I'm curious if it would be possible to finish the outside and inside walls of an ICF structure with shotcrete. I would like to design a structure that is as rugged and inexpensive as possible.  I know there are products that use concrete/foam/concrete as there design, but my understanding is they can only be built 2 stories high. I'm curious if this could be done with a house consisting of 4" ICF construction with say an (1 inch?) of shotcrete on the exterior and interior walls. I think I have read that corners and making it flat would be much harder, but I'm wondering if there would be benefits.

I'm curious about this for a couple of reasons,  what would it take to make it work ( seems you would have to tie it in to the interior concrete in places for strength),
cost effectiveness for interior and exterior walls? How long would this design hold up?

I'm playing with the idea of designing  a 2 story house for an urban environment where land is at a premium that uses ICF's  has concrete floors( speedfloor or hambro) is built with maximum use of space and ease of design (seems most commercial properties are rectangular with few corners) Since I am thinking about a small city lot I like the idea of a flat concrete roof with that utilizes the roof space as outdoor space. 

If I could get some feedback on these ideas I would apprecitate it.

Shotcrete over ICF?    cost effective?, will it work?, how hard to do?, how long can you expect it to last?

Flat gardentop roof?   Is is unrealistic to think it won't leak? Is it worth it?, do you think it would add value to a city house?

Rectangular design?   Almost modern style, How much easier/cheaper with less corners?, would it be easier to utilize space?


Thanks ahead of time to anyone who replies, I am just trying to play with some ideas in my head.

Here are some web sites that might interest you.

http://www.metrockscip.com/       http://www.insteel.com/     http://www.tridipanel.com/ 

I have built with Insteel panels.  Makes a very strong home.

Posted By Alton on 12 Mar 2010 10:23 PM

Here are some web sites that might interest you.

http://www.metrockscip.com/       http://www.insteel.com/     http://www.tridipanel.com/ 

I have built with Insteel panels.  Makes a very strong home.

Thanks for the links. I have looked at the tridipanel products and from what I remember they were only rated to two story construction. I'm not sure if a roof top garden would be considered a 3rd story, but I'm guessing it would. I like the idea of these panels very much and they seem like they wouldn't need finishing inside and out to conform to code. I doubt you could find a more durable inside and outside finish, but I'm no expert and have 0 experience so opinions are appreciated.

I've seen home walls constructed of shotcrete over mesh and foam - no concrete core. Shotcrete over ICF should be similar but stronger. You may want to research post-stressed concrete tilt-up construction with foam and stucco on one side.

It looks like the easiest way would be the tridipanels. It also appears that they are building over 2 stories high, which I thought was the limit.

Any opinions of whether I could get a flat concrete roof to work without leaking? I know that would be asking for problems. Do people ever construct roofs to use as space with say a 1 -2 % grade to help get rid of water?

Johnkb,

Yes, I think you can do shotcrete over ICF but at what cost.  Without wire mesh to capture the shotcrete there will be quite a bit of rebound.  That is, the initial shotcrete will hit the foam and then fall (rebound) to the floor.  We have been unable to re-use the rebound in our shotcrete mix.  The rebounded shotcrete does not want to stick the second time around.  With different equipment there might be less waste but I will need to see that before I believe it.

should not be a problem to design multiple story tridipanel structures.
it is being used on a large 2 story custom home in pass christian, ms using this system for walls, combined with insuldeck floors (for pictures go to http://www.evergreensystemsusa.com). it may need some solid concrete columns or beams in some high load areas.

where are you planning to build? i can help you with a structural engineer in the gulf area, familiar with this design in multi floor structures.

[email protected]
[email protected]

Tridipanels look like what what I have seen used in tropical climates - nothing in the wall to rot. Everyone says that it saves labor but not $ over stucco covered block. But that leaves one with no insulation.

An advantage of tilt up is that you can stamp it for a texture/pattern - ie, make it look like brick.