FEBRUARY 2022 As if by providence, the very next day someone he knew reached out to him with a small side job, which he happily took on. That job led to another, then another after that, and so on. By the time school started again in the fall, Adam had someone working for him. A year later, he had three employees. “I certainly didn’t plan on that happening,” he says. “That was just the way it started, and I never went to work for somebody else again after that.” Early on, Adam says he did “basically anything I could,” and in the process he earned a reputation for being a good finisher and problem solver. For about a decade, he did a diverse array of work, from roofing to renovations to new homes and commercial buildings. He remained diverse until about seven years ago, when he decided to focus on ICF building. That decision led AMP Construction to becoming what it is today – which is one of the leading ICF builders in Ottawa. ICFs are manufactured from polystyrene and are stacked, steel-reinforced, and filled with concrete. This process creates continuous insulation and a thermal mass of concrete, making an air-tight envelope that is quiet, draft free, and does not enable mold. The benefits of building with ICF are many: It’s eco-friendly, as it is 100 per cent recyclable and uses less energy than conventional methods; it’s cost efficient, as it cuts energy costs and reduces HVAC system requirements; it’s durable, as it’s resistant to high winds, fires, and weather events, as well as rot, mildew and insects; and it’s comfortable, as it evenly heats and cools each room and acts as sound barrier from traffic, trains and neighbors. ICF offers all those benefits, Adam adds, while still allowing for “incredible design possibilities.” That’s part of what ultimately drew him to specializing in the technology. He was personally building his forever home with his wife, and
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