News Story: The National Standards Development Committee of the Portland Cement Association (PCA) has approved the first PCA standard utilizing the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited voluntary consensus process.

The new standard, PCA 100-07, “Prescriptive Method for Design and Construction of Residential Concrete Walls”, facilitates the use of cast-in-place concrete wall systems built with either removable or stay-in-place forms, such as insulating concrete forms (ICFs). It applies to the construction of detached one-and-two family dwellings.

PCA 100-07 provides a simplified approach for the design and construction of cast-in-place concrete foundation and above-grade exterior walls. It is based on the requirements of ASCE 7-05, “Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures”, ACI 318-05, “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete” and test results.

PCA anticipates that the standard will be referenced in the 2009 edition of the “International Residential Code for One-and-Two Family Dwellings” (IRC), and will be available from PCA by the end of the year.