete, or vibration of concrete are three effective methods. Each form Concrete used for ICFs will vary demanufacturer has recommendations pending on the configuration of the for consolidation. Excessive vibration core created by the formwork, and 3

Fig. 4. The concrete should be workable so that it flows easily into form cavities and around reinforcement. (67278)

Finishes

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Concrete Drying Time

by Gran Hedenblad, Ph. D., Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden Predict concrete drying times before placing floor coverings.

Excess floor moisture at the time of installation is one of the main causes of failure for floor coverings, resulting in blisters and discoloration (Fig. 1). Repairing the problem can be costly and may require temporarily vacating the building during repair. Allowing concrete sufficient time to dry reduces the possibility of failed floor coverings.

How Does Concrete Dry?

The drying of concrete is primarily a function of the amount of mix water and imperviousness of the concrete. This involves four interrelated factors: water needed for hydration (chemically combined water), water needed for placing, the permeability of the concrete, and the shape of the desorption isotherm. Drying of concrete, or the removal of uncombined water, starts at the concrete surface and proceeds inward. Measurable factors that affect drying are the water-cement ratio (w/c) of the concrete, the thickness of the concrete member, whether the concrete dries from one or two sides, the relative humidity (RH) and temperature of the air, the desired concrete RH (the moisture condition of the concrete at the time a covering is applied), and how the concrete was cured. To estimate drying time of concrete by the method described below, you must have all of this information.

ratio of the concrete and the target RH of the concrete. The target RH of the concrete floor is usually based on the Fig. 1. Floor covering delamination type of floor covering and caused by excess floor moisture. Photo type of adhesives to be incredit: B. Pashina. (68130) stalled; more impermeable coverings require lower RH conditions. Consult the floor covering manufacturer as to the apcooler air does not dry concrete as propriate relative humidity for spewell as warm air at a given relative cific products. From the water-cehumidity. ment ratio and the target RH, the number of drying days can be estiType of Curing mated. As Table 1 shows, it will take approximately twice as long to reach Concretes that are to receive floor 85% RH as it will to reach 90% RH. coverings will dry faster if they are These values will be modified by the exposed only to moist air (up to four correction factors shown in Tables 2 weeks) or if they receive very little through 5. curing. Wet curing, simulating two to four weeks of rain, adds time to Member Thickness the drying period for the three water-cement ratio levels tested as As members become thicker, the shown in Table 5. drying time increases, as shown by the correction factors in Table 2.

Estimating Drying Time

Type of Drying
Drying can occur from one or both sides of a concrete member: faster drying occurs when it takes place from two sides (see Table 3). Typical concrete members are slabs and walls. Except for basements, walls usually dry from both sides. Floors can dry from one side (top) or from both sides (top and bottom). Suspended structural slabs, as used in multistory buildings, have twosided drying. Concrete slabs placed directly on the ground, on a vapor retarder, or on a metal deck have one-sided drying.

To obtain an estimate of drying time, the base drying time (from Table 1) is multiplied by the correction factors (Tables 2 through 5), yielding the number of days after curing required to reach the desired relative humidity of the concrete. An example follows. Concrete: water-cement ratio = 0.6 100-mm (4-in.) thick placed on vapor retarder (impervious base) need 85% RH before covering Curing conditions: 4 weeks moist air Climate: air at 70% RH at 25C (77F) From Table 1, with 85% RH and water-cement ratio of 0.6, the base drying time is 135 days. From Table 2, the correction for the thickness is 0.4.

Drying Time
Based on laboratory research, researchers at Swedens Lund University, Division of Building Materials, predict the drying time (starting after concrete curing) of ordinary portland cement concrete (Reference 2). The predicted drying time is based on a reference concrete to which correction factors are applied, as discussed below. Two pieces of information that must be known are the water-cement 4

Drying Conditions
The drying conditions are a combination of air relative humidity and air temperature. Warm, dry air dries concrete faster than cool, humid air. In general, the effect of air temperature is more pronounced than the level of moisture in the air, because

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July 1998 From Table 3, one-sided drying yields a factor of 2.6. From Table 4, the combined temperature and humidity give a factor of 0.8. From Table 5, the factor is 1.0 for curing. The amount of time needed to dry this slab after curing is estimated to be: 135 x 0.4 x 2.6 x 0.8 x 1.0 = 112 days, or about 16 weeks Silica fume can be used as an ingredient in the mix to reduce the drying time: 5% addition of silica fume leads to about a 50% reduction in drying time for a water-cement ratio of 0.5 or lower. Higher doses of silica fume can lead to greater reductions in drying time. Table 1. Drying Times for Concrete Relative humidity of the concrete, % 85 90 Water-cement ratio 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 50 days 90 days 135 days 180 days 20 days 45 days 65 days 95 days

Table 2. Correction Factors for Thickness Thickness, mm (in.) 100 (4) 150 (6) 180 (7) 200 (8) 250 (10) 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.3 Water-cement ratio 0.5 0.4 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.4 0.6 0.4 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.5 0.7 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.2 1.8

Moisture Measurement
The moisture level in concrete can be expressed as relative humidity, moisture content, or moisture ratio. After the estimated drying period, the relative humidity of the slab should be measured prior to installation of a floor covering to verify that the required relative humidity is achieved. To determine in-place relative humidity, a moisture sensor may be placed in a bore hole drilled into the concrete, a core drilled from the concrete may be tested (and used to calibrate a moisture sensor), or an in-situ meter can be used. In all types of moisture measurement, there can be different sources of errors. To minimize errors, only trained professionals should measure moisture in concrete. Refer to references 2 and 4 for information on test methods.

Table 3. Correction Factors for Type of Drying (One- or Two-Sided) Drying from: One side Two sides 0.4 2.0 1.0 Water-cement ratio 0.5 0.6 2.3 2.6 1.0 1.0

0.7 3.2 1.0

Summary
Water in concrete is necessary for hydration of the cementitious materials and for workability, but some of the free water must dry before floor coverings can be installed. There are many interrelated factors affecting drying time, and the Swedish approach accounting for each of these factors can help estimate at what age the proper moisture level in the concrete can be reached. This will increase the chances of a successful floor covering installation. Table 4. Correction Factors for Climate (Relative Humidity and Temperature) Relative humidity of the air, % 35 50 60 70 80 Air temperature, C (F) 10 (50) 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.7 18 (64) 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 25 (77) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 1.0 30 (86) 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9

References
1. Hedenblad, Gran, Drying of Construction Water in ConcreteThe Swedish Experience, Issues in Moisture Migration in Concrete, ACBM Technology Transfer Day, NSF Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials (at Northwestern University), Evanston, Illinois, April 1998. 2. Hedenblad, Gran, Drying of Construction Water in ConcreteDrying Times and Moisture Measurement, T9, Swedish Council for Building Research, Stockholm, 1997. [Available from Portland Cement Association as LT229.] 3. Butt, Thomas K. Avoiding and Repairing Moisture Problems in Slabs on Grade, The Construction Specifier, Alexandria, Virginia, December 1992. 4. Kosmatka, Steven H., Floor-Covering Materials and Moisture in Concrete, Concrete Technology Today, PL853, September 1985.

Table 5. Correction Factors for Curing Curing conditions 0.5 Drying concrete to relative humidity of: One day moist air Two weeks rain, two weeks moist air Four weeks moist air Four weeks rain Water-cement ratio 0.6 0.7 85% 90% 85% 90% 1.0 0.5 1.0 0.7 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.7 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.8 1.3

85% 90% 1.0 0.5 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 0.5 1.0

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Hot Weather Concrete Workability

Control concrete workability when temperature changes occur.
At a given water content and watercement ratio, fresh concrete becomes less workable as temperatures rise. There are a number of other potential negative effects of higher concrete temperatures, such as: Accelerated slump loss Faster rate of setting Increased plastic shrinkage cracking Difficulty in maintaining air content This article briefly reviews the relationship between workability (slump) and temperature. tion of concrete temperature. Concrete A has a nearly linear response to temperature. Slump decreases approximately 20 mm for each 10C increase in temperature (0.8 in. for each 20F temperature increase). Concrete B shows more sensitivity to temperature than Concrete A. Summer construction temperatures can vary from 10C (50F) in the early morning to over 30C (86F) in the afternoon. This figure shows how different concretes respond to these typical temperature changes. rive, anticipate the changes in concrete workability. Options to control temperature include the following: Use cool mix water or substitute ice for part of the mix water Sprinkle aggregate piles and/or store them in shaded areas Avoid placing concrete during the hottest part of the day Time delivery properly so that trucks are unloaded without delay Spray the outside of mixing drums with cool water Use light-colored trucks to minimize heat gain (from the sun)

Temperature Control
For most concrete projects, slump is an important indicator of concrete workability. As concrete temperatures rise, workability can be reduced. If no other modifications are made to the concrete mix, it is likely that water will be added at the job site, and if the water-cement ratio of the concrete mix design is exceeded, lower strengths can result. When warmer temperatures ar-

Temperature Effects
Reference 1 compared two concrete mixes made with two ASTM C 150 Type I cements. The maximum aggregate size was 19 mm (3/4 in.). A cement content of 356 kg/m3 (600 pcy) was used along with a watercement ratio of 0.45. Figure 2 presents slump results (constant water content) as a func-

Reference
1. Burg, Ronald G., The Influence of Casting and Curing Temperature on the Properties of Fresh and Hardened Concrete, RD113, Portland Cement Association, 1996.

Fig. 2. Effects of casting temperature on slump.

Fig.1 Summertime requires attention to concrete workability for ease of placement and finishing. (68163)
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Cement and Concrete Internet Sites

Web sites provide quick online resources to concrete information.
New web sites make your computer one of the best resources for cement and concrete information such as specifications, standards, and guidelines. A more extensive list of web sites is available on the PCA web site at www.portcement.org. The Construction SuperNetwork (Aberdeen Group) http://www.supernetwork.net Council for Masonry Research http://www.masonryresearch.org Electric Power Research Institute http://www.epri.com Expanded Shale, Clay & Slate Institute http://www.concreteworld.com/escsi Fly Ash Resource Center http://www.geocities.com/ CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/2095/ index.html High-Performance Concrete Network of Centres of Excellence (Canada) http://www.usherb.ca/concrete Institute for Research in Construction (National Research Council of Canada) http://www.nrc.ca/irc International Cement Microscopy Association http://www.cemmicro.org International Code Council (BOCA, ICBO, SBCCI) http://www.intlcode.org International Concrete Repair Institute http://www.concrete-repair.org The Masonry Society http://www.masonrysociety.org National Association of Home Builders http://www.nahb.com Builder Magazine (NAHB) http://www.builderonline.com National Concrete Masonry Association http://www.ncma.org National Precast Concrete Association http://www.precast.org Portland Cement Association http://www.portcement.org Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) http://www.pci.org Tilt-Up Concrete Association http://www.tilt-up.org

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) http://www.iso.ch

University/Library Sites
Advanced Cement-Based Materials (at Northwestern University) http://www.civil.nwu.edu/ACBM Canadian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information http://www.cisti.nrc.ca/cisti

Government Sites
National Institute of Science and Technology http://www.nist.gov NIST Building & Fire Research Laboratory http://www.bfrl.nist.gov Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) http://www.osha.gov Ontario Ministry of Transportation http://www.mto.gov.on.ca Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) http://www.hend.com/shrp Transport Canada http://www.tc.gc.ca Transportation Research Board http://www.nas.edu/trb Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center http://www.tfhrc.gov U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Information http://www.usace.army.mil U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station: REMR Database http://www.wes.army.mil/cgi-bin/ remr.wais.pl U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Materials Engineering Research and Laboratory Group http://www.usbr.gov/merl U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) http://www.epa.gov U.S. EPA: Envirofacts Warehouse http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/ emci/emci_query.html

Industry and Professional Organizations

American Coal Ash Association http://www.acaa-usa.org American Concrete Institute (ACI) http://www.aci-int.org ACI Committee 318 http://ce.ecn.purdue.edu/~aci American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) http://www.pavement.com American Concrete Pipe Association http://www.concrete-pipe.org American Concrete Pressure Pipe Association http://www.wateronline.com/companies/accpa/accpa.html American Road & Transportation Builders Association http://www.artba-hq.org American Society of Civil Engineers http://www.asce.org ASCE Committee on Emerging Materials (Materials Engineering Division) http://www.cemr.wvu.edu/-wwwcfc/ asce Brick Industry Association (formerly Brick Institute of America) http://www.bia.org British Cement Association http://www.bca.org.uk Building Research Establishment (U.K.) http://www.bre.co.uk Canadian Portland Cement Association http://www.cpca.ca Cembureau (European Cement Association) http://www.cembureau.be Civil Engineering Research Foundation http://www.cerf.org Concrete Homes http://www.concretehomes.com Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute http://www.crsi.org Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association http://www.csda.org

Standards
AASHTO, American Association of State Highway Officials http://www.aashto.org American National Standards Institute (ANSI) http://web.ansi.org American Society for Testing and Materials (includes searchable index of standards, also Directory of Testing Laboratories) http://www.astm.org

Miscellaneous
AggMan Online (Aggregates Manager) http://www.aggman.com Engineering News Record http://www.enr.com Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) http://www.chem.uky.edu/Resources/ MSDS.html

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Sent to you compliments of:

New Literature
The following publications are now available. To purchase any of these, in the United States, contact Portland Cement Association, Order Processing, P. O. Box 726, Skokie, IL 60076-0726; telephone 1-800/8686733, or fax 847/966-9666 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week). In Canada please direct requests to the nearest regional office of the Canadian Portland Cement Association (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver).

Cement Chemistry, LT134

Discusses cement manufacture, cement chemistry, hydration, admixtures, and concrete durability. By H. F. W. Taylor. Published by Thomas Telford. (480 pages, 1997)

Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, LT227

Discusses concrete materials, structural design, and concrete construction. Edited by E.G. Nawy. Published by CRC Press. (1,010 pages, 1997)

Properties of Concrete, LT139

Comprehensive text on concrete properties. By A. M. Neville. Published by Wiley. (858 pages, 1996)

Strength and Related Properties of Concrete a Quantitative Approach, LT228

Demonstrates how to fine-tune the composition of concrete to maximize its strength and improve concrete quality. By S. Popovics. Published by Wiley. (535 pages, 1998)

Leas Chemistry of Cement and Concrete, LT132

Extensive reference on cement, concrete, and concrete ingredients. Edited by P.C. Hewlett. Published by Arnold. (1080 pages, 1998)

Concrete Petrography - A Handbook of Investigative Techniques, LT226

Covers all aspects of the petrographic study of hardened concrete and related materials. Authored by St. John, Poole and Sims. Published by Arnold. (608 pages, 1998)

Drying of Construction Water in Concrete, LT229

Discusses concrete drying time and moisture measurement to prevent floor covering problems. By G. Hedenblad. Published by Swedish Council for Building Research. (54 pages, 1997)

This publication is intended SOLELY for use by PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL who are competent to evaluate the significance and limitations of the information provided herein, and who will accept total responsibility for the application of this information. The Portland Cement Association DISCLAIMS any and all RESPONSIBILITY and LIABILITY for the accuracy of and the application of the information contained in this publication to the full extent permitted by law.
advantage and avoiding problems. If there are problems or ideas readers would like Intended for decision makers associated with design, management, and construc- discussed in future issues, please let us tion of building projects, Concrete Technol- know. Items from this newsletter may be ogy Today is published triannually by the reprinted in other publications subject to Construction Information Services Depart- prior permission from the Association. For ment of the Portland Cement Association. the benefit of our readers, we occasionally publish articles on products. This does not Our purpose is to show various ways imply PCA endorsement. of using concrete technology to your

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Direct all correspondence to Steve Kosmatka, Editor Jamie Farny, Assistant Editor Concrete Technology Today Portland Cement Association 5420 Old Orchard Road Skokie, Illinois 60077-1083 Phone: 847/966-6200 Fax: 847/966-8389 E-mail: steve_kosmatka@portcement.org E-mail: jamie_farny@portcement.org

Printed in U.S.A. 8

PL982.01T

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