Insulated concrete form walls for house extension construction

This method of walling for new homes and extensions has received quite a bit of publicity over the last few years.

Programmes such as grand designs has shown this method at least two times that I know of.

This system is essentially polystyrene hollow blocks that interlock together and retain an inner connected void.

This inner void is then filled with concrete and reinforcing as the main structural supporting element.

The polystyrene blocks act as both the concrete form work and the main thermal barrier inside and externally.

I have used this system of walling for one house extension scheme which ended up being a bit of a learning experiment for the builder and myself but it did end up a success. It was quick and provided you like external rendering then the system has advantages.

Would I use it again though? probably not. This particular project was only using this walling system at the request of the client. My concerns were the unknown and trying something new that can very often come back and bite you for any new home owners of the property finding fault with the home extension.