Replies

1. 
   Jonathan_Stonely | May 28, 1999 10:02am | #1

   *
   I have built two homes with an icf product called "blue maxx." I also am fairly familiar with "rastaform." These product have the right approach but still need much refining to get them in mainstream building market. The product performs very well once installed, but thats the catch. Installation, I found was difficult, "blowouts", wavy walls, walls out of plumb and out of square made me very sceptical. I'd say research the product first, find a qualified installer and get a warrenty covering quality of workmanship. Dont try them yourself, "diyr friendly" is often included in the sales pitch. I found the framers didnt like the product(too slow) and formsetters arent skilled enough. Again, do lots of research! You may find a better way

2. 
   Ron_Budgell | May 31, 1999 06:15am | #2

   *
   I've built one 2 1/2 storey house to the roof and foundations for 3 additions with ICFs, both "Blue Maxx" and "Lite Form", and I'm a fan. There's advantages and disadvantages to both (fancy that)and there must be another dozen systems on the market that you could say the same thing about, but what you end up with is a solid, strong, quiet, warm structure. You should look somwhere else to find cheap, though.

   I'd be very surprised if there was any cost advantage to using ICF for a crawlspace foundation. One big advantage of these systems for me is that it's put foundation forming into my hands at a reasonable cost so there's one less sub I have to rely on, co-ordinate and wait for. That can be worth paying a premium for. And also, even if my work isn't great, I expect the next one will be better.

   If the space inside is to be insulated and finished then the cost is close to that of any other way of doing the job.

   IMHO and with my limited experience, I'd say the Blue Maxx is best for straight runs and square corners especially if the structure is sized to suit the block dimensions. Lite Form is good for angles, different or changing wall thicknesses and because you can pre-assemble panels and stockpile them until needed. You can be assembling the second floor while the first is still hot.

   I don't think strength is a problem with any of these systems. You use lots of steel and the concrete gets cured properly to attain most of its potential.

3. 
   Guest_ | May 31, 1999 06:15am | #3

   *
   I live in Arkansas and today saw my first insulated concrete form blocks (seen them on TV but up north). They're actually building the walls of some duplexes out of these. My question is, could you actually use these to pour the foundation (for a crawl space home) -- would the resulting pour be strong enough?

   What got me to wondering about this was an engineer I used to work with designed his house so that the crawl space functioned as the inlet plenum for his HVAC system -- he has no supply ducts! Think about it: the ground is always 65 degs or so, no ductwork needed, less (no??) insulation in the floor (seems that insulating the foundation would be cheaper -- less total area), you can put registers anywhere you want (and as many as you want).... I haven't discussed this with him yet, but it seems interesting -- and probably a lot cheaper.