Has anyone used reinforced concrete columns[posts] and beams instead of icf walls to support an insulated deck and roof? I was considering converting a conventional 30 x 50 stepped drive - out foundation to support a 1st floor deck and then repeat the process for a flat [minimal pitch] roof. A center beam would make the deck form spans 15'. The number of posts along the wall would affect the size of the beam required. I could use the existing foundation for an insulated wall for windows and doors. How much cantilever could I get on the roof deck - depends on rebar size? I'm in NH. Anyone have any thoughts?

Get an engineer

As Smartwall stated, it's time for an engineer. That is the only qualified person that can answer your questions. In the end, you will need to have an engineer anyways since it cannot be designed without an engineers stamp.

An engineer's stamp will ensure the correct sizing of beams and rebar and I'll get one when I have committed to a design. I was looking more for ideas from those who may have experience in this area, esp. in a northern climate. I guess I could get an architect and a builder, too, and then I could just stay home and watch TV until it's done. I've done structural steel, commercial and residential construction for over 30 years but I've never used ICF's. I like the concept and want to give it a try but have hit a wall when it comes to getting information. Is there a secret handshake or something?

There's plenty of video online that give you an idea as to what's happening. Then, you can look up some of the manufacturers and go into more depth.

I've seen quite a bit about the typical wall construction but I'm more interested in the deck and roof forms. I like the idea of the thermal mass but it's lost with the interior insulation on the wall forms. That's another reason for the posts and beams instead. I talked to quad deck and they gave me the name of the rep in my area. He never called me back with a price. Maybe I should just use steel beams and bar joists.

I can understand the reluctance of mfrs to spend very much time with tire kickers but I'm not jerking around. I'm going to be putting up a couple commercial buildings and a big residential and I get the impression I'm wasting their time. Business must be good if you're turning it away.

I'll be glad to discuss this topic with you. I've implemented Insuldeck poured over concrete columns a number of times. There are pictures here - I believe the thread was "New ICF home"
Regards

Thread was "new ICF house project"

mojoe
send me an email and i'll be glad to help you with tech info and pricing
been doing elevated structures for some 15 years now
insuldeckflorida at aol dot com
insuldeck dot com

Posted By mojoe on 17 Jul 2014 01:00 AM
I've seen quite a bit about the typical wall construction but I'm more interested in the deck and roof forms. I like the idea of the thermal mass but it's lost with the interior insulation on the wall forms. That's another reason for the posts and beams instead. I talked to quad deck and they gave me the name of the rep in my area. He never called me back with a price. Maybe I should just use steel beams and bar joists.

If you want to gain full access to thermal mass without the interior EPS, Nudura recently released a one-sided form. There is some good info and a video on their website. This form maintains the EPS on one side of the wall and incorporates a removable Plywood on the opposite side. Very cool product.

Polycrete makes a similar product. We call it the "Elevator Panel" since it's most commonly used in elevator shafts and stairways. The form ships with a standard EPS panel on one side and just the wire mesh/fastening strip assembly on the other. The installer screws his plywood form to the galvanized steel fastening strip and then removes it after the concrete cures.

With Nudura's One-sided form, you can actually finish with a smooth concrete wall, not vertical strips of exposed plastic (or metal) ties. There are small plastic fastening points (approx 3/4" "buttons") that align with the pre-drilled plywood panels. When the plywood is removed, these buttons are the only thing exposed on the concrete surface and can be removed and holes filled for a continuous concrete surface. The video on Nudura's website shows this well. I am very impressed with the design of this product.

With the Polycrete product, you need to skim coat the wall after removing the plywood forming in order to get a smooth concrete finish. But since the Polycrete product is 25% larger, installation is that much quicker and the steel reinforcement gets you a flatter wall to work with. There are always trade-offs. You just have to decide which features are most important for your particular job.

If you want to gain full access to thermal mass without the interior EPS and you also want to place PEX to control/move the heat, TFSystem’s vertical ICF approach has allowed doing this for many years. Their product is called TransForm and it uses reusable plastic pans. You can have whatever depth of exterior EPS that you need and you can have open interior stud cavities for utilities if you need that too. Works great for integrated passive solar heating and hydronic radiant heating building designs.