I was hired after the lower level, 6" ICF, of this home was poured. The customer decided to add a safe-room at the same level as what has been poured just higher than the floor system. So I need to connect BuildDeck to the already poured 6" ICF wall. The span is only 7' but how should I do this? #4 hook bars in the wall and beam pocket is what I would normally do. Can I just remove EPS, drill and pin to the wall, in the beam pockets?

I believe that an engineer will have to weigh in. There is a lot at stake here and requires load calculations.

Can you run it past a local engineer to see what they have to say?

I would like to run it by an engineer, but the customer does not want to pay for it.

If I understand what you are purposing correctly, you would be expecting the pins to take all the shear load of the floor.
Normally the floor concrete would pour over the wall and the shear would be through the concrete with the hooks preventing the wall and slab from separating. The hooks and the regular bars would reinforce the shear line.

The span is such that there is very little load but you would still need a fair amount of bar section to make up the required shear if there is no concrete to concrete joint.

How long is the room? 7' x ?'

It might work to remove the foam at the contact area and install an angle iron such that the floor load would rest on the angle and the angle would be tied to the concrete portion of the wall with the appropriate Hilti fasteners and Hilti Hit.

More importantly, you are the second person in and the client doesn't want to pay for an engineer, it is probably time to run away. Why take the monkey of someone else back and make it yours?

A good point was brought up. If something fails in the future, YOU will be held liable both civilly and maybe even criminally (if someone gets injured or killed).

Why take the risk? It would take an engineer maybe 1 hour of his/her time to calculate the loads and come up with a solution. Typical engineering rate is $100 per hour. If the homeowner can't afford $100, then you need to run away and run fast.

I would think that BuildDeck has a standard answer to that question.

ditto what Lb said! You should 'never' do anything like this without an engineering stamp. Why did the first contractor walk??

The homeowner started it himself and decided to add the safe room. It is part my doing as I suggested it, but before he poured the lower level walls were poured. I am in it, I will not leave him this is not that big of a deal.

As was previously mentioned by FBBP, where the new BuildDeck will interface with the existing poured ICF wall, install a steel angle. I would mark on the existing wall a line where the bottom of the concrete will be in the BuildDeck, then remove all of the interior wall ICF foam from that point upward. Then I would obtain some 3"x5"x1/4" or 5/16" steel angle / brick lentil to cover this section of wall. Place the 5" leg vertical against the wall, mark and drill ~5/8" holes for 1/2" expanding anchor bolts approximately every 12"-16". Mark the corresponding holes on the concrete and drill to depth per the instructions provided with the anchor bolts. Install steel angle and torque anchor bolts per instructions. When you install the BuildDeck foam, you will butt it flush to the inside face of the lCF wall foam and shore as needed to provide support during the pour. Assuming the ICF foam is 2.5" thick, you will need to cut a ~1/2" groove in the end of the foam to fit over the 3" horizontal leg of the steel angle. As an extra measure of safety, I would then mark on the 3" horizontal leg of the steel angle where the bottom of each concrete rib will be. Then I would drill a 1/2" hole at each rib location and install a long 1/2" bolt upward to be captured in the concrete. You may have to remove some additional ICF foam below the steel angle at each of these bolts to allow installation. Then when installing the bottom rebar in the BuildDeck ribs, bend the ends and hook around this bolt protruding up from the steel angle.

If you have a drill press available, you might want to do all of your steel measuring, marking, and drilling prior to attaching it to the wall.

Posted By jonr on 15 Nov 2014 07:33 AM
I would think that BuildDeck has a standard answer to that question.

They do. In their design and installation manual is this comment:

All concrete and steel design must be approved by the project specific Engineer of Record.

Posted By arkie6 on 16 Nov 2014 06:31 PM
As was previously mentioned by FBBP, where the new BuildDeck will interface with the existing poured ICF wall, install a steel angle. I would mark on the existing wall a line where the bottom of the concrete will be in the BuildDeck, then remove all of the interior wall ICF foam from that point upward. Then I would obtain some 3"x5"x1/4" or 5/16" steel angle / brick lentil to cover this section of wall. Place the 5" leg vertical against the wall, mark and drill ~5/8" holes for 1/2" expanding anchor bolts approximately every 12"-16". Mark the corresponding holes on the concrete and drill to depth per the instructions provided with the anchor bolts. Install steel angle and torque anchor bolts per instructions. When you install the BuildDeck foam, you will butt it flush to the inside face of the lCF wall foam and shore as needed to provide support during the pour. Assuming the ICF foam is 2.5" thick, you will need to cut a ~1/2" groove in the end of the foam to fit over the 3" horizontal leg of the steel angle. As an extra measure of safety, I would then mark on the 3" horizontal leg of the steel angle where the bottom of each concrete rib will be. Then I would drill a 1/2" hole at each rib location and install a long 1/2" bolt upward to be captured in the concrete. You may have to remove some additional ICF foam below the steel angle at each of these bolts to allow installation. Then when installing the bottom rebar in the BuildDeck ribs, bend the ends and hook around this bolt protruding up from the steel angle.

If you have a drill press available, you might want to do all of your steel measuring, marking, and drilling prior to attaching it to the wall.

And drill and pin bar into the wall