Real Houses. Real Business.
   Real Stories.

A house can be your family's best friend in times of safety, stormy times, or financial crisis.

DirectBuy Builds Its First Energy Efficient Showroom

When it came time for DirectBuy to build their new 25,000 sq ft showroom, they chose ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) construction. The decision was based on a desire to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Using ICF's reduced construction time and provided the owners with benefits of design flexibility, less air infiltration, a superior sound barrier along with greatly reduced maintenance expenses.

"ICF construction provided us with significant energy savings for the showroom and created a healthy indoor environment for our customers." Says, Bart Fesperson. DirectBuy Sales VP.

ICF Home Under Construction Survives Hurricane Katrina

The Sundberg's home construction was 85% complete, when hurricane Katrina slammed into the area on August 29 with a huge storm surge and reported sustained winds from 125mph. The water reached an elevation of 28 feet.

After the winds died down and the water retreated to the Gulf of Mexico, the Sundberg's found their home had survived the storm largely intact, with some blown out windows, and missing upstairs panels. Now they are focusing their efforts on finishing the building before the next storm strikes... They will certainly be prepared.

Tornado Flattens Neighborhood Except One House

The ability of ICF homes to withstand hurricane and tornado force winds has been long known, but was made even more evident on August 18, 2005, when a tornado destroyed most of the homes in a Stoughton, Wisconsin neighborhood. When the air cleared, one home was still standing with almost no damage: a concrete home, currently under construction, built with ICF's.

"We lost the roof of the garage and screened-in porch, and all the windows were broken, but the rest of the house [was] fine," says homebuilder Randy Settersten.