Anyone have any ideas/information about finishing an ICF foundation that has one side exposed as part of the walk-out? The contractor who did the foundation wants a big price to stucco finish — any other options? I’ve been considering using vinyl siding on the taller sections, but the short (partially covered by back fill) side is, well, too short for siding.
Any info. appreciated.
Replies
I have thought about the hardipanel (looks like T111) option for this, but I don't know if it should be installed down to grade. Add some battens and it doesn't look too bad, especially next to vinyl. It should screw to the ICF webs pretty readily. I think stucco, grailcoat etc would still be the best option if cost allows.
From what most of the reply's I've received say, I should try the stucco. But I'm going to try the hardi stuff on some of the smaller areas & see how it looks. I love the R value of the foundation, and the ease of finishing the interior, but the outside has been a real challenge.
Stucco it yourself with Sto or Dryvit. It's not that difficult. Fun, in fact.
Down near the ground, there can't be any ladder work, right?
Contact your local EIFS rep (Dryvit, Sto, Parex) and get some how-to info, then get him to help you put together a material list, tool requirements, etc., get the stuff, and go to work.
Thanks - I am going to talk to the commercial supply house where I've ordered most of my building supplies and see what they have.
Most replies have said "its not difficult to apply", which my wife assures me is true (long line of builders/masons/painters). There is no ladder work, the highest point is about 7 - 8 ft. where the walk-out is.
Don't know about your suppliers, but none of the guys that sell lumber and general building supplies around here have EIFS materials.
I get my Sto stuff direct from the Sto distributor.
Sto, like the other EIFS system folks I mentioned, has a very wide range of product.
There is mud you can put right onto a bare block wall, another you can used to cover and dress a poured concrete wall, plus of course all the insulation packages.
There are excellent downloads about product and installation at their websites.
I agree with sto or drivit. you can even skip the insulation step unless you need the R factor
I agree that the EIFS stucco is the best way and not hard to do but thought I'd mention that I covered an ICF foundation about ten years ago with a self adhesive mineral surface roofing sheet between finish grade and siding. It looks just fine. I see it once or twice a week still.
I wonder if you can paint the foam?
Ron
I'm also going to look into that mineral roofing matl. The supplier I used for all the construction mat'l should be able to provide a sample to check for "looks".
No, you can't paint the foam. I asked several people, and the foam isn't made to take paint. It'll either peel off or may even degrade the foam itself.
Not ICF here, but XPS was on the outside. Original plan was stucco. Ended up going with 3'x10' copper sheets. Won't ever crack. Last I bought was $2.40/ lb (sq ft) and goes up fast.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
I bet that copper looks great, but it's too expensive right now. Plus most of the area is a short space between grade & rim of actual structure. Interesting choice of material, tho.
That's what I have - ICF walkout. Haven't done anything with it yet, but this summer I'm going to screw 1/4" durock or similar to the face and then stucco over it. The durock isn't really necessary but it provides an extra layer of protection.
The copper sheet concept sounds interesting, but seems expensive. For that $$$ I'd be using cultured stone or brick veneer.
Dontcha think you're wasting some money with durock? A proper basecoat and mesh will give you decent dent resistance beneath the finish coat. Not really knocking the durock, but you might get the same results an easier way.
Well, I may be wasting the money. I need to lay down at least one side of the house with durock because A) the electrical panel is mounted to a sheet of the stuff on the side of the ICF wall and I want to make it all level, and B) I'm not confident in the damage resistance of basecoat and mesh only over foam. I guess the Durock isn't necessary everywhere - at least the stucco finish is repairable.
For confidence, look at a lot of the drug stores and hotels around...it's what they use. The only times I've seen dings, it's be/c a car bumper hit. Nothing against durock, as I said. Just think it's unnecessary expense here.
And if you have a lot of hard fightin' friends, or rough kids, or if you let your horses and mules bump around near your outside walls, you can always do EIFS with the special-duty mesh and mud, that makes it almost fastball-proof.
I don't think you really need the durock for protection. From what the mason who installed my ICF said, they just put on a fiberglass mesh & one of several synthetic stucco products available for ICF, brand names like TuffII and Granicoat.
The Granicoat wasn't cheap, but it didn't seem that difficult. Problem is that I shy away from masonry type work, and don't have much experience with it. I leave that to my wife! She's all for trying the Granicoat (or other).
we put a 12" pc of hardie board to cover the area between dirt and siding,then started the siding from there. looked ok but i didn't like the idea that termites could slide up backside and no one would ever know. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Interesting. I've got some scrap hardiboard, I'll put that in temporary & see what it looks like. We don't have a big termite problem in the area (too cold!).
Mesh, scratch coat and visit your local stone yard and put them over the scratch coat with mortar. Do this resting on small angle iron red headed to the concrete. You can put the stone of your choice en face or stacked horizontal.