We had a basement built using Logix ICFs and are having our modular house set on the basement next week.  The house has vinyl siding.  Now we need to figure out what to use on the 2 feet of basement wall that will be exposed between the bottom of the vinyl siding and the ground.  What would you guys recommend?

The material needs to be able to be back filled against to do our final dirt work and grading.  It also needs to waterproof and protect the Logix walls.  Is there some kind of panelling that we can use that is cost effective and easy enough to install ourselves?

Thank you

Don't know if what I did will work for you, but you can see it in this thread, http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/view/topic/forumid/4/postid/44303/Default.aspx

I really don't think you'll find anything cheap and easy and good!

Thanks for the reply. I will check out your thread. The basement is a walkout and we are doing matching vinyl siding on the walkout side. We are just looking at how to finish the bottom part which will be back filled against.

You could just run the vinyl siding down to within a couple inches of your finish grade. Its not traditional but it will work, and the ground moisture will not affect the vinyl.

I think the code calls for a min. 8" high parging layer. Parging is sort of a cemntitious stucco that protects the foam. There's quite a few brands out there... weldbond, wallease, target... maybe logix can recommend something?
most of these mixes do not need a mesh as they already have fibers in them, if you do need a mesh just use glavanized screws and screw it to the plastic ICF ties... you will probably need some kind of a plastic washer like windlock.

Looks like we are going to use TUFF II - http://www.styro.net/TuffIIFoamAndICFCoating.html. Sounds like it is very easy to use and can be applied with a trowel or large putty blade so no spray gun or additional equipment is needed. It is also pre-mixed and ready to go.

Do you think there needs to an overlap between the TUFF II and the vinyl siding? Or just apply the TUFF II below the bottom of the siding down to the final grade and water proofing material for the ICFs?

You can order Tuff II through Lowes. Price is probably as good as you'll get anywhere and shipping is included. Just allow a couple of weeks to get it in. I found troweling and putty knife didn't work real good for a smooth surface, but then I'm not experienced in applying stucco. What worked for me was to apply the first coat with a trowel and then I used a brush to smooth it out. I sprayed the second coat. A hopper sprayer only cost about 60 bucks from big orange. But Tuff II is heavy so using a sprayer is no picnic, unless you're young and tough!

I think you should have some overlap to assure having a good "shingle" system that forces water to always flow to the outer surface. Also, FWIW, I found that a "Never Rot" PVC corner molding from HD, ripped into two, worked good for a starter strip to kick out the bottom course of Hardiplank. It's friendly to the wallet, just about perfect thickness, and won't rot.

IRC 2006 requires 6" between siding and grade. There's no specific requirement what the material in that space needs to be. Mfrs of ICF and dimple membrane require that foam and dimple not be exposed to sunlight for prolonged periods. That's where the need for parging of some sort emanates from. Any product that withstands both sunlight and contact with soil will work. The choices are somewhat limited.

Menards around here stocks TUFF II so getting it is no problem. They have the sticky mesh in stock as well. Did you pick a custom color or go with the standard gray or white? How did you do the final texture? Do you have any tips on what kind of spray gun to purchase?

PermaBase by National Gypsum can be screwed on then apply a texture/color coat as necassary. we have found this much easier and faster than using a cement based parging/stucco.

 i stand corrected.

How does this PermaBase stuff look and where can I get it at? I looked at some acrylic foundation paneling and it looked very cheap and plastic like.

Your local granite/tile (counter top) supplier should have it. It is most commonly used as an underlayment or backing surface for tub and shower surrounds, countertops, flooring and a variety of other interior and exterior applications. It comes in different thicknesses.

http://www.nationalgypsum.com/products/product45.aspx

Thanks everybody. We went with TUFF II. It worked well and was easy to apply. We applied all of it using the sticky mesh HD and trowels and large putty knives. We used two coats and a texture coat. The first coat was just thick enough to cover the sticky mesh. After that dried (about 2-3 hours) we came back and applied another coat which was thick enough so you could not see the sticky mesh pattern any more. Then we let that layer dry and applied a final texture coat. We did a basic orange peel like texture. We started back filling against the TUFF II the next day. Overall it worked well.

We overlapped the sticky mesh and TUFF II about 2-3 inches on the top edge of the peel and stick waterproofing membrance.

I use aluminum trim coil from my local lumber yards. I get the color that matches the soffit. I works noce because it can take a beating from the weed wacker for the people who dont landscape and have the lawn up to the house.