The walls on our ICF basement were poured 3 days ago. I live 2 hr away from the building site. Went to see it and the opening for the 6ft slider is on the wrong end of the wall... Should be 16ft further down the wall. Can this be fixed? Will creating a new opening and filling this one (if possible) affect the wall strength? If we can't change it we'll need an architect to modify the house plans... Due to how the stairway comes off the first floor. I've posed these questions to my GC but would like other opinions ( is it hard to do or impossible?). Thanks

Anything can be fixed, but the question is how much $$$ it will cost to fix it?

I would be more concerned with the GC and his/her ability to read house plans. This is not simply an "oversight".

IMHO the GC needs to fix this on THEIR dime, not yours. Since it was their fault, now they can fix it properly with their time and money. Most likely they will try and find another solution but like you said, you would have to completely change the house design.

You will have to put your foot down and tell them to fix it or construction ceases until it is fixed, and they have to pay for it. They need to go back to school to learn to read house plans. How did they not double or triple check things BEFORE they stacked and poured???

It's good to know that fixing it is an option. We did change the plans... Originally it was a crawl that was changed to a full basement, but we discussed it (where windows, door, utility room would be) and he took it to the architect he works with. He wrote notes as we talked... but I didn't see the revisions. So, of course I'm blaming myself for that. But this is the second error - he sent us pictures when the footers were poured and I could immediately see the house was set 10-15 degrees off what we discussed when we walked the property together several times - affects the view. We talked about that too, but let it go....

Having these kinds of problems so early doesn't bode well for the rest of your build. You need a better system of communication with your contractor, particularly if you are going off plan.

Do you know what a "change order" is and how it works?

Posted By BeckyS on 28 Jun 2012 06:24 AM
It's good to know that fixing it is an option. We did change the plans... Originally it was a crawl that was changed to a full basement, but we discussed it (where windows, door, utility room would be) and he took it to the architect he works with. He wrote notes as we talked... but I didn't see the revisions. So, of course I'm blaming myself for that. But this is the second error - he sent us pictures when the footers were poured and I could immediately see the house was set 10-15 degrees off what we discussed when we walked the property together several times - affects the view. We talked about that too, but let it go....

What state are you in? How many homes has the GC built with ICF? Have you seen any of his ICF homes?

ICFHybrid, I am concerned about the rest of the build. Regarding a change order, these are all modifications that were discussed when we initially requested an estimate from this GC, and so were included in the contract but being 2 hrs away, I didn't see the plan modification prior to the start of construction - I trusted him when he said the changes were as we discussed. I guess his notes weren't as good as he thought...

Lbear, we're in NY. I have seen other homes -there are a lot of nice detail and seem well built. We were referred to this GC by a friend. He does seem concerned, but hasn't presented a solution yet... I assume he is concerned about $$. Of course, whether it is in fixing the opening or architect time to find a solution, it will cost $$

I trusted him when he said the changes were as we discussed. I guess his notes weren't as good as he thought.

They rarely are. Having a binder (onsite) in which is contained the (written) change orders and signed by both of you helps prevent miscommunication in the future. It seems like burdensome paperwork, but it is worth your while to do this. It also helps keep the cost of changes down as they are agreed upon in advance.

Thanks. I'm getting a very quick education on how important this is.

BeckyS,

If you have a good GC, then he should not hesitate to make the changes.  You certainly should not have to resdesign the floor plan to accommodate a mistake.  The mistake can be corrected and should be by the GC.

In the future make sure to have a change order before work is done.  If the change is complicated, then the change order may also involve a revised drawing.

Alton, I guess this will be the test of how good he is... Disappointed I didn't hear back from my GC yesterday, I'm guessing he hasn't done on revision on an icf foundation before. Can any one comment on how it would typically be done? Is the new opening cut as it would be in an uninsulated poured concrete basement? How is the current opening filled and insulated to be the same r-value as the rest of the foundation? The floor is not poured yet because the walls are still curing with the braces still on... I'm guessing this should be done first. Thanks to all of you for your input!

Posted By BeckyS on 28 Jun 2012 12:11 AM
The walls on our ICF basement were poured 3 days ago. I live 2 hr away from the building site. Went to see it and the opening for the 6ft slider is on the wrong end of the wall... Should be 16ft further down the wall. Can this be fixed? Will creating a new opening and filling this one (if possible) affect the wall strength? If we can't change it we'll need an architect to modify the house plans... Due to how the stairway comes off the first floor. I've posed these questions to my GC but would like other opinions ( is it hard to do or impossible?). Thanks

Moving a 6' door opening in a poured concrete wall is not easy to do and may not even be feasible depending on a few variables.  Cutting a new hole would likely require a concrete chainsaw with a diamond tipped chain.  Filling the other 6' opening would likely just involve concrete cinder blocks mortared into place with rigid insulation glued to the blocks and wood furring strips screwed through the foam into the blocks.  This will require quite a bit of effort to change.

How tall are your basement walls?  How much concrete height do you have above your door opening?  How much horizontal rebar is running above the door opening and in particular where you want the new opening?  More concrete height above the door makes this a little easier.  More horizontal rebar makes it easier.  Very little depth of concrete above the proposed door opening and little or no horizontal rebar right above the new door opening might make this change very involved and require additional steel angle reinforcement under the concrete to hold it up.

Closing up the opening is easy and difficult at the same time. Easy in the builder can stack block and install most rebar easily as he goes, however the hard part is the top 6" or so, this will most likely require grout as trying to place concrete on the top portion is near next to impossible. Another option is to frame the opening in with wood and use expansion foam to fill the area with a sheet of 2" EPS on the outside. The insulation value will be close to the ICF wall.

Chances are good you will need an engineer to look at what was built to give a correct answer on the new 6' opening location. There are several ways to accomplish this but no one on here can give you the correct way to do it without careful review of all the details

Posted By BeckyS on 28 Jun 2012 12:11 AM
The walls on our ICF basement were poured 3 days ago. I live 2 hr away from the building site. Went to see it and the opening for the 6ft slider is on the wrong end of the wall... Should be 16ft further down the wall. Can this be fixed? Will creating a new opening and filling this one (if possible) affect the wall strength? If we can't change it we'll need an architect to modify the house plans... Due to how the stairwayhe comes off the first floor. I've posed these questions to my GC but would like other opinions ( is it hard to do or impossible?). Thanks

Becky,
If its not according to the plan, the GC must fix it...End of subject!
You have control of him by virtue of the bank draws.
If you can't prove the mistake is his, then get your check book out

Thank you arkie6, Chris, and cmkavala. Spoke with our GC and he is moving the door. Turns out the delayed response is because he was consulting with an engineer on what he will need to do to properly support the new opening. So, there are still communication issues to work on, but this situation is being resolved.

Thank you all for your input... I feel it gave me the knowledge I needed to know that this is being addressed properly. Also, I will definitely take you advice on using change orders for any thing in the future that is off plan.