I am thinking of building a house using ICF. The house is going to be in a very windy location (on an island off the north coast of Scotland). What I am wondering is how most people attach things (e.g. satellite dish, rainwater pipes) to the exterior walls. Due to the latitude (60N), I am thinking of going for a system that has thick foam on the outside (probably four inches) so even drilling through to the concrete allows a fair amount of "wobble" room. The house will probably have a render (stucco?) finish, but I assume that does not give enough structural strength for heavier attachments. Can anyone give any advice? Thanks AA

4" long galvanized steel sleeves around the bolts should prevent wobble.  Sleeves allow the bolts to be tightened without crushing the 4" thick foam.

Thanks for your reply, Alton. Have I asked a dumb question here? (I was a bit surprised not to get more answers.)

No not a dumb question, just on that can have many answers. If it were me (translation, others will disagree) I would preplan and add wood to these locations. I would remove the foam in certain areas and add pressure treated wood and tapcon that to the concrete. That way you can have a "bomb proof" anchor for a sat dish or something that would be under more wind strain. Things like rain pipes that are less "active" I would feel fine using the built in "studs" that some of the icf companies have. I know nudura built in studs have the same tensil strength of a 2X4 and if you screw it as opposed to nail would just help that much more.

Thats my take on it. Good luck!

Thanks very much for your reply.

Good advise. There is also a tendency here in Manchester area to use water proofed concrete inside the ICF if in extreme areas. Tom bagley Groundwork in Winsford cheshire is a good source of info. 01565 756 156. We have done stone effect finish (Decopierre) onto ICF at 30mm thick is a pretty good 'reinforcement). Hope it goes well. Pete Johnson

We were using Nudura ICF blocks and they have plastic 'stud equivalent' every 8". That's how we attached all our siding. I'm sure it would be fine for a dish, though if it's that windy you may want to add a bigger structure under the dish so you can attach a board to 3 or 4 of the plastic studs, then attach the dish to that board.

I've got a close-up of these 'studs' in this picture:
http://oursustainablehome.com/galleries/icf_building_shell/photos/20090324_ICF_With_Rebar.jpg

but they get wider than is shown when inside the styrofoam. They are strong enough to hold our kitchen cabinets on the walls on the inside and those are solid maple (heavy!) and, of course, full of all our dishes.

Hope that helps,
Colin.

aa If you have a good idea where the dish goes (or anything else) you can form yourself a monolithic concrete attachment point (before you pour the wall) by cutting an area of the foam out and sealing the opening with plywood on the outside surface of the foam. When you pour the wall, the concrete will fill the void, flush with the exterior. Just be very aware that the more foam you cut away, the more you will have to shore up the plywood. A 4" diameter circle shouldn't be a big deal. On the other hand, if it's a 2'-0 x 2'-0 square you will be degrading the strength of the ICF as well as putting a lot of wet pressure on the plywood cap Note where it is and finish the wall (can always find exactly where it is by tapping the wall) and fix dish directly to with traditional masonry anchors good luck

Thanks for the tips. AA

Everything other things that need a very strong attachment can be attached to the ties. Decks, awnings, roof overhangs we will usually use the Simpson StrongTie ICFLV. Also if it works mount a larger piece of wood, diamond plate aluminum that is glued and screwed.

AA

You might like to try and make contact with Duncan for some local knowledge. He has built using Becoblock near Caithness and has a website.
East Murkel Croft ICF Build
The wind indicator on the home page probably says it all as does the wreckage of the caravan shown in the 3rd photo of the Spring 07 tab. Not sure about the apparent lack of rebar in his gable ends which may be a difference with UK building requirements but he certainly has had to battle with some difficult conditions and should be proud of the end result.

Stephen.

Thanks very much. I have dropped him a line. AA