Can anyone please advise the best way to cut an icf block horizontally. my preferred method would be set my table saw at size and rip it down. My previous experience with that the time i had tried it has been binding and didnt work so great. Is there a specific blade i should try that would allow easier cutting to rip down the block. I will be taking 4 inches off some blocks and will be able to reuse the remaining portion for another application. If i can find a quick and easy way to do this i will be doing this more often as i can reuse both portions of the blocks for different applications. Or are there any other recommended ways to rip the blocks horizontally, that would work better and achieve a straight cut.

I cut 'em by hand. Draw lines on it and use a hand saw.

We use a standard cheap 10" wood blade. I know the table saw you use makes a huge difference, we use the Bosch model on site, it's an expensive saw but the guide actually locks hard and doesn't move. I found on the cheaper models the guide feels locked but the pressure from the block causes it to move and had problems as you described.

Another method is a Skil 8 1/4" wormdrive, it will cut the block and web, the 7 1/4" is a little shy on depth

I put an abrasive type metal or masonry cutting blade in my table saw to rip ICF foam. It cuts and essentially melts right through the foam without binding. It makes a nice clean "cauterized" edge without all of the EPS beads flying around. Spray a little silicon spray on the blade, fence, and table to make the foam slide easy.

I just got finished cutting a bunch of it to finish off the top of my wall so that the finished wall height plus treated 2x plate is equal to a 9' stud plus bottom plate plus double top plate.

I use the same type of blade in my 14" chop saw for cutting the foam to the desired length around windows, doors, etc. Much cleaner and straighter cuts than with a handsaw.  Note that my ICF uses separate foam planks and poly ties.  This chop saw probably wouldn't work on a pre-made ICF block.

Use a cheap panelling blade with as many teeth as possible. Put the blade in backwards it's the same as cutting vinyl siding

I don't know how you can possibly be efficient running over to the saw every time you want to make a cut. On a residential build, you'd have to have a pretty good-sized crew working to support a gofer on the saw to whom you could call out cuts. By the time you need those horizontally cut blocks you are often on the top of scaffolding, so now, you are getting down.....

Saw that situation coming early on, so just learned to get better with the handsaw. Helps to have an 18" "plumbers" PVC pipe saw like the blu/white one from Lenox for the long cuts. A shorter 12" is also nice to have when you get tired of manipulating the longer blade.

A table saw with big teeth will kick your ICF's back at you and around in a haphazard way.   It's actually quite dangerous.    I replaced my blade with a fine tooth blade for "plywood/osb/plastic veneer".   $10 at home depot.   Did the trick.   Much less kicking and bucking. 

Depending on the hand saw you may or may not be able to cut the plastic furring strips inside of your block horizontally.    One of my saws will cut the hard plastic one will not.

One of my saws will cut the hard plastic one will not.

The plumbers saws are made for cutting plastic (e.g. PVC) with fine teeth that go right through the furring strips.

If your at the top of the wall on the scaffold, chances are the cut is the same all the way around, get your measurement and have one guy cut them up for the entire project. There is still plenty of work for the rest of the crew to do while one guy is cutting.

And I sure wouldn't want to hand cut 1000' of wall, even a typical house is over 200', that's a lot of cutting

If no power is available I have done my cuts around windows with my chainsaw and believe me with a little practice it works quite well and time saving,be sure to wear safety glasses.Make sure there is no metal in the block!!

Well people my table saw died before I could finish my top wall cut. I'm not sure if the loads of styrofoam crumbles clogged up the insides of if the cheap made in China motor overheated. Horizontal cuts made with a circular saw ended up being wavy. One side of my house is straight on top the other is ever so slightly wavy.

We use a cheep 10" portable table saw, run them through fast abd be carefull, they will bind.

At the end of the day, either blow out or vacuum out your saw, we get 3-4 years out of a table saw

I use 10" table saw. The height of saw is not enough to cut the webs. I am using Nudura. They are 67 mm. If I can find a 10.5 " saw it will be beter. My blade is very bad 40 teeth cheap one. It cuts very good but not enough for the height. Be carefull it is throwing small metal particules. Use googles. I use a big 3000W inverter with two car bateries. It works perfect.

Posted By theInvincible on 11 Jul 2012 09:46 AM
I use 10" table saw. The height of saw is not enough to cut the webs. I am using Nudura. They are 67 mm. If I can find a 10.5 " saw it will be beter. My blade is very bad 40 teeth cheap one. It cuts very good but not enough for the height. Be carefull it is throwing small metal particules. Use googles. I use a big 3000W inverter with two car bateries. It works perfect.

Nudura's hinges are made out of metal, right? That could cause some issues with the blade.

If your cutting through the connecting web on any block there is no table saw to do it all. Have a saws all handy to finish the job...even to cut metal pins

Posted By Lbear on 11 Jul 2012 04:04 PM

Posted By theInvincible on 11 Jul 2012 09:46 AM
I use 10" table saw. The height of saw is not enough to cut the webs. I am using Nudura. They are 67 mm. If I can find a 10.5 " saw it will be beter. My blade is very bad 40 teeth cheap one. It cuts very good but not enough for the height. Be carefull it is throwing small metal particules. Use googles. I use a big 3000W inverter with two car bateries. It works perfect.

Nudura's hinges are made out of metal, right? That could cause some issues with the blade.

If you are using a metal cutting abrasive blade like I did and wearing safety glasses, it shouldn't be an issue.

Another thing I did for making my own taper top ICF was to install a 12" abrasive blade on my 10" Delta tablesaw (this is a workshop saw, not a portable unit). I did this after I verified the blade maximum speed rating exceeded the table saw spindle speed. The 12" blade allowed me to cut ~4" deep into the foam on an angle to make the taper top forms. The 12" blades have a larger hole in them than the 10" blades and I had to buy a shim washer so they would fit my table saw spindle.

If you need a taper top, why not just choose an ICF that offers a taper top option. Polycrete's don't even cost any more than a standard form.

I live in a rural area and there are only 2 ICF distributors within ~100 miles. The ICF distributor that had an ICF with taper top forms was almost 3x more expensive than the Liteform ICF I used. Actually, when I started the process, I wasn't even planning on using a taper top form. That changed during the building process and the flexibility of Liteform allowed me to easily make changes along the way.