I'm a couple days away from forming and pouring my footing. I'm using generic tyvek like the FastFoot product. Other than the good video and PDF instructions on their site, does anyone have advice for me? My major questions are how often I should plan to put the 1x4 sleeper/spreaders and what kind of staking material to use, 1x2 or 2x4 or steel. The ground varies from loose gravel (old Lake Missoula floods) to compacted clay, so I may have to adapt my staking to accommodate.

You will want to place those 1x4 sleeper/spreader/cleats right beside each stake. Using fabric will force the screed boards to want to twist off of your stakes. So having the cleat right beside the stake, will add a sort of triangulation. Also try and use screws, or several nails when attaching your screed board to stakes.
What is the dimension of the footing? This will change your stake placement.
Can you tell me why are you using Tyvek instead of Fastfoot; convenience, price, availability?

Thanks for the reply Joseph. I will be using 2x6 screed boards as that's what I have on hand from a previous salvage (i.e. free!) The large size of these boards will, I hope, reduce the possibility of twisting off the stakes like you mention. I will use screws, not nails.

The footing is 10" deep, 24" wide. About three inches will be trenched out, the remaining 7 will be above grade.

I chose generic tyvek (Lowes brand house wrap) for price and availability. I presume Fastfoot would be more convenient with those painted lines but I've read on the forums here that it's the same material as tyvek. My roll is 9 feet tall. I will cut it in half which will make for a good size for my footing.

Sounds like a perfect application for using fabric to form the footings. This should save you a bunch of time, and make stripping those 2x6s really easy.
The lines on Fastfoot make sure you have proper distance for the fabric to form the correct footing width. Make sure to give yourself extra slack in the Tyvek, or else the bag may "plump" up and give you a narrower footing. And increase the twisting force on the screed boards.
Tyvek is a spun poly olefin, meaning that while it is strong, it is designed to let moisture in. Fastfoot is a woven polyethylene, and acts as a moisture barrier. Also its c-folded, so folding corners and attaching to the screed boards is easier

Posted By JosephFearn on 14 Jun 2011 06:45 PM
Tyvek is a spun poly olefin, meaning that while it is strong, it is designed to let moisture in. Fastfoot is a woven polyethylene, and acts as a moisture barrier.

Nat, I think you need to rethink using Tyvek. Joseph is right. Over time moisture will creep through the Tyvek and into your footing. How much of a problem this will be is a good question. There have been several discussions on this board over the past 4 or 5 years concerning migration of moisture through concrete. If you haven't seen them I suggest you search for them and read them and then decide for sure if saving $$ in this case is wise. Remember, that footing is going to be in contact for a lot of years.

Joseph, you sound like a FastFoot rep but unlike BrucePolycrete, you present your case in a balanced fashion. Are you? If Fastfoot was available locally, easily, and not a large difference in price, I'd go for it. I'm not trying to nickle and dime everything on this project and will gladly pay more for a product that will make my life easier. Case in point, a Bosch dual-plane 360 degree laser level I'm picking up tomorrow.

I'm not too concerned about moisture migration through the footing. If it wasn't going to be tyvek, it would have been plywood forms with nothing underneath.

A quick search shows you can buy a 62" x 120' roll online for around $85. The shipping is less than $10. Look harder and you probably can find the narrower, 50", roll for less.

Just a thought, why don't you dig an extra inch and use 6" form a drain above the trench? Then you can level your FAD with a laser and you'll end up with a perfect footing and you won't have to take anything off when you're done.

Bruce, I didn't even look online for Fastfoot! I wish I had, that's about what I paid for my generic tyvek, although I ended up getting a LOT more than I needed.

jeepster, form-a-drain is much much much more expensive than tyvek. If I didn't have the option for tyvek at all, and would have to buy wood form material, I'd be considering form-a-drain. I can still level the screed boards with a laser and end up with a perfect footing with only a very minor amount of material to take off.

Natjwest I keep forgetting to state this on every post. I am one of the few guys here at the Fab-Form office in Vancouver, Canada. (Should I change my user name?)
The last thing I want to be known for is pushing products. If anything I am excited to hear others are forming concrete with Fabric, be it our product or any others out there.
Everyone needs to be thinking smarter when it comes to construction. That's why this site is so great. There is no way we can compete against China and India if we don't conserve what we have now.
I never understood this about form-a-drain though; If the forms are completely level, how the hell do they drain water and moisture away from the footing?

Posted By JosephFearn on 15 Jun 2011 11:37 AM
I never understood this about form-a-drain though; If the forms are completely level, how the hell do they drain water and moisture away from the footing?

Have you ever seen how Big 'O' gets installed most times? and it works!!! Water takes the path of least resistance, so long as it gets into the form-a-drain or Big 'O' and the pipe is clear as more water enters it will have a clear (although not always pitched) path and run that way towards the sump pit or french drain pit.

Joseph, where do I buy Fastfoot locally in Portland, Oregon? I will do so today if I can get it and the price is about what a previous poster said.

In Portland you can give Masons Supply a ring, ask for George, Katie, or Don Clark 503-234-4321. They may be able to help you out with the price.
They could be very low in stock, in which case we could ship it down to you direct. Again Tyvek will do the job though.
Here is a link to a job that is properly protecting their footing from moisture.
http://www.fab-form.com/fastfoot/fastfootProjectBodaConstruction.php

Masons Supply does not sell to the public, only contractors with a CCB. I've tried going in there before, acting like a contractor, talking like a contractor, but they won't help me.

I talked to a guy in Vancouver WA who had some in stock, but the price was just as much as the tyvek I already have in hand, and the roll is 120 feet. I need about 130 feet and I wasn't about to buy two rolls!

Makes sense to me! Good luck on your project Nat, I hope everything goes smoothly for you. Any questions feel free to give us a ring.

Joseph....I know I am a little late chiming in, but I would like to answer your question about how water drains from a level Form-A-Drain footing. As you are floating the top of the wall (if it is just a foundation pour) surely you have left some extra concrete (like 2") on top of the wall as you make your last pass with the concrete pump. Simply screed the extra to the outside of the wall and let it fall on the footing. A little handy work with the float at the base of the wall will give you a nice cement wash detail at the base of the wall and footer.

Progressive, concrete is hygroscopic; meaning it acts like a sponge.
Footers will absorb moisture from its' surroundings, and displace it up throughout the foundation wall, and eventually into the home. Leading to mold and mildew in basements etc.

When I look at the Fastfoot web site, it looks like the footing is a thermal bridge into the center of the ICF wall. Did I miss something? Is there a fix?

The Monopour Support looks like it could be useful without Fastfoot to create a mono-pour thickened edge slab and wall - ie, used to hold up the inside edge of the ICF (foam + a form board could be used for the outside edge). Any info on people who are doing such single pours reliably?

IMO, the Zont system might benefit from some type of small steel auger that goes in/out easier than a stake and easily attaches to the 2x4.

Jonr, hopefully I understand your comment; but isn't every footing a thermal bridge to an ICF wall? Usually this is not a concern as ground temp is 62 degrees F year round. So the difference between the 62 degrees, and the house temperature is not a significant concern. Am I missing out on something here?
Below is the attachment for the Monopour with a thickened edge slab.
On another post I mentioned there a few contractors using this system. I will create a post with their photos once I have received them.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the system though.

Soil around footings approaches freezing if built to minimum required depth. But OK, it might not be enough to worry about.

On the left diagram, I would bring the outer foam straight down where it would meet horizontal foam. No need for the outer leg or for the footing/slab to extend beyond the outer wall edge (ie, it could be a thickened edge slab, not a footing attached to a slab). It has no thermal bridging this way.