ICF Filter House/Pavilion

For a chronological listing of our building projects with ICF (or insulated concrete forms), be sure to look through the ICF Building Index. Along with the greenhouse, we have started building a new filter house which will also be made out of the Rewards Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). While we used the ICF for simplicity in the greenhouse, we are using them for their insulation value in the filter house. In the past, if the temperature at night was to be below freezing, John would have to drain the water out of the whole filter station to prevent any broken pipes. Once the new ICF filter house is complete (and winter is here) he will not have to drain it! You can see in the picture above, the filter station with the old metal shed in the background. The metal shed actually belonged to a neighbor who had it over his filter system but it was blown away in a wind storm. He asked if we would like it and we gladly took it off his hands - it has served us well! Since we poured the same day as the greenhouse footers were poured and Joe and his daughters were here, we had a lot of helpers. Once poured, the concrete was worked to a smooth finish, covered with plastic to maintain moisture and left to dry. Once completed, the filter house will be octagonal with a second story pavilion complete with stairs, banister and roof. It will afford a wonderful view of the vineyard! The next step is snapping together the ICF walls!