As I stepped through the front door of the custom home on Delrex Boulevard in Georgetown, I was welcomed by Frank Wowchuk, home owner and environmental innovator. Frank is a soft-spoken man with a passion for new ideas which led him to choose energy efficient insulated concrete forms (ICF) to build his house in 1994. “I was always interested in new technologies,” says Frank. His inquisitive nature enabled him to methodically think through numerous construction details from top to bottom. This led to substantial heating and power savings over the past decade. His entire gas and hydro costs in 2004 were only $1700 for his 2200 square foot house. Some of the benefits of using ICF that attracted Frank included: a continuous insulation and sound barrier, less construction waste, fire resistance, recyclable material, and less maintenance.

The construction of the building is very straightforward. Each block clicks together to form the foundation and walls of the building which then acts as a mold where the concrete is placed along with steel rebar, creating a reinforced core. The blocks contain black plastic vertical strapping at eight inch intervals. These take nails and screws for attaching wallboard on the interior, or siding on the exterior. Spaces are cut for windows and doors. Electrical and plumbing channels are cut neatly and quickly into the form for ease of installation.

Heading down to the basement I’m astonished to discover that the concrete floor isn’t cold. “The floor is the same temperature as the room,” Frank informs me. “The reason is that the floor has a vapour barrier and insulation with two inches of poured concrete, a layer of polystyrene insulation and three more inches of concrete on top.” The floor surface is painted and polished. Frank enjoys the open space in this area where one section is set up with a table for him to work on his many projects, and he can easily access the garage or cold cellar. Any future homeowner would welcome this type of blank canvas to create their dream basement.

I ask about the unusual shape of the furnace and find out that, it isn’t a furnace at all. It is a high efficiency Polaris hot water heater which brings exterior air into a sealed combustion chamber and then exhausts the combustion gasses to the outside. Located on top of the water heater is a water-to-air heat exchanger that heats the house and also contains the air conditioner evaporator coils for cooling. A special ventilator has been installed to prevent condensation problems and a much smaller heating system is used which saves on heating and air conditioning. The house remains snug from footings to rafters with no furnace required!

Coupled to the heating and cooling duct system is a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) which is required to provide fresh air to the house without the need to open any windows.

We took a few moments to sit in his bright office and chat about the house. His home is situated on a ravine, and the view of green space provides a lovely escape. When asked how he feels about this project, Frank humbly responds, “I think it’s a comfortable home. It saves trees, saves labour, cuts construction waste and the building will be standing for a long time because it’s made of concrete and I’ll never have a problem with warping studs or popping nails.”

Throughout the house are a number of extra touches that show how much thought and care has gone into the details. For example, there is a 40 breaker 200 amp power supply, the ceiling height in the basement is 8’4”, and 8’6” on the main floor. The walls around the master bedroom, main washroom and laundry room have acoustic insulation to minimize noise transmission. Even the deck is made of a recycled material that is maintenance free.

A modified truss system is used to allow for increased insulation in the roof. It’s called a “dropped-chord” truss and basically has a deeper insulating cavity. With this system insulation is banked up against the perimeter walls rather than over the top of the eaves. This is another example of how Frank made choices beyond what is typically required, with an eye to the long-term savings in both cost and maintenance.

Frank is an inspiration because he has taken years of research, curiosity, and technical inquiry and applied it to create a home that is comfortable and efficient. He doesn’t claim to have any magic formula for success, but simply a natural curiosity and desire to reduce waste and save energy. There is so much that can be learned from the model offered here, but if you ask Frank Wowchuk he’ll suggest that you look for ways to reduce maintenance and upkeep costs.

Frank doesn’t claim to be an environmental activist and he’ll be the first to admit that he isn’t perfect, but he believes in ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to taking whatever action he can to protect the environment. He’s built an energy saving house, drives a hybrid car, recycles, composts and enjoys his natural surroundings. Rather than shouting it from the rooftops, Frank has chosen to lead by example.