My stem walls (already poured) are 8" Amvic.  We hung a wood floor off the top block.  We are going up with 6" block for the house walls.  I was able to cleat off the wood floor to brace  the bottom 6" block inside the house where the teeth do not meet.  Because only the outside teeth engage I am uncertain if additional bracing is needed at the bottom course on the outside.  What is standard practice in this instance?

Thanks,  John

I'm not sure how you attached your first floor. Are you going to brace on the inside. You should have no trouble bracing from the wood floor to the top of the wall without worrying about the first course of 6" block. It will follow the rest of the wall unless something is badly out of plumb or misaligned. Check the alignment after you stack a couple of courses by siting down the outside of the walls to make sure you are coming up on the same plane, especially at the corners.

Thanks.  I attached the floor to ledgers bolted to the inside of the 8" blocks.  I have no problem bracing the tops of the walls or any other alignments.  I am concerned about the bottom blocks blowing out  since only the teeth on one side are interlocked.  Sounds like it may not be an issue.

John

John,

The concern is not blowing out but just making sure the alignment of the top floor stays in line with the one below. A couple of questions. Did you pour the 8" right to the top of the block or did you leave it down a bit? If you left it down, how far?

ICF Contractor

We held it down to just above the plastic ties.  2"+/-.  Kind of awkward to hold any lower with all the obstructions.

John

John,

This makes it a little more awkward but here is what I would do. You could if you want to cleat the wall on every seam with a hunk of plywood that spans the webs on both sides of the seam down to the row below. Or you can use a little spray foam to glue the two rows together or you can use nylon reinforced packing tape to tape the first 6" coarse to the row below. This will keep the interlock together so your wall is even.

Now on the inside. I would stack the first few rows or three then use a level and plumb the wall. When you have the wall plumb take a 2X4 and lay it on the ledge left by the 8" block or if you covered it with your subfloor set this 2X4 on the subfloor and use 3" screws and cleat it to the wall to give the inside something solid to sit on. When you put a screw in every web this will create a very strong shelf for the 6" block to sit on. Now be careful it has been a year or so since I installed Amvic but what I remember is that the webs are somewhat flimsy and strip out fairly easily when you screw into it.

If you need more assistance let me know.

ICF Contractor