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ICF in Greensburg, Kansas

Last Post 24 Mar 2008 02:29 PM by FlaICF. 7 Replies.

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Farmboy

Basic Member

Posts:356

18 Mar 2008 05:31 PM
My wife & I and other volunteers spent last wk helping build a 1000 sf home for an elderly lady who lost her home to a massive tornado May 07. Started Monday with crawl space partially dug. We placed 18"x8" ftgs, stacked/poured 4' of block for stem wall (installed Simpson ledger hangers), installed floor beams & deck, stacked 8' walls, installed wood bucks, braced, #4 horiz every course, #4 vertical 4' oc. Also installed ftgs and 4' ICF for concrete garage floor. Poured concrete, adjusted walls and placed J-bolts Sat morning. Another group of volunteers are now on site doing the roof and interior framing. Some lessons learned. As my wife and I will be building our own ICF this year, I was on the lookout for best practices and the opposite. 1. Need someone with experience. The only hands-on experience was in a retired custom home builder who had done a stem wall and basement wall. We did have several level headed folks with extensive contruction experience. Having attended a one day ICF installation course conducted by a local block maker, I provided some inputs regarding bracing, pouring and bucking, but certainly not as an expert. 2. Brief newbies to ICF!. I stopped someone trying to pound the ledger hangers thru the foam with a hammer. Just needed to cut the slot a bit more with the drywall saw. Also, place screws in the middle of the slot when attaching vertical brace to ICF, etc. 3. Consolidation important. No whip available for interior consolidation. After tapping under a window sill, my wife showed others the concrete dropped 1/2". After this, exterior consolidating proceeded in earnest. We will do internal consolidation on our house. 4. If planning to build your own home, GET SOME HANDS ON EXPERIENCE!! You'll learn a lot. Look at organizations that may be rebuilding in the Gulf states or Greensburg, KS. 5. Use a pumper if AT ALL POSSIBLE! I was concerned about the wet concrete, but the Reward block held it's own, in spite of some pouring directly into a corner or two. No blowouts and only one top of wall block that floated a tad. Just finished the concrete lower in that spot and shaved off the foam. Photos attached.
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GRickard

New Member

Posts:45

22 Mar 2008 06:45 AM
It's always good to see people pitching in to take care of each other instead of expecting and waiting for the government to come in and fix everything for them. My hat's off to you and your friends for a great project. It's even better when you learn something you plan to use down the road. Good luck with your own house.

Farmboy

Basic Member

Posts:356

22 Mar 2008 11:41 AM
I can't emphasize enough getting the hands on experience. Addressing tasks like making sure you have sufficient batteries for drills/saws, the time to cut/bend rebar, window/door placement, etc. Would like to get another build under our belt before tackling ours. Here's a reality check for you. Note in the attached photo as we are building our ICF home, what do you see in the background? Whether it's financial shortfall or non-familiarity with ICFA some folks are still stickbuilding. However, ICFs are going up: a Methodist church, a bank, 5 homes underway while we were there (others have been built, but already finished so not easy to tell if ICF or not), a garage, and several basements started. Even have to replace the water tower!!
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FlaICF

New Member

Posts:78

22 Mar 2008 02:56 PM
All should give you a tip of the hat for showing and stating the obvious, your good common sense and your volunteerism. Good luck in the future.

PanelCrafters User is Offline

Advanced Member

Posts:680

22 Mar 2008 06:59 PM
Posted By Farmboy on 03/22/2008 11:41 AM I can't emphasize enough getting the hands on experience. I didn't see a 'stinger' in those pics. You guys did consolidate the concrete? Right?(Sorry, just reread your post. What were they thinking?) Note in the attached photo as we are building our ICF home, what do you see in the background? Whether it's financial shortfall or non-familiarity with ICFA some folks are still stickbuilding. Sure they are. Most builders resist change. And besides, they get repeat business with disasters. The water tower pic is pretty, well, interesting. I wonder how full it was(weight) when that puppy hit?

....jc<br>If you're not building with OSB SIPS(or ICF's), why are you building?

dmaceld

Veteran Member

Posts:1465
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23 Mar 2008 12:06 AM
Farmboy, I see in the first pic some concrete spilled on the top edge of the forms, right where the next course will be perched! Suggest next time you go to the lumber yard and buy some 4" duct tape and cover the top edge to keep it clean. That'll save a lot a headache later!

Even a retired engineer can build a house successfully w/ GBT help!

Farmboy

Basic Member

Posts:356

23 Mar 2008 12:52 AM
FlaICF. Thanks. I can say all involved truly felt good about doing this work and most will do more of it. Consolidation: A 1.5 inch stinger was available, but only used on the footings. The construction leader felt the 6" slump was sufficient to flow in the walls, but we did direct several people to bang the block. I did some rough "testing" with a piece of 2x6 at a window before we poured thru the sill. Banging the 2x6 directly on the form or using a hammer to tap the wood against the block did not move the concrete much. It took quite an effort to get the concrete to flow even a bit. Convinced me to use internal consolid'n. Roger that, dmaceld!! Cause we had a few extra folks, we put them to work cleaning the interlocks. No hardware stores or WalMart available and no one had the tape. Other proposed solutions: use cutoff interlocks upside down or plastic/metal U-channel. Duct tape would definitely have saved time, but cleaning the interlocks was easier on the body than some other tasks by the end of the day. Another Lesson Learned. Get in shape!!!

FlaICF

New Member

Posts:78

24 Mar 2008 02:29 PM
FB, Definitely use the metal J-channel (U-channel) . It is metal framing track. It will save you a world of time when you continue stacking. We use it at the top of the wall both sides, leave in place when topping the wall. Makes it easy to trowel the wall top, helps keep the wall straight and leaves a nice surface for the trusses. We imbed Simpson HETA20 wet set to anchor the truss tails.