What Is an 8 Core Insulated Block?

Insulated Blocks

• Insulated blocks, also known as insulating concrete forms, consist of parallel strips of foam insulation joined by a network of plastic pieces placed between the foam. Builders use these blocks to create the basic frame structure of a wall, then pour concrete into them. As the concrete hardens, it incorporates the plastic and foam into its structure, creating an enormous piece of material with a higher R-value, or insulation rating, than standard concrete walls or concrete blocks. The foam casing on the concrete walls adds considerably to the material's ability to retain heat.

Core

• The core of an insulated block comprises the distance between the two pieces of foam. This area contains the plastic joiners and constitutes the space into which builders pour concrete. Therefore, the core of an insulated block defines the thickness of the actual concrete in the resultant wall. The thickness of the core differs from the overall thickness of the wall, because the total thickness also includes the thickness of each piece of foam insulating material used in the insulating block.

8 Core

• A number preceding the word “core” in insulated block literature or spoken parlance denotes the thickness of the core, usually in inches. An 8-core insulated block, for instance -- also written '8" core' -- contains a core 8 inches thick. A 6-core block, meanwhile, contains a core 6 inches thick. This number describes the thickness of the concrete slab at the center of an insulated block wall, and therefore affects the R-value of the wall. The thicker the block, the higher the concrete content, the better the insulating value of the wall. An 8-core block, therefore, provides better insulation than a 6-core block made from the same type of concrete.

Other Forms of Insulated Concrete

• Insulated blocks provide one of the methods available for adding foam insulation to a concrete wall. You can purchase standard concrete or cinder blocks and fill the holes in these blocks with insulating foam. Or you can purchase foam blocks coated in concrete by the manufacturer. However, each of these methods leads to the creation of a wall with gaps between the building materials. Using insulated blocks allows builders to pour concrete at the building site, and allows for the erection of a wall composed of a minimal number of enormous slabs of concrete.