1003_4_CONSTRUCTION METHOD,

MATERIALS AND CODES

ASSIGNMENT 1

INSTRUCTOR: HERMAN DURAZNO

CLASS: 2022S_CON_1003_4

DATE: 07-JUNE-2022
STUDENT NAME: GOUGANTI HARSHA
KUMAR
STUDENT NUMBER: C0857223

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What is ICF?

ICF stands for Insulated Concrete Forms. ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) are hollow foam blocks piled in the
shape of a building's outer walls, reinforced with steel rebar, and then filled with concrete. A system of rigid
expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation blocks separated by plastic webbing is known as an insulated concrete
form (ICF).
Instead of using a typical wood plank or plywood form, it is used as an integrated concrete form to pour a
concrete wall. Interlocking pieces of ICF blocks allow a wall system to fit together firmly. Concrete is poured
when the blocks are in place, and drywall and siding are fastened to fastener strips inserted in the insulation.
ICF construction offers structural benefits to any structure. Both builders and building owners gain from using
insulated concrete forms.
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is one of the best insulating materials, and ICF combines it with steel reinforced
concrete, one of the strongest structural building elements. Therefore, you get a wall system that is unrivalled in
terms of comfort, energy efficiency, strength, and noise reduction.

What are the benefits of ICF?

These benefits are valued by ICF Building Owners:

 Because of the energy efficiency incorporated in, there are lower energy costs. (Energy Star Approved)
 With an STC value of 51+, it can block out noise and provide a calm environment.
 Mold, rot, mildew, and insect resistance make this a low-maintenance option.
 Steel reinforced concrete barriers provide added security.
 With a fire rating of up to 4-hours and wind resistance exceeding F5 hurricanes and tornadoes, disaster
resistance is a given.
 Insurance premiums are reduced, resulting in cost savings.
 Improved air quality provides increased comfort and health benefits, with 75 percent less outside air
intrusion.

ICF Builders and Contractors Appreciate:

 Due to the stackable forms, construction time is reduced, and fewer personnel are required for
installation, resulting in quick and easy construction.
 Building designs can be made more flexible by using a variety of form possibilities.
 For convenient shipment and delivery, the product is light in weight.
 With many finish options, it's compatible with any carpenter trade.
 Higher energy code demands are easier to meet with ICF construction.

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What are some of the tips you need to prepare your formwork?
Insulating concrete formwork (ICF) is a construction method that uses lightweight formwork (made of
insulating material) to support concrete walls while they are being cast in place, and then leaves the formwork
in place as insulation.
Insulated concrete formwork is made out of twin-walled expanded polystyrene panels that are stacked together
to form a permanent formwork that will hold ready-mixed concrete for the walls.
The insulated formwork is left in situ to ensure that the finished building's walls are completely thermally
insulated. It also creates a consistent surface that is ready for most finishes and proprietary cladding systems to
be applied directly. Many insulated concrete formwork systems include a flooring system as well.

When this article was first published in March 2007, the Insulating Concrete Form Association (ICFA) supplied
the following advice.

1) The ease with which your first two courses are installed is determined by the footings. Installing on a
non-level footing will require more time to cut and adjust the forms before glueing. The extra time spent
on the footings will help you save time and avoid complications during the wall installation.
2) Start laying the forms at the corners and work your way to the inside of the wall by drawing a chalk line
on the footing. For a square and level wall, the first two courses are the most crucial. Lay out the forms,
paying attention to where the cuts are made, in order to reduce waist size. Once the arrangement is
complete, use a level to re-check the walls and begin glueing them to the footing. The ICF distributor
can provide you with low-expansion glue. Pour the concrete slab as soon as feasible before proceeding
with the wall so that it can serve as an anchor for the bracing system. Furthermore, pouring the floor
before the walls are finished lowers the risk of harming the forms during the pour.
3) Begin stacking the forms, giving special attention to the first two courses' cuts. As you stack, changes in
the cuts will lead the walls to become out of square. Set the window and door bucks, making ensuring
they're square and level before doing so. Use a level to check the level of the wall.
4) It's critical to have a robust bracing system in place. The bracing should be placed every 5 feet. Some
ICFs require bracing on all four corners, while others just require it on tight corners that will be
subjected to increased pressure during the pour. If bracing to concrete, use self-tapping concrete screws
to secure the brace to the floor. Check the wall once more to ensure it is squarely braced.
5) Before pouring, make sure all ICF hangers, ledger boards, and beam pockets are in place. For the
following level, prepare the top of the wall. Tape the top so you can start the following level on a clean
slate. Refrain from pouring the walls until you're completely ready. "Adjust the date you think you'll be
ready by one day." It's preferable to take an extra day to have everything straight and level rather than
rushing around while the pump driver charges you and the concrete business backs up trucks and
complains about how long it takes you to pour the walls.
6) Make a concrete schedule. Request an ICF mix design from your distributor to give to the concrete
supplier. It's best to use a 3000 PSI, 3/8" aggregate pump mix with a 5 12 to 6" slump. If you try to pour
concrete that is excessively moist, you will increase the risks of a blow-out.
7) If possible, schedule the pump with a 3" hose. If possible, hire a pumping business that has experience
pouring ICFs. Your task will be lot easier if you have a proficient pump operator. It's critical to be able
to interact with the operator while pouring the walls, particularly near the windows and doors.
8) In 4' lifts, pour the walls. It's critical to pour with care to eliminate voids in the walls, particularly
around windows and doors. You may wish to use a vibrator in some circumstances to get adequate
concrete consolidation but be careful not to damage the forms. Vibrations that are too strong can induce
swelling.
9) After the pour, realign the walls. This is a critical step that many installers ignore. It is feasible for the
walls to move slightly during the pour, even with bracing.
10) The next day, remove the bracing and begin preparing the floor for the next level. The following level
walls will go up without a hitch if you've followed all the installation stages.

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What is a Blown-out kit?
A blowout occurs in ICF wall construction when pressure from the liquid concrete generates a bulge or breach
in the concrete during the pour or cure phase, breaking through the bracing, concrete placement, and/or
consolidation.
A blow out kit can be as basic as a 2'0" x 2'0" (600 mm x 600 mm) square of 12" (13 mm) plywood or several
2'0" (600 mm) long grade stakes with no. 10 x 2 12" (63.5 mm) wood screws and a screw gun. If a blow-out
occurs, having these items on hand will save time.

At no point can concrete collect on one side of a corner block. This could result in a concrete pour blowout.

Prepare a blowout kit before the pour that includes the following items:

 A couple pieces of OSB or plywood, approximately 24x24" (610x610 mm).

 drywall screws in a container
 A drill with a fully charged electric driver
 On the side of the wall away from the scaffolding, a portable ladder adequate to reach whatever height
is required.
 Before you start pouring, go over the procedures for dealing with a blowout with everyone on the crew.

In the event of a blowout, the ground man should:

 Remove the pump and vibrator from the equation.
 Install a piece of form support at the same spot if the foam has only bulged and not split from the webs.
Extra bracing can be used for this purpose.
 If the foam has broken out, remove it and clean the concrete before reinserting the fractured piece flush
with the wall.
 Install one or more pieces of OSB on either side of the failure point with several screws into intact webs
or bucks.
 Return to work as usual; this is a small occurrence if you are prepared.

what is the process of pouring concrete when using an ICF system?

The concrete pour day is the most exciting day on an ICF construction for many people. You've built your
walls, made sure everything is level, and now it's time to pour that luscious concrete. And that's precisely how
pump day should feel: exciting and joyful from start to finish. Your wall is on the verge of achieving its full
potential!

Stage One:
 Always begin with the end in mind. Preparation for Pouring
 Before pouring your project, you should follow a few easy steps.
 Check your order as soon as it arrives to confirm that the blocks are in good condition and that nothing
has been destroyed during shipping. If there is a problem with your order, contact Build Block right
away.
 To keep blocks in excellent shape, bundles should be carried carefully about the project (easily
accomplished with two workers). Rolling bundles around the site might cause damage to the interlock
and blocks.
 Check for proper bracing and strapping of all block cuts, apertures, vertical seams, and penetrations.
 Use suitable stacking tactics, such as a running bond on all blocks, firmly installed bracing, and double-
checking all bracing before the pour.
 Verify that rebar is installed properly inside walls, both vertically and horizontally.
 Ensure that the top of the wall's J-bolts or other connectors are appropriately staged.
 Ascertain that everyone is wearing adequate safety equipment.

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Stage Two: Before You Pump… SLUMP!
 For a variety of factors, this came in second on our list. Maintaining the right concrete mix is crucial to
completing an ICF project effectively. The precise ratios in a concrete mix will influence its strength,
workability, and the pressure created when pouring your walls, just like the proper components in
baking.
 Test for Slump
 A slump test is the best way to check that your concrete has been properly mixed. An Abrams cone, a
tamping rod, and a tape measure are all you need to perform a slump test.
 In three steps, fresh concrete is poured into the cone. To consolidate the concrete, each layer is tamped
25 times.
 The concrete is struck off flush with the top of the mould at the end of the third step.
 The mould is carefully moved vertically upwards to allow the concrete to settle freely inside.
 Above the concrete, the tamping rod is positioned on top of the Abrams cone. The slump is the space
between the top of the concrete and the tamping rod.
 Wet concrete (high slump) settles more quickly, resulting in a greater space between the rod and the
concrete.
 When pouring Build Block ICF walls, the suggested slump is between 5 and 6 inches (concrete loses
12" of slump when pumped under pressure, thus you may want to add 12" of slump to the concrete
going into the pump hopper).
 This exam is simple to perform and takes only a few minutes. Before pouring concrete from a new
truck, Build Block recommends evaluating the slump. This may seem extravagant, but it ensures that
you're installing the proper wall droop and avoids costly, time-consuming mistakes like bulging or
blowouts.

Stage Three: Follow the Plan Stan

 You're ready to pour once your concrete has been inspected and found to have the correct slump. Grab
that hose, point it in a random direction, and let it flow, right... Wrong!
 You should have a strategy for how the pour will go before a concrete truck arrives on your jobsite.
Choose a starting point and make your way around the construction in a circular motion. Concrete
should not be thrown straight at the ICF forms. Allow concrete to run straight down and form a mass
instead. Allow the concrete to flow normally before pushing it at a 45-degree angle in the direction you
want it to go.
 Lifts pouring in
 In lifts, ICFs should be poured. What exactly is a lift? What a great question! A lift is a predetermined
height to which concrete is poured continuously until the whole maximum height is reached. Pour your
project in four-foot lifts, if possible. This height allows you to reach the bottom of windows on the first
pass while also ensuring that the lower forms are not overworked. Once you've reached four feet,
continue pouring without stopping for another four feet and repeat until you've reached the complete
wall height. The pressure in ICF forms is determined by how much concrete is poured all at once.
 The first part of the concrete begins to harden up slightly (slake) as lifts are poured, easing pressure on
the lower forms. If too much concrete is poured in one spot at once, the pressure on the ICFs may
become too high to handle. Build Block ICFs are extremely strong, and block failure is extremely rare,
but don't take any chances.

Stage Four: Teamwork = Dream Work

 No matter how well-thought-out your pour day strategy is, it will all be for naught if your crew isn't
prepared and aware of their roles. Distribute tasks and make sure that everyone on your site is aware of
the day's strategy and their role within it.
 To designate jobs
 Someone to monitor the slump of the concrete and communicate with the truck driver.
 Pour concrete and communicate with the pump operator by a team member.

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  Inspection of openings, determining the height of concrete in the wall, levelling concrete, and adjusting
bracing as needed by team members.
 Someone to shake the concrete from the inside out (each lift is vibrated into the lift below).
 Set anchor bolts or other top-of-the-wall connections as needed by a team member.
 During the pour, team members should clean up around the site as needed, and following the pour, the
entire site should be spotless.
 On pour day, communication is crucial. Declare the day's aim clearly and spend time with the team
discussing any potential challenges. A safe and efficient work atmosphere is created by talking with
your staff throughout the pour to ensure everyone understands their roles.

Stage Five: Keep an eye on the nooks and crannies

 In most constructions, there are a few spots that should be addressed with additional consideration.
 Avoid pouring directly into the corner while pouring around corners. Instead, stand at least three feet
back and pour concrete from either side toward the corner until it's time to finish. This keeps the
pressure in the corner from building up and causing problems.
 Around door and window openings, the same method should be applied. Pour a modest amount of
concrete on either side of the window aperture when pouring around windows. This little mass on either
side prevents too much concrete from accumulating on one side of the hole, causing it to become out of
plumb or level. Rather than aiming straight towards bucking, direct concrete towards the opening. The
inspection openings in bucking on the bottom sill of windows can also be used to pour and consolidate.

A Little Work Up Front, A Lot Less Pain Down the Road

Build Block ICFs are extremely strong. They are designed to work well in most situations, and block failures or
blowouts are extremely rare. Making your wall fail requires a lot of effort (or a lot of carelessness). You'll be
set up for a fast, perfect, and enjoyable concrete pour if you meet with project engineers and follow these five
simple steps.

What is the interior finish process once you use ICF?

Interior Finishes
For painted walls, finish interior walls with drywall or gypsum wallboard. Using drywall screws, attach drywall
or gypsum wallboard panels to interior exposed ICF walls. Apply three thin coatings of joint compound to the
drywall or wallboard panels, allowing each coat to cure for 24 hours before applying the next. After the last
coat of compound has dried, paint the walls.
The finish on your interior ICF walls will be the same whether you choose drywall or gypsum wallboard.
Essentially, they are merely various names for the same commodity. Sheetrock, wallboard, and plasterboard are
all terms used to describe this type of panelling.
This is also one of the most cost-effective interior finishes available.

For a rustic aesthetic, use tongue and groove wood panelling. At 16 in (41 cm) intervals, nail 1 in (2.5 cm) by 2
in (5.1 cm) horizontal furring strips into the ICF walls. Cut tongue and groove wood panels to the desired wall
height, then nail them to the furring strips, interlocking the tongues and grooves as you go.
Wood tongue and groove panelling is available in two finishes: untreated and prefinished. If you go with
unfinished panelling, you can leave it unfinished for a more natural aesthetic. To create the desired look, you
might also paint or stain unfinished wood panelling.
In terms of material costs, a tongue and groove finish is more expensive than drywall or gypsum wallboard.
However, because you don't have to apply many coats of joint compound to the wall, it tends to be less
expensive in terms of labour.

For a textured finish, apply acrylic plaster or stucco to interior ICF walls. If you want a smoother texture, go
with a fine-textured acrylic plaster or stucco; if you want a more obvious texture, go with a coarse-textured
stucco or plaster. Using a trowel, apply two coats of plaster or stucco directly on top of the insulating foam,
smoothing it out and allowing it to dry between coats.

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If you know what colour you want your wall to be, you can obtain acrylic stucco and plaster with pigment in it.
Otherwise, white plaster or stucco might be used, which can be painted over afterwards.
Plaster or stucco finishes are the most expensive and time-consuming interior finishes available.

Exterior Finishes
When completed, ICF constructions resemble any other structure. Brick, stone, conventional stucco, EIFS, or
Build Crete are examples of traditional finishes. Vinyl, cement, and fiberboard siding are very simple to install.
For an eye-catching finish, use brick or stone facing on the external walls. Choose a natural stone or brick
covering that compliments the architecture of the structure. Using construction glue, adhere the brick or stone
siding to the exposed ICF wall.

Brick and stone treatments are particularly long-lasting and low maintenance, in addition to giving exterior
walls a timeless, striking aspect. With little to no care, brick and stone can last for generations.
If you go for a brick or stone exterior treatment, you'll have a lot of options to select from to fit your style and
budget. Keep in mind that real stone is more expensive than brick, while manufactured stone is roughly the
same or slightly less expensive.

For a classic timber look, use wood, vinyl, or hardboard siding on the walls. Choose real wood siding for a
more realistic look, or vinyl or hardboard siding for a low-maintenance, long-lasting finish. Use corrosion-
resistant screws, such as galvanised or stainless-steel screws, to secure the siding panels to the exposed ICF.
If you're going to use real wood siding, make sure you paint or stain it to preserve it from the elements and
extend its life.
If you choose to utilise a synthetic wood-style siding, keep in mind that hardboard siding is more durable than
vinyl siding, but it is also more expensive. It also needs to be maintained every 5-10 years, whereas vinyl siding
does not.

For a textured appearance, stucco external ICF walls. Using screws, attach stucco wire to the exposed external
ICF walls. Apply three layers of stucco to the wire, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next.
Depending on the style you want to achieve, choose a smoother or rougher stucco texture. You could, for
example, produce a pebbled effect with a stucco with a pebble aggregate or a fine-grained texture with a stucco
with a sand aggregate.
A stucco finish has the advantages of being fire-resistant, rot-resistant, low-maintenance, and sound-
dampening.

For a raw modern effect, cover the walls with prefinished concrete panels. Apply construction glue or follow
the manufacturer's directions to adhere prefinished fibre cement panels to exposed outside ICF walls. This will
result in a sleek, contemporary look that will weather naturally and mix perfectly with the surroundings.
This might be a fantastic choice for a high-end home with modern architecture, as well as a new apartment
building or condo complex.
Concrete cladding is exceptionally weather-resistant, fire-resistant, and low-maintenance, and it gives a lot of
extra year-round thermal protection. They're also simple to put up and take down if you ever wish to alter the
siding.