As with all wall systems, Tech Blocks lend themselves to some building designs and not others. The following is a guide for designing with Tech Block in such a way as to reduce unnecessary waste and labor costs.

1. A general rule regarding the overall use of Tech Block is that sharply curved walls are not feasible, and a design that features a profusion of curved surfaces is probably better built with some other product. Curved walls are a problem for most wall systems since, not only are most walls easier to install in straight lines, but most of the other materials that attach to the walls, such as drywall, windows, doors, trusses, etc., are designed for flat or straight surfaces. This doesn't mean that a proposed home can't have some curved walls - it is in fact common for Tech Blocks to be considered as the predominant building material for the exterior walls of a given structure, and then part of the wall, say at a curved bay window, would be wood stud. But a home that derives its design primarily from tight radius walls isn't appropriate for Tech Blocks.

2. Since the blocks are 48" in length, designing buildings with dimensions in increments of 2' creates the least waste and labor costs. This also is compatible with most other building materials, most notably trusses and drywall.

3. The height of the blocks should also be considered during design. Since the blocks are 16" high, window and door header heights and locations may be judiciously chosen to work with increments of that measurement. For instance, five rows of blocks measure 6'8" in height, and six rows measure 8', which are common exterior window heights. Similarly, block heights of 32" and 48" are common for window sill heights for living and bedrooms. Sticking with these dimensions will expedite construction, reduce waste, and save money.

4. Block size is also important when considering the overall height of the wall. Since the blocks measure 16" tall, and top plates measures 1-1/2", Tech Blocks are perfectly sized for 8' truss-type or rafter walls using drywall on the inside. Drywall usually measures 1/2" in thickness, and since it is installed on ceilings before it is installed on the walls, the ceiling drywall reduces the overall 6-block wall height from 8'1-1/2" to 8'1". When 8' of drywall is installed on the walls, the extra 1" is left at the bottom, to be covered by baseboard. It is necessary to leave this space so that the drywallers can get their fingers under the drywalls' lower edge to install it.

Of course, the trend lately has been for higher exterior wall heights, and the heights above the nominal 8' height that utilize full blocks are 9'4", 10'8", 12' even, and so on. The blocks, however, can also be cut in half lengthwise without much trouble, and you can therefore choose wall heights that are increments of 8" without having any waste.

Having said all of the above, please be assured that Tech Blocks are user friendly, and allow the installation of windows and doors of any size and at any location. Similarly, wall heights of any dimension are possible within the parameters of the engineering.