Wood or steel? Depends on soil. If you can drive a wood stake in, there you go. Length should be enough to hold the footing form in place. I would key the footing, it's a little insurance without much effort. Ideal house design for icf. Lastly, try and find or buy Zonts and Zuckles the're ideal for your situation. Use them as long as you need then box them up and put them on line. Sounds like your build will take some time. A little tip would be to get some mistake paint from the homarama and paint the 2xs that you are going to use. It will keep your 2xs from twisting. Don't forget the ends. They check first with moisture.

Was looking for wood stakes to save on the expense but willing to pony up for steel if it meant getting the highest accuracy for the foundation.

I'll check out the paint.

I've seen a lot of people endorse the Zonts/Zuckles - I've been leaning that way, given my application.

Thank you,
~Kip

I would love to see your progress but I just see a minus symbol where you have linked files.

I see them now.

It looks good. I hope you have a good pour to fill those up.

Very cool....Nice....Thanks for sharing....

With the zuckles, I would use shorter 2x's. If you need to adjust the wall the 2x's of that length will bend. It looks like a 8' would have been better. Also did you leave the footing forms in place?

Not obvious to me from photos, but I trust you have placed chases for all your required electrical and plumbing penetrations. It isn't easy to make penetrations after the pour...

Try bracing from the outside for a foundation or crawl space. It's easier and you could have done the floor when you poured the walls. Also I switched to Watkins and Burmon hangers. The Simpson hangers were great when they came out 15 years ago but like all things the other two are better, especially the Burmon. No ledger needed just cast the hangers into the wall and hang the joist from them.

The Burmon are an improvement over the Watkins. Both are far superior to the Simpson. The Zonts and Zuckles are the reason I pour the footing, wall and floor in one pour. You can easily set up your bracing outside. It's hard to get people to think of a better way when it's always been done one way.

A tip. If your build is going to take you awhile, use some wrong color house paint from the homarama on your 2x4 bracing. It will keep from twisting. Same thing for the deck sheathing.

Oye, thank you.  Would have used this tip sooner.

I've been throwing it out there for years, ever since I began using Zonts and Zuckles. With Z&Z's you can brace from the outside which leaves the inside free to pour your rat slab at the same time as your walls. Saves time and money. One pump rental for the whole thing. For the floor system I use either Watkins hanger or the Burmon hangers. Easier than the Simpson system.

My tip...listen to Smartwall...

My wife doesn't .

You had best listen to your wife...happy wife...happy life!

That's what I've been told.

I call BS....It is a trap....it is the wife's job to be happy not mine...

Touche'. I agree.

It's been a long while, but still at it.

The horrible contractor that I was utilizing for the pours and agreed to do the final lift abandoned the project. I had to finish the 2nd floor myself and do the pumping myself. Lots to post but now I feel I'm finally at a good place in the project.

Setting in the beam for the 2nd Floor

Setting up the i-joists.

Master Bedroom Framing

2nd Floor subfloor down

Window Bucks and 2nd Floor Stacking

Easy part done, time to do scaffolding and the high wall

By the way - I'm terrified of heights

I don't have many good pictures of pump day.... it was close to a failure.

My fault entirely from pushing each weekend trying to do as much as possible without slowing down more often to think through.

Had a serious blowout at the INSIDE corner of the 45 degree, going into the master bedroom. I had screwed the trusses into the form work but didn't add additional support between the webs of the trusses. About a yard of concrete, yes almost a full yard poured out. It was a mess to clean but it was salvaged and used as part of the patio pour.

After that issue the windows were the next to...ooze... just those three large openings so close together, they didn't have enough connections between the buck and the form so the concrete oozed a bit. We paused and shot several more screws and a couple of 2x4's across them just to be safe and then finished the pumping.

Oh and that was only half of the issues. The boom pump operator was older... eyes weren't too good... so while I was up high holding the tube, he managed to yank it out of my hands more than a few times and pepper me with concrete. Guys that have done this know what I mean when I say that stuff hits you... it isn't water (duh) and it has force coming out. Not exactly fun when you are up on scaffolding getting slapped in the face with a tube of crete.

And the icing on the cake... did I mention the boom operator's eyes weren't too good? He managed to hit the power line and generate arcs all around the boom pump, creating several fires. After we doused the fires with dirt and thought the show was over, the operator was looking carefully over his rig. BOOM, one of his tires he was standing near burst, sending him flying several feet. His arm was cut up from the rubber and steel, he couldn't hear, and he looked like he had just climbed down a chimney. Once we were able to ascertain he was going to be okay and he gathered his wits - he quit. This was the second time in as many years hitting a power line - he thought God was letting him know, it was past time to retire. I think he was right.

Truss Day was my favorite day thus far. Didn't have to do anything dangerous or stressful - just send up the correct trusses in order to the crew.... yeah sub-contracting is where it's at - if you can afford it... but for craning in trusses, not much choice.

I wish I could say more has been done. The crew I hired to install the trusses, also sheathed the roof. I slowly took down the scaffolding, returned it, waterproofed the main level and been slowly cleaning items up and framing inside.

Just got most of the membrane installed and here we are.

Current Items:
- Contracting the Roofer
- 2 weeks windows arrive
- Cleaning Openings
- Applying Seam Sealer
- Pouring Front and Rear Door Sills
- Installing Hurricane Ties
- Cleaning

Wow, what an amazing journey! It's looking really good so far. I hope you keep us updated, I'd love to see the finished product!

I'm in the process of building a new, sustainable home that I can rent out as temporary accommodation. With ZERO building experience and knowledge, I've found the whole process extremely difficult. One builder tells me one thing, another builder tells me something totally different.

I don't know which way's up anymore!

After months of deliberation, I've decided to make things as simple as possible and build a tiny home instead. It was this article that steered me in this direction https://podlife.co.nz/airbnb-invest...iny-house/. It looks like the most viable option, and it's far more affordable than anything I've checked out so far!

I'd love to know you're thoughts seeing as you're deep into the build process yourself.

Posted By EmilyB on 13 Mar 2023 08:04 PM
Wow, what an amazing journey! It's looking really good so far. I hope you keep us updated, I'd love to see the finished product!

I'm in the process of building a new, sustainable home that I can rent out as temporary accommodation. With ZERO building experience and knowledge, I've found the whole process extremely difficult. One builder tells me one thing, another builder tells me something totally different.

I don't know which way's up anymore!

After months of deliberation, I've decided to make things as simple as possible and build a tiny home instead. It was this article that steered me in this direction https://podlife.co.nz/airbnb-invest...iny-house/. It looks like the most viable option, and it's far more affordable than anything I've checked out so far!

I'd love to know you're thoughts seeing as you're deep into the build process yourself.

That wouldn't be my wheelhouse - I'm building a home for living not utilizing for income or resale. Very different objectives regarding size, quality, materials, etc.

Finally able to return the scaffolding, after months and months on rent....



Purchased some red cedar to build the front awning.







They were all rough sawn. Power and hand planed them down with a final pass with the sander.

Carving out the joints. Never done anything this big, used combo of power tools and hand tools. On smaller parts, much easier to sneak up the fitment a little at a time. This wasn't necessarily harder - just a lot more cumbersome. Used epoxy to bond the joints together, but they were so tight, and we pegged them - so probably could have done without it but good insurance.

You know what goes next.

So, another learning tip for those reading. Go a full INCH bigger on your bucks for all openings. I went a half inch on some openings and that was not the best decision. Had to utilize a power planner and grinder to open up some of the openings for the windows. While that was a pain - all of the openings were super flat for some reason.




Went with the Prosoco stuff on the windows. Glad I did. I've used the blue "goo" now and the red "goo". Red is better. I've also experimented with both the "paint grade" and tool grade Prosoco flashing. The tool grade is the way to go, the "paint grade" is more like smearing honey than painting.

Biggest thing I can say about the window install - if you can get your buck to go across the entire width of the ICF - do it. Much easier to install. I used mineral board for mine and they don't produce anything larger than 8.5".











Installation: - seam sealer (fiber goo) - Liquid flash - Install of Window (used metal brackets - easier IMO) - Latex Caulk on fins - Liquid flash over top to finish up

Time to get the big windows prepped for a professional - no way I could do these. Gotta do the final lift for the multi-slide and prep the large windows.

Nice to hire pros but dang expensive. They knocked out the three big windows in a day and the multi-slide the day after.

Getting closer to framing inspection!













Garage Wall

Prepping for Front Door Entrance, final lift.

We had to wait on order the last few windows until we figured out the exact opening size for the pivot door and how we wanted the windows to look. After some back and forth went with this.

Currently getting quotes on Spray Foam for the roof insulation. Until I settled on a contractor, working on final items for inspection, and sealing up the rafter sections with polyiso

Best part - took the wife to the site to show her for the THIRD time since starting the build.


First time I took her to the future home - she cried. We were standing in mud, in the middle of a big pit, as I had just finished the excavation.


Second time was after the first floor was just finished. I was thinking - this will really help her show that we are moving forward, all the work put in had a real purpose. Her response "Is this it??". Not exactly what I wanted to hear.


This time, she finally smiled. She could see light at the end of the tunnel and she was able to figure out her kitchen layout, finalize the size of the cabinets, and kitchen island. We can finally order the cabinets and start thinking about getting a plumber in while I work on supply and electrical.

Insultation in the rafters/exterior wall



Installation of the first panel (sub)





Window Dressing for Front Porch

Flooring the Attic



Building Mounting Blocks for Exterior Fixtures and Penetrations





Installing Support for Large Wall Mounts

Spray Foam Done!





Last Min Adjustment - Walk in Shower Prep





More Mounting Blocks

Lessons Learned from Last Update

1 :: Cameras
Make sure you have cameras up. Had a worker for a contractor steal from me. Thankfully, he was a career criminal and had taken 50k worth of items across multiple properties and other businesses. This made him a prime target for my local county and two other municipalities. However, another city police were one of the "more enlightened" sort and decided he should be allowed to take some of his stolen merchandise before the warrants went into effect.

Simply - he has multiple warrants out for his arrest but has some of the stolen property in his possession while he runs.

Cameras - make sure you have cameras setup, it can and could be the difference between a major headache and a colossal loss.



2 :: Documentation
Probably the most overlooked item that I have yet to see on any post or vid - documentation. Documentation that you need to keep for inspections, truss layout, reinforcement schematics with structural engineering signoff/seal, validation of performance factors. Make sure you are keeping up with your documentation and storing them appropriately.

Sorry no story here but I need to do better about storing the documents.



3 :: Drainage Membrane/Below Grade Drainage Planes
They do nothing. They are an oversold piece of merchandise that only does one thing - protect your below grade water sealing membrane from damage while you backfill. That's it. Don't waste money on these, find something cheap to protect your water membrane and move on.




4 :: Exterior
With ICF there are several major brands that will not warranty or even sell some products for ICF applications. I'm dealing with multiple contractors who are struggling to find vendors who will warranty and one who won't even sell the materials due to the construction being ICF. I'm now faced with the option of installing what we want without a warranty or expending many more resources for receiving a warranty.

Point number 3. Use Form a Drain and cover your membrane with fan fold insulation that they use under vinyl siding. It's cheap and effective. I've had idiots backfill with shale and wonder why they had a leak.

Yeah that would have been cheaper, easier and more robust. I wish I grabbed form a drain but I started right when the product was coming out and missed the opportunity. Great suggestions.