Chris,

Feel free to contact gerretmartin9922 at yahoo dot com    Use the @ symbol and period in the e-mail address.  Martin has contributed to this forum about SABS.

I worked on several of these projects.

GFRC will not crack...

very easy to run hotwire cuts to fit elec. and plumbing.

plus it is beyond fire rated (see the 4 hour fire video)

the structural is done in FEA

if there is a SIP and a IFC sub-forum why not make a SABS sub-forum here too?

Thanks, Antisthenes.

I wish they would start a new sub form, since we are all looking for a economic and earth friendly way to build.

This world needs to change, we all need to change and to do this we need to embrace new thoughts and ideas.

I remember when SIP was viewed with a wary eye, why because it was no good? No because it was a new idea,

and it was easy to stay with the crowd, change requires effort we as people like comfort, and conformity.

Let's remember the purpose of this web site is to find solutions and answers Earth Friendly ones.

Yes, having a separate place to talk about each technology would help

Also a earth building forum and more people pushing to have code like New Mexico in this regard too.

Pushing the limits is important so there lies no barriers in our access and use of the oldest/newest of technologies towards possible sustainable futures.


The last 'Green' expo i was at recently working the AIA booth there were 7 kinds of IFC and a few SIPs, and none had a SAB nor an adobe for that matter.

Chris Fitzgerald,

The Saebi system can be used for floor and roofs. However, floors must be covered with a thin layer of concrete. My guess is that since heat does not seem to bother the GFRC coating or expanded polystyrene underneath, then radiant tubing could be placed on top of the GFRC and then covered with a thin layer of concrete. This way the radiant floor would be insulated and the amount of mass could be dialed in by the thickness of the slab covering the radiant tubes.

Thanks, Alton

I am sorry to all I have not responded to everyone, as the schedule in my life has taken many turns lately.
I have property in New Mexico that I hope one day to build on, but I am currently living in Peru and for the last six months I have been working in Russia. An interesting note is that many of the buildings in Russia are solid concrete, the walls are about a foot and a half thick. The people say that the mass of the concrete holds the heating in that cold country, I would've loved to have an infrared gun to see what kind of heat escaped from these buildings. I am still very interested in the Saebi method, but until I can get my family to the United States I will not build.
I have thought about building a house here in Peru using this method, labor is so cheap here I think it would be amazing to see how cost effective it would be to build here in Peru. And since most of the buildings here are concrete columns with brick blocks in between to fill the gaps, and then stuccoed over it would not be hard to adapt to this new method here. I haven't looked to see if I could find the polystyrene here though. Just a note, the price to build here with concrete is $28 a square foot! Unheard of isn't it!

Again thank you everybody for your response and I hope to stay in touch more.

Chris Fitzgerald

How about impact resistance for SABS? It may be resistant to hurricane force WINDS, but those winds pick and throw materials like LUMBER, ROOFING TILES, and other hard and heavy materials. How would a SABS foam wall stand up to those, in comparison to an ICF wall. I'm thinking that if a hurricane or tsunami disaster occurred (I live in on the water in Hawaii), at the least I'd have my ICF walls standing, while if I built with SABS, I'd have nothing. Am I correct in my thinking?

SABS use a thin coating but most SCIPs use much thicker. Ie, you can have just as much concrete on the two sides of a SCIP as in the center of an ICF. Difference is that you may be able to skip any further coatings on the SCIP and thermal performance might be slightly better (or worse) due to thermal mass effect.

Posted By Chris Fitzgerald on 19 Jun 2008 09:05 PM
Hey Farmboy,

Yes you are right it does not go into a lot of detail about electrical and plumbing, and I am by no means an expert.
But if it was me, I would make cutouts along the joint for light switches and junction boxes, from the videos he shows sections of foam being put together so I imagine you could cut a horizontal and then make a channel to run electrical or plumbing in. I'm sure there is someone out there who could give us both a lot better explanation on the subject. I would love to hear any information as someone might have a on how to run plumbing and electrical wiring or conduit through SABS. Also I wonder how someone could run radiant heat in the floor system, may be run stripper boards between the tubing, or just run enough cement to cover the tubing. If anybody has any information I would love to learn more.

Thanks, Chris.

Gentlemen, Plumbing and Wiring i an ICF house is easier than stick frame house. You can conduit the wiring and put in the plumbing prior to pouring, or use a hot knife and cut out the foam after the concrete is set up lay in the wiring and use spray foam to cover up the wiring. Just don't foam it in until your inspections are complete. Farmboy, the foam is there for insulation and a form for the concrete, not structural to the building one the concrete has cured. Gigacrete makes a fantastic covering for interior ICF walls that meets fire code ratings and has supporting tests to back it up. If you are in an area where ICF is not commonly used, make sure you have all of the testing printouts on hand as "good ol boy" building inspectors are very resistant to change. That should not discourage you, just be prepared and you will be fine!