Hi, My husband and I bought our deam home just under a year ago.  It's a 3-4 year old ICF home we thought it was perfect now the problems are starting, and we have no idea what to do...  The finished basement is leaking heavily...  under a basement window, under the garage, in the furnace room, and along another exterior wall that is under a frech door on the main floor... our home was build on grade and backfilled so never in a million years did we expect this to be a problem... There have been a couple other problems raising red flags as well, the windows sweat extreemly badly (humidity ~57%) there are littterally puddles of water at the base of the doors and on window sills.  the exterior of the house below the brick ledge has chunks of stucco and foam missing ( the previous owner and builder of the home told us this was not a problem just to patch the stucco???, also almost every window and door has become harder to open and close...

I know that there a likely an number of problem and what I think we really need is someone who kows to inspect the house and make some recomendations.  but no idea who we should call, any recomendations would be appreciated.  We poored all of our money into buying this "dream home" and are very scared that we are facing...

Thanks

I would check the ICF subforum, there are a few threads about builders in Ontario and you could get an ICF contractor to check it.

Posted By mjanderson on 11 Mar 2011 11:28 AM
Hi, My husband and I bought our deam home just under a year ago.  It's a 3-4 year old ICF home we thought it was perfect now the problems are starting, and we have no idea what to do...  The finished basement is leaking heavily...  under a basement window, under the garage, in the furnace room, and along another exterior wall that is under a frech door on the main floor... our home was build on grade and backfilled so never in a million years did we expect this to be a problem... There have been a couple other problems raising red flags as well, the windows sweat extreemly badly (humidity ~57%) there are littterally puddles of water at the base of the doors and on window sills.  the exterior of the house below the brick ledge has chunks of stucco and foam missing ( the previous owner and builder of the home told us this was not a problem just to patch the stucco???, also almost every window and door has become harder to open and close...

I know that there a likely an number of problem and what I think we really need is someone who kows to inspect the house and make some recomendations.  but no idea who we should call, any recomendations would be appreciated.  We poored all of our money into buying this "dream home" and are very scared that we are facing...

Thanks

This is enough to make any ICF man cry. There is absolutely no excuse for this! If you can give us some more info, I sure someone can shed some light on this. When you say it is an ICF house does that mean that both the basement and the main floor are ICF? As you said it was built on grade so ground water should not a problem unless it was built over a spring (an that can happen during a dry period). What type of cladding is on the exterior of the house. What type of heating system are you using? DO YOU HAVE MECHANICAL VENTILATION? A heat recovery unit or something like that? It is not unreasonable to expect all the moisture is originating in the house and the water vapours may be condensating on concrete and than weeping back into the house. An ICF house is very tight compared to a conventional and it would not be hard to get to 60 or 65% relative humidity in the Peterborough area. I would advise that you get the r.h. down to below 40% as soon and as fast as you can. If the weather is co-operating, open windows and air out. Run dehumidifiers as needed. It does not matter where the moisture is coming from, you need to lower the r.h. The fact that the leaks are occurring at window (french door) areas could be just the water running off the glass and draining down or it could be because the is a break in the exterior cladding. If the house is bricked it might be that the brick to ledge is not flashed properly and or the drain holes are plugged or missing. Rain will soak through brick and needs to have some place to drain back to the front otherwise it will want to find its way into the house. As you are posting at this time of year I would expect that it is more to do with interior moisture than exterior. I'm sure our resident expert on water vapour will be able to explain some of this better than most of us but it is quite likely the fix can be as simple as putting in or running a ventilation system. (Your turn Dana!) Bob

Sounds like quite a mess. Have the moisture issues started in the last few days, or have they been on going. If it is recent, check that your eavestroughs and down spouts are working and directing water away from the house. Make sue that there is no ice build up. Do you have an HRV unit in the house, is it turned on and working properly. It sounds that this is more of a condensation issue rather than moisture intrusion.
Do you have separate bathroom fans? or are they connected to the HRV? is the range hood vented to the outside? is the dryer vented to the outside? Is there a hot tub or sauna inside the house?

I am located in Orillia, Ontario. I know a couple of good building inspectors up here, they may service your area if not they will be able to put you in touch with somebody in your area. Good Luck.

but no idea who we should call, any recomendations would be appreciated.

I really want to see Mike Holmes fix an ICF problem. Maybe you should call Holmes on Homes.

Posted By ICFHybrid on 13 Mar 2011 11:44 PM

but no idea who we should call, any recomendations would be appreciated.

I really want to see Mike Holmes fix an ICF problem. Maybe you should call Holmes on Homes.

^^THIS

Thanks everyone I will try to answer all the questions...

Both floors are ICF.

The exterior of the house is Brick (tumbled stone)

Propane Furnance with air exchanger.

All bothrooms, dryer, stove vented to outside.

We do run a dehumidifer in the master bedroom upstairs as well as one downstairs.

My husband was out taking a closer look around the windows and doors. Should they be caluked or spray foam around the exterior? There is a gap between them and the brick.

we started notticing the windows and doors in the fall. many of the sills are swelling due to condensation and water that pudlles if we don't keep on top of it.

I hate to say we didn't have a home inspection when we bought the house, we had them for our last two houses and found them to be a waste of money with no helpfull information. Since the builder was the owener of the house and reassured us a 1000 times over that he stood behind all his work that this was what he does for a living. Not to mention that he was well known by a the broker at our real estate office, we trusted him and never expected this. Looking back now pretty foolish...

oh how I wish there was a casting call for holmes on homes but there isn't....

mjanderson - what is the make and model of the air exchanger? How is it controlled?

While it is somewhat foolish to make a diagnosis by web, I will go out on a limb and say that this is a inside humidity issue. I base my call on the following
One - you told us that the basement was at ground level and than backfilled. While this does not completely eliminate any slab moisture issues it does lessen them. I would be happier if you told us there was foam and or poly under the slab but to rule out the slab moisture issue, tape a piece of poly about 24 x 24 inches to the slab sealing all edges. If there is not a lot of moisture trapped under the poly in a few days, the moisture is not coming from the slab.
Two - you told use that all the windows are a problem. This means there is not a major leak at or near one window as in there is a cladding leak on the north side.
Three - you told us that the problem started in the fall. This is typical of interior condensation issues as until the windows get cold, the moisture will not condense on them. Also in Peterborough most of the winter moisture falls as snow which would not normally cause exterior cladding leaks. If the problem started in the spring I would be inclined to say that is was coming from outside.
Furthermore - if the issue resolves itself in the next month i.e. the temperature warms up than you can be 99 % sure that it is too high a r.h. inside the house that is causing the problem and that you do not have any exterior cladding or basement leaks.
It is not unusual for people moving into an ICF home from a conventional home to experience these issues if the builder or previous owner has not told them just how air tight an ICF home can be and how to deal with moisture.

If it were my house I would do the following;
One - make sure that you have a top of the line HRV or other mechanical whole house exhaust system, not just make-up and combustion air feeds at the furnace. This unit should be sized to do at least one third air exchange per hour that is if you take the sq. ft. of both levels times the ceiling height time .33 , is the amount of air (CFM's) the unit should be able to exhaust. This does not mean you need to run it at this rate but it should be sized to do this. In your area, you should be able to run it of a humidistat, to your comfort level. Please make sure that if you do not have high efficient heating appliances that you are bring in the same amount of fresh air so that you do not draw combustion gases back down the chimney!
Two - put bathroom fans on timers and run them for half an hour after each shower.
Three - use the kitchen exhaust fan everytime you boil water.
You need to get this humidity under control and than check for mould. Quite likely you will not have a serious mould issue but you should check.

You should check with a qualified HVAC specialist in you area to make sure all items are properly dealt with.
Bob

licensed architect in CA,CO,KS,MO,NC, and NM here. (www.ecologicalarch.com)

fan of ICF homes.

this sounds like a moisture protection problem. best for ICF is to HAVE used a spray on - LIQUID APPLIED MEMBRANE
on the exterior of subgrade areas with perimeter drainage system. see each manufacturer for recommendation on
LIQUID APPLIED MEMBRANCE. A MONOLITHIC COATING should have been applied.

moisture problem could perhaps be solved by FRESH AIR EXCHANGER. see AprilAire or other manufacturers

MJAnderson,

I'm by no means an expert, far from it, but I have seen my own ICF built in the last year, and know some of the in's and out's, particularly with stucco.

If you'd like a fresh set of eyes, I'd be more than happy to help; I'm travelling between Toronto and Lower Buckhorn at least once every two weeks or more frequently. PM me if interested.

Victor
www.ecobuilthome.ca
A 4350sqft Cold Climate Net Zero Initiative