I'm looking for comments on precast foundations (eg Superior). My project is on an island with very limited and very expensive concrete (in Rhode Island). Although the shipping over of both the precast truck and the crane would be expensive - it may work out better than local concrete. I like the fact that they use less cement (which is not green) and are insulated but I'd like to hear thoughts on the following: Cost Waterproofing - easy? reliable? Can additional insulation be added? Flexibility of attachment of structure (I'm in a 120mph wind zone) Any experience with setting on crushed stone as opposed to a footing? Thanks in advance......

Hey Birdman,

Best of luck on your build. I'm going to try to help you out here (and I'm whispering this), but this topic was beaten to death on the ICF part of the forum some months ago. You can read through it by copying and pasting this.

http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/forumid/4/tpage/1/view/Topic/postid/46975/Default.aspx

This can become a pretty heated discussion as you will see, hopefully it will not continue again. Shhhhhhhhh be very quiet. I'm an ICF guy and thus not a big fan of Superior Walls. The engineers I work with will not even consider them...though you will find others that love it. Everyone has an opinion, which if fine with me. Best of luck with your research.

renangle

WOW! Just scanned the old thread - geesh! sorry I asked!!!! Thanks for the heads up, Renagle. I'm considering this thread officially dead and buried (in whatever anyone wants to bury it in). I'll be more careful with my off-handed questions in the future lest the flame throwing begin.......

Birdman,

Oh...not a problem...I hope you found the information useful.

renangle