The issue is the lot is hemmed in on both sides by houses and their walls. So two questions come up about having no 'outside' space to work.

Normally the outside of a basement wall is usually damp-proofed etc for ground moisture control. But there is no 'outside' space for that in a rowhouse arrangement. Do below grade ICF walls need damp-proofing or does ICF form+cement make the seal?

Above ground the issue is how to seal/side a SIP wall up against another wall. For that we figure using a shaft wall with outer fire rated board and SIPs installed in the inner portion of the shaft wall. But I'll have to run that by the SIP forum.

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Posted By cjbuild on 08 Feb 2011 07:32 AM
So the house project we're getting...tangled...er planning is a new rowhouse built on the site of a derelict rowhouse. (aka infill) We're thinking to tear it down, remove the ruble basement, and make a new basement.

The issue is the lot is hemmed in on both sides by houses and their walls. So two questions come up about having no 'outside' space to work.

Normally the outside of a basement wall is usually damp-proofed etc for ground moisture control. But there is no 'outside' space for that in a rowhouse arrangement. Do below grade ICF walls need damp-proofing or does ICF form+cement make the seal?

Above ground the issue is how to seal/side a SIP wall up against another wall. For that we figure using a shaft wall with outer fire rated board and SIPs installed in the inner portion of the shaft wall. But I'll have to run that by the SIP forum.

If you are up against another house, where would the moisture come from? If you are still concerned, tack a drain board like Delta MS against the other house and install the ICF wrapping around the corners and continue down the sides. [...what kind of crazy forum requires users to format the text with html tags?]