POURED IN CONCRETE, SET IN STONE

The phrases ''Poured in concrete'' and ''Set in stone'' take on entirely new meanings at GIFFORD PARK, a new custom home development in Springdale, Utah.  Located at the foot of the spectacular red cliffs of Zion National Park, Springdale hosts over 3 million visitors annually, many of whom return year after year to enjoy the incredible beauty and serene setting of what many refer to as the ''gem of the National Park System.''  The luxurious GIFFORD PARK homes offer several benefits to both homeowner and community, including solid concrete construction, beautiful stone masonry, naturally-blended colors, rare timbers, and economical heating and cooling advantages.

The walls of GIFFORD PARK Luxury homes are literally ''Poured in concrete.''  Using updated construction methods, the exterior walls are formed with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs,) strengthened with re-bar, and filled with concrete.  The resulting structure has many benefits for both the builder and the homeowner.

For the builder, construction of the walls is quicker with the ICF method than with conventional stick-built methods.  It takes fewer men to assemble the styrofoam forms and prepare them to be filled with concrete.  ICF walls are also easier to build straight and true than walls built with lumber because they are formed on the spot, rather than relying on wood which is often warped or otherwise flawed.  Construction of these homes also uses fewer trees, which protects and preserves the environment.

For the homeowner, a home that is ''Poured in concrete'' is more durable, soundproof, energy-efficient and disaster-resistant.  In an era of rapidly rising home fuel costs, the ICF walls, which boast an insulation value of R55 compared with the conventional building average of R19, will pay dividends in lower heating and cooling costs for the life of the structure.

Surrounded by Zion National Park, GIFFORD PARK homes are ''Set in stone.''  They reflect the ''parkitecture'' style of the lodge, guest cabins, and superintendent's home built in Zion National Park in the 1930's.  In order to construct these early buildings, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC's) quarried sandstone in the Park and painstakingly shaped each block by hand as it was placed in the walls.  GIFFORD PARK stone masons use the same techniques to extract sandstone from a nearby quarry, haul it to the site and hand-carve it into the blocks which form the exterior walls of the homes.  The resulting stonework, which has been featured on the covers of several national magazines, blends the homes aesthetically with their beautiful natural surroundings (visit www.giffordpark.com).

The rich, beautiful colors of GIFFORD PARK homes are carefully selected to blend in with the surrounding hillsides.  The colors of both the tile roofing and the stucco walls were created especially for the development.  The natural colors extend to the interiors of the homes, draping the walls, floor coverings, tile tub-surrounds, and granite countertops in the rich colors of Zion.

Accentuating the beauty of the development and adding durability to its construction, GIFFORD PARK's wooden beams and patio decking are constructed from timbers that have been reclaimed from an abandoned railroad trestle that carried puffing steam engines across the Great Salt Lake for over a century.  These Douglas Fir and Redwood timbers originated in old growth forests and are extremely rare in the modern timber business.

Even the heating and cooling at GIFFORD PARK is environmentally friendly.  Through a system called ''geo-exchange'' heating and cooling for the homes is derived from the intrinsic heat of the earth.  No natural gas is consumed by the system.  There is no combustion in the home, no explosive gas, no carbon monoxide, and, in fact, there is not even a flue through the roof of the house.  Plastic pipes inserted into holes drilled to a depth of 200 feet in the yard carry fluid into the ground.  After absorbing the earth's heat, the fluid is pumped back into the HVAC unit where its heat is extracted and circulated into the home.  In the summer, the process is reversed and the heat inside the house is cycled through the HVAC unit and returned to the ground.  A two-year case study of a 3,500 sq ft home in GIFFORD PARK reveals that the building can be comfortably heated and cooled for only $0.68 per day or less than $20.00 per month.

Concrete homes have never been more beautiful or more environment-friendly.  They have never been built in a more beautiful location.  GIFFORD PARK is where the best that man can build meets the best that nature can provide.  ''Poured in concrete'' and ''Set in stone,'' GIFFORD PARK HOMES are a proud addition to the natural beauty and serenity of Zion National Park.

For further information about GIFFORD PARK HOMES, contact Allan R. Staker at:

 (303) 794-5913 or  (435) 772-3563 or email: allanoil@msn.com