Salesmen tout 'green' stone for new LHS building
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

When Stephen Baxter and Shane Baxter mention insulated concrete forms, the businessmen have one color on their minds: green.

Although Lampasas County is known for limestone buildings, Stephen Baxter and his son hope to convince Lampasas Independent School District trustees to use ICF material at the new high school -- both to protect the environment and to save money.

Insulated concrete forms use blocks of polystyrene foam filled with concrete and reinforced with steel rebar. The filling creates a monolithic bond that prevents cracks or seams that let air enter and escape a building.

"Pretty much you take an Igloo cooler, cut the windows and doors out of it, and that's pretty much what you get," said Shane Baxter, who runs the ICF installation firm Baxter Co.

Sanger Independent School District, north of Denton, saved $300,000 in up-front construction costs by using insulated concrete forms for one of the district's campuses, Stephen Baxter said. The elder Baxter works as a sales representative for NUDURA, a Canadian ICF manufacturer.

ICFs do not require separate insulation in the walls and contain studs built directly into the blocks eight inches apart.

This can save several construction steps, the Baxters said, as builders screw sheetrock directly into the wall, and can mount interior and exterior finishes on the foam blocks. As a result, builders can cut expenses by hiring fewer

Shane Baxter believes Lampasas ISD can save even more than $300,000, as the proposed high school campus will have about four times the square footage of the Sanger school building.

After construction, school districts can cut their utility bills by as much as 50 percent, the businessmen said, because buildings made with ICFs need about half the heating and air-conditioning tonnage of traditionally constructed structures.

"I believe if the school board votes to go this route that they'll be looked at as a hero here in Lampasas County because people are going to be saying the board had enough forethought to think about next year, next two years, 10 years, 20 years down the road," Stephen Baxter said. "(I'm) definitely interested in it myself, because I don't like paying taxes."

Proponents of insulated concrete forms also tout the material as a "green" or environmentally friendly alternative to traditional building components. Along with consuming less energy, NUDURA buildings are manufactured from recycled or recyclable material, the company claims. Waste is completely recyclable, subject to local recycling programs, Shane Baxter said.

Using insulated concrete forms can satisfy as much as half of a building's federally mandated points for energy efficiency, he added.

While consulting with the Decatur and Burleson school districts, the Baxters are trying to get on the agenda to address Lampasas trustees.

As both environmental interest and concern over utility costs increase, Stephen Baxter said it makes sense to join the trend toward "green" construction.

"In the next five years I think it's going to be pretty common," he said.