|
|
Home | Contact Us | About PolySteel of Austin | Green Building Facts |
|
Below Grade |
|
|
Minimizing ICF Construction Costs
|
This section is actually about how NOT to build below grade walls. With the owners permission I couldn't resist taking some pictures of a home built here in Lakeway. In the first photo below you can see a formidable wall of concrete. It's a little difficult to tell but there will be a second slab up and to the left of the concrete wall. We refer to this as a split slab configuration and there are many examples of this here in Austin with our hills. To build that vertical concrete wall, before any framing was up, there were wooden sheets of plywood about 1" thick in place that the slab contractor poured concrete down into. He could have used steel forms of course but in either case those large heavy forms don't remain in place and have to be hauled off after the wall has set up and before the backfill can be brought in.
Question: What were those sheets of plywood for? Answer: FORMS FOR CONCRETE! Point: Traditional methods use forms and we are no different except that our forms are permanent.
Below is a picture of the concrete wall after the temporary forms have been removed and some of the framing is up.
Below is a closer view of that same wall. I'm showing you a waste and un-needed expense and I want to see if you can find it.
While your giving that some thought, below is a picture of the same wall from a different direction. What is that laying on the floor in this photo? No not the ladder... what's beneath the ladder?
Its the 2x4 framing of a wood wall about to be raised up for this side of the vertical slab. But what is it for? Isn't there already a great concrete wall there?
Final Clue showing the internal wood frame wall.
I'll bet you've got it:
Question: What's the wood wall for? Answer: Its a place for electrical ROMAX or anything else to be routed and a place for sheetrock to be attached! Point: Because our forms remain in place this step and the wasted floor space occupied by this redundant wood wall is completely eliminated! This builder is not only paying for the wood wall he is also eating up the home owners square footage - in this case 3.5" x 48' long is 14 square feet wasted. With our product, since our forms are left in place, you simply route your cat-5, ROMAX, plumbing lines, etc right inside our polystyrene forms with a hot knife.
But what about sheetrock attachment?
Keep reading..
I know you are liking these puzzles so here's another. This retaining wall is immediately to the right of the house.
Question: What are those little metal looking things sticking out of that wall? Answer: They are furring strips for attaching stone or other finishes. Point: With our product steel furring strips are already built right into the forms. If the concrete wall had been built with our product it would have been ready for not just routing ROMAX but for sheetrock as well. Sheetrock screws right up to our forms. The wood wall is a complete waste of time, money, and space.
Summary We can typically stack, and brace 1000 sf of wall in 1 to 2 days. Pour concrete the next, clean up, install membrane and tear down bracing the final day and generally be off your job in 4 to 5 days tops.
When we're done with that fast sprint, your wall is ready for electrical ROMAX and sheet rocking. NO redundant wood wall required just to route ROMAX. Most below grade jobs will cost you between $12 to $15 / square foot and that needs to be compared to $16 to $24 / square foot for traditional methods. And when we are done - the wall is built - no internal wood wall required.
We have details of basement walls as high as 24' built with our forms!
|
