Imagine living in a beautifully elevated home on elegant arched piers overlooking the beach with the lowest insurance and utility costs possible.
Imagine leaving this home during a major storm and coming back to find the interior contents exactly as it was when you left.
Imagine a home that is as strong as a large commercial building and as quiet as a library. Quit dreaming and come see that this is really possible. |
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How?
Homes built with concrete and steel using the most high tech plastic insulated forms can provide a home that can save up to 90% of the insurance costs compared to a well-built wooden framed home and can cut energy costs by as much as 3 times.
Concrete withstands pressures of more than 432,000 pounds per square foot. A square foot of 2x6 pine wall with OSB sheathing can only withstand 750 pounds per square foot. Add rebar buried in the concrete that withstands 60,000 pounds per square inch (8,640,000 pounds per square foot) and the concrete/rebar home is superior. Add five (5) inches of densely packed polystyrene foam to both sides of the six-inch thick solid concrete walls and the insulation factor can be as high as R51 (compared to R13 for 2x4 walls). Add ten (10) inches of foam below a 3-inch concrete and rebar floor integrally poured with 4 inch wide 10 inch tall concrete beams and the bottom five sides of the home is completely enclosed within concrete, rebar, and foam.
This is the insurance industry’s “Semi-wind resistive” standard that allows homeowners to save up to 65% on insurance. A ceiling constructed similar to the floor encloses the home on all six (6) sides with concrete and steel meets the insurance industry’s most stringent structural requirement called “Fully Wind Resistive”. A home that is “Fully Wind Resistive” can lower insurance costs as much as 90% depending on location.
But the real comparison is to come and see it yourself. A home built using insulated concrete forms (known as ICF’s) is nearing completion at 112 Runnels Ave (click for a map) in Long Beach. Lamar Beard, licensed contractor and owner of Upon the Rock Construction is inviting the public to come and walk through this home. Slap the walls as hard as you dare (don't hurt yourself!) Stomp on the concrete floor that is raised twelve (12) feet above grade and almost 25 feet above sea level and you will know that concrete is superior. The floor is strong enough to support the weight of the 36,000 pound crane that constructed it!!!
Termites and mold don’t attack plastic foam and concrete. So relax because you won’t need to purchase termite protection or worry about mold. Your home will always be cleaner than a wooden home.
The weak link in any home is the windows. Even in this powerful home the windows are significantly weaker than the walls. However, in the home at 112 Runnels Ave in Long Beach the windows and doors are specially designed and built to withstand winds of 140 mph. For A-Zones the PGT windows have a design pressure rating of 60 pounds per square foot. For the 3 foot x 5 foot windows in the bedrooms this means that fifteen (15) 60 pound dumbbells could be placed on the window without impacting the window. An ordinary window would have trouble withstanding just a few dumbbells many times lighter. For V-Zones the design pressure increases to 75 pounds per square foot.
And on the south side where the home will receive the highest winds and water Upon the Rock Construction has an optional steel C-channel shutter that can withstand pressures many times higher than even a solidly built wooden framed wall.
So come for your free tour. We will have the home open for viewing Mon – Sat 8-5 each day for the remainder of 2008. Imagine yourself enjoying such a home for many generations.
What features make our Upon the Rock Construction homes as good as possible for coastal living?
....well....Let's look at the combination of piers, ICF exterior, faux stucco finishes, trim, hurricane windows and doors, and superior roof....and superb curb appeal with this array of desirable features!!!!
Take a look at this great combination and you will be pleasantly surprised. Check out this slide show of the building process at one of our homes in Long Beach, Mississippi. Click to see the slides.
But once you move into the home and live in the home for a while....then you will really KNOW how good it is. UTR combines a combination of higher, stronger, cooler, quieter, more attractive, and better code compliance than any other home under $500K on the coast of Mississippi. We believe a UTR built home is exactly what's required for safe, comfortable amd economical coastal living. |
