Hey All. I have been lurking here for a while and learning all I can, thanks for all the great info you all put out. I have tried searching for this but I have not been able to find a good answer, so if this has been asked a million times before I apologize please point me in the directions of the pervious posts. I am in the planning stages of building a small ICF house on our lake property. Our property is long and narrow so I am looking at building a simple 32'X32' house now but with plans to expand up in the future if we want/ need more space. I am going to build the footings now to meet the need for the future weight. Should I build the walls and leave a little room in the top block like you normally do for a second story, or fill the block completely and just have a cold joint at the top of the block? Also should I run rebar long, along with jbolts for the top plate and bend the rebar over inside the roof? Or just wait and drill and epoxy rebar in the future? What other measures should I take now to prepare for future expansion? I am leaning towards BuildBlock ICF now, but I am not sold if there is another block that will be a better option for the future expansion. Any thoughts and opinions are welcomed!!

I would fill the form up all the way.

I think the putting the rebar in long is a good idea until you go to put the top plate on to attach the roof to.

I now think I would put the rebar in later.

Thanks, Yea dealing with the long rebar on the top course and the top plate could be a pain and why I was asking about it.

Is there anything else I should be planning to do to make the expansion easier/ possible in the future?

Make your rebar dowels heavier no. 5's or even no.6's. you don't need them as long if they are heavier. One more important consideration is how are you going to attach your floor system? I hate to sound like a shill, but the Burmon icf brackets would be your best bet. You can set up your floor system, then remove the joist brackets since the units are 2 pieces. The part that is cast into the concrete will be ready when you make the transition.

Thanks for the suggestions!! I had not seen the Burmon products before. The floor system looks perfect and I really like the Truss/ Rafter system they have for a really strong wall roof connection.