I have yet another small house (1200 sf) project coming up and am considering using ICFs. I have no experience whatsoever with these but everything I hear is mostly positive.
I know there are different systems out there and that the technology has evolved somewhat.
Does anyone have a favorite system and why.
Any tricks or problems to look out for? Any books or web-sites to recommend?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Terence
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I like Polysteel. They aren't the cheapest but sure have worked well for me. For me the hardest thing to learn was to relax, it just seemed to simple to work, but it works just fine.
Terence,
I built my first ICF foundation alone about 10 years ago and have built a number since with and without help.
I would have to say that the best thing you could do on your first one is to get help from somebody who has done it before.
There are numerous tricks and techniques to make things easier, better and faster. You can learn almost all of them on three jobs.
I wish I had had the chance to not cast my learning curve in concrete.
I don''t type easily enough to embark on a major essay here on ICF construction, but I have three suggestion which may prove helpful
1. Search here for discussions about ICF's. Look particularly for postings by Ian Giesler. He knows a lot about different systems and techniques. He unfortunately abandoned us about three years ago.
2. Look at http://icfweb.com/ . The aforesaid Ian has a lot to do with this site, somehow. There's a lot of information there including a discussion board.
3. Call me. Email me through this site and we can talk.
Ron
TDRucker
Only you can know if you can do it.. I built mine simply by reading the manual that came with the forms, doing what it said and I'm very happy with the finished product..
That plus I figured I saved about $10,000 over the quotes I'd been given..
Try these links to JLC articles:
April 2001 My First ICF Foundation
July 2003 First Time Out With ICFs
There are several other items at JLC. Also HUD puts out a good reference for first time ICF users but I think the jist of it is that the learning curve is steep (you make a lot of mistakes on your first ICF job). Also, from what I've seen, you can't have too much bracing.
Good luck
I built my basement with Amvic ICFs in 2002. My only regret so far is that I didn't build the whole house with them, although at that time I just wasn't brave enough to trust my whole house to what I thought was a newish technology.
I was lucky because my supplier came to the jobsite and spent a couple of hours with me to get me going and came back later to check on my progress. The day before the pour he checked everything again and on the day of the pour he showed up with a crew member and basically took charge of the pour, which went perfectly. All at no extra charge.
I live in northern Michigan and my basement now stays at an almost constant 68 degrees all winter keeping warm from just the heat the boiler itself throws off. I keep the thermostat set at 50.
It was actually a lot of fun to assemble, just like putting big legos together. I think the ICFs now are even easier to use than when I did it. The bracing system is critical, but not too hard to get everything nice and plumb as long as you're careful.
ThinMan
There was an article recently in FHB by Rick Arnold on ICF'S. I followed his suggestions for the stem walls on a small addition we did recently. Worked great. Much easier than previous ICF stem walls I've done.
I have used polysteel and arxx. Recently I used BuildBlock. I really liked it, here is a link to their website:
http://www.buildblock.com/
Follow the manufacturers instructions, take your time. Find someone who has done this a few times to give you some pointers.
Luck.
The heck, you say?
Maybe you have seen it, but this is the main book (and its a free download):
The Prescriptive Manual for ICFs
http://www.pathnet.org/sp.asp?id=1014
I built this summer with Amvic - they worked great. The best advice I'd give is to use a trailer pump and small aggregate 4000 psi mix. The boom pump we used for the first pour was dropping the mix from 50' up - too violent.
We're very pleased with the results.