I'd LIKE to get a basement design built for which the wall height is 8'-5 3/4". Easy in an all-concrete wall, not so much with ICF. The WHY than height is not important. The question here is which manufacturer's blocks have products or web designs such that a block ripped to 5-3/4" FOR USE AS BOTTOM STARTER will work without fail.

The answer would be Quad Lock or Insulaform ICF

The answer would be Quad Lock or Insulaform ICF

BuildBlock can be cut in half.

You are right about BB. I think he wants to get to that height without much waste, hence you would need a 12" block. I also forgot a form that I'm using now. Premere ICF.

Build Block Global Block might be convenient although it might not be what you are expecting. It doesn't have a web so no issues cutting it and you can put standard Build Block on top of it or keep going up with Global Block.

That is where my mind went but screen grid has captured my attention with a different product: The Perfect Block. I guess you could consider that also but I haven't looked at how it performs under ground since I'm going to build on a slab.

Good luck finding something that will work for you.

I did BB global block on my upper floor and had to use long cement tapcons to attach a lot of the drywall because the plastic is so small and not as strong as the regular ICF webbing....Just a note. It was a PIA and took a lot of time. The block are a lot cheaper and uses 35% less concrete and R30 to R22 is a plus. I had extra long brick ties made up to imbed in the concrete before the pour which took care of the attachment problem of brick on the outside of the wall. I have a bunch left over if anyone is looking for some. I had to have a large batch made to place the order.

Yes, that sounds like a drawback but if you used it for a first course, you probably don't have much to attach down there.

I was looking at EPS compatible glues and you could probably Gorilla Glue a sheet of thin plywood to a Global Block wall and use that to hang/attach light weight items, then go to the tapcons if you need to make something strong.

I’d use Quadlock. Their starter track gives good attachment for wallboard and baseboard.
To those struggling to attach anything to the foam, I highly recommend the foam adhesive that goes into your foam gun. A can goes a long way, and you only need enough screws to hold the board flat. I had screws 8-10” inches from the edge of some boards and the adhesive handled retention just fine.

Does the wall height include sill plate (ie, typically adds 1.5" to height of ICF)? Nudura forms can be used for a 8'3" height (5.5 courses of forms) plus sill plate OR 5 rows of forms + 12" Optimizer form = 8'6" height (can easily trim 1/4" off to match exact height you noted).