Here is a question for the ICF experts.  The new ICF home that I am planning on building the Spring of 2008, will have concrete floors on each level supported by a steel bar joist with a metal deck.  I will be using an Arxx 6" form for the entire house from basement, 1st floor, and 2nd floor.  My question is, has anyone out there installed a bar joist that will free-span 24' with 4" of concrete on top, sitting on a standard 6" brick ledger.  My biggest concern is that the brick ledger can carry that type of weight load on it.  One thought that I had was that I could frame the walls in the front and rear of my house with the new Dietrich Ultra-Steel studs to help support the bottom side of the steel bar-joist for additional support.

I can attach the floor plan if anyone is interested in taking a look at it and giving me your thoughts.

Any comments on this would be greatly appreciated on this matter.

Metwood has the most compact internally-braced steel joist in the business. Free-spans 40'. I am concerned about 6" walls with 4" flatwork though. Do not think it will work. Check with my friend Chuck at usepolysteel.com. He's a Metwood distrib and would know.

You need an engineer, but I'd say 10" basement wall, 8" first floor, 6" second. Or go post-tensioned and 6" walls.

If your talking about Hambro you would be wasting your money on the brick-ledge because it wouldn't be necessary and will create other unnecessary issues. And yes a ICF brick-ledge will easily support the aforementioned floor systems but be careful as to your stirrup spacing because a few ICF manufactures brick ledges are lacking steel. I would go 8" foundation, 6" main, and 6" or 4" upper with most forms.

Dave

I used guage steel joists on the house I built for my mother, and rather than place them on a ledge, embedded them in the concrete wall itself.  The ICFs lent themselves to this quite well, as all you have to do is cut the foam out of the way, and brace underneath (with a 2x4, for instance) until the pour is complete.  It came out very well.