The following information is intended to help builders utilizing PolySteel ICF forms. Some items are just facts about ICF construction while others may be considered part of a check list.

1. It may be easier to brace to the outside (ground) if stained concrete floors are part of the job. This helps eliminate the chance that a tap con will damage part of the stained concrete slab that is to be exposed. Be sure your ICF Installation crew is made aware of the ground conditions around the slab before they bid your job. If there is no room for external bracing, the crew will have to take special precautions in order to brace to the inside and this may effect the bid. If the concrete slab is not to be stained there is not a problem, but if it is, internal bracing can be accomplished by anchoring lumber wide enough to accept the "foot" of the vertical brace strong back on one end closest to the inside wall and running out to the middle of the floor perpendicular to the wall. A tap con can be used to anchor the lumber underneath where sheetrock and molding will cover the hole made by the tap con into the slab. The vertical strong back bracing foot will sit on top of this lumber so as not to come in direct contact with the slab. The angled part of the brace support keeping the strong back pushed up against the internal ICF wall can set on the other end of the lumber away from the inside wall. This way the entire bracing system will be sitting on top of wood protecting the floor. If a portion of the slab can be clearly identified that will be beneath an interior wall or cabinet, then in those places the foot of a brace can be tap con-ed directly into the slab since that hole won't be exposed.

2. Make sure the ICF Installation crew has planned for protecting any stained concrete floors before the day of the pour. Ask them if they have a pressure washer. Make sure they keep the slab wet so that any concrete that falls down during the pour can easily be cleaned up.

3. Make sure the crew has enough men on hand on the day of the pour. It is very important that the pump truck and concrete trucks arrive early enough in the day so that the crew isn't trying to work in the dark. It is also important that the crew not give out physically before the job is finished. Trying to pour walls, especially in hot weather, without an adequate number of workers is asking for trouble. Minimum recommendations for a large pour are below:

   1 pump lift operator controlling the flow of concrete. This man is generally not part of the crew and comes with the pump truck.

   Pour Crew: 2 men to manage the end of the hose pumping the concrete down into the wall.

   Vibrator Crew: 2 men to manage the vibrator whip to make sure the concrete is well consolidated. This may not be necessary for our flat wall product as consolidation is generally only an issue for the 6" waffle grid product.

   2 men on the ground to vibrate the external walls as the pour crew fills the wall. These men should be able to rapidly fix any budges or blow outs which may occur. There needs to be a ready stock of plywood on hand already cut into strips and patch pieces for this purpose as well as screws and screw guns with charged up batteries.

   1 experience crew chief to watch over the entire process and lend assistance when needed.

4. Check with your ICF Installation sub contractor and make sure any special hangers, such as Simpson Strong Tie hangers for floor joists are either included in their bid or you have placed your order for these with you PolySteel Distributor. Strong Ties must be embedded into the ICF wall before it is poured.

5. Make sure you communicate with your ICF installer about such things as how top plates will be mounted. Normally J-Bolts are used but Simpson makes a range of special ICF hangers for this purpose. Look at our link to Simpson Strong Tie Products or click here.

6. Visit the job frequently before the walls are filled with concrete. Measure window and door sizing for proper location on the wall and for proper rough buck opening dimensions - especially if any changes are made after the plan set is bid. If changes occur, be sure the construction crew has the new plan set.

7. ICF walls are braced generally only on one side. The bracing is not there to keep the forms together. PolySteel forms are engineered with sufficient lateral strength to hold the concrete. The braces serve two purposes: 1) They act as a scaffolding system to allow the crew to pour concrete down into the forms, and 2) they allow the walls to be plumbed after concrete is placed.

8. Keep in mind that one of the very last things that is done on an ICF job is to plumb the walls. The corners are always stacked to plumb but the walls are intentionally pulled off plumb just a bit to "pre disposition" the concrete wall to "lean" to the side towards the bracing. There is a good reason for this. It is much easier to push a concrete wall with the bracing than it is to pull it toward the bracing. So if the wall is filled with concrete and is bulging just slightly towards the bracing, the crew can push it back to plumb easily with the braces.

9. Sleeves for the following penetrations should be provided for before the wall is poured: electrical home runs, plumbing lines, HVAC lines, dryer vents, oven vent hood, gas lines, any special openings.

10. Don't worry about an occasional blow out or bulge. These problems can be easily corrected. To help minimize this, ask the crew if they have braced every corner and every cut form. Any bulges in the foam are rasped flat by the crew and this happens on every ICF build.

11. The foam can be cut for electrical and plumbing lines which are required to be routed in the external walls with either a hot knife or with a router set to the proper depth for ROMAX according to code.

12. We recommend the use of V-Buck vinyl bucking for all exterior doors and windows. This material is much faster to build with and eliminates the worry of wood warping from rain. For the doors on the side where the door is to be mounted, V-Buck solid cellular reinforcement should be inserted to provide additional strength and an attachment point for the door mounting hardware screws. If you are unsure where in the door jamb the door will be affixed, several pieces of the solid reinforcement "sticks" can be used. Make sure these are placed on the side of the door jamb corresponding to where the door will be hung.

13. Even if you are not casing the interior of windows with wood and sheetrock returns are to be used, some shimming may be required because the window bucking has to be large enough to account for any tolerances after the concrete is poured. Plan in your budget to cover shimming costs.

14. Flashing windows is not generally part of an ICF build. This is work generally performed by the framer in preparation to setting the windows. We sell the full line of Protecto Wrap flashing tapes known good for ICF walls. No house wrap is required for ICF construction as the polystyrene itself serves as the water barrier. The windows still need to be flashed according to the flashing product manufacturers details.

15. Internal pictures can be mounted straight up to the walls through the sheetrock as normal. Heavy pictures can be hung with molly bolts that go through the sheetrock into the foam. For extremely heavy pictures and wall mountings our steel furring strips can be located with a magnet. Normally with wood frame construction the wood studs are located every 18 to 24 inches. Our steel furring strips replace the studs in wood frame construction and since they are located every 12" for our waffle grid forms and every 6" for our flat wall forms we provide more frequent attachment points if attachment to a stud is required. 

16. For kitchen or bathroom cabinets 1/2" plywood can be installed to the furring strips behind where the cabinets are to be located. This plywood will be flush with the 1/2" sheetrock and will provide the cabinet installer with an easy attachment surface to mount his cabinets to. This is not a necessary step. Your cabinet supplier may be fine with mounting his cabinets directly to the wall furring strips through sheetrock.

17. For mounting curtain rods over windows we recommend the use of steel ICF Grappler plates which are stuck onto the polystyrene just before the sheetrock is hung. The sheetrock completely covers these plates so they are not visible and the do not cause the sheetrock to bulge in areas where they are located. These plates are mounted at the top corners of any door or window that may require curtain rods later and are an inexpensive way to provide a good solid attachment point. The plates are flat and perforated so that curtain mounting hardware screws will tap right into them even if the screws are wood screws. These may only be needed for very heavy wall attachments which may not hit our steel furring strips.

18. Exterior Finishes: Forms exposed to the exterior shall be finished with an approved exterior wall covering installed in accordance with the applicable code. The wall covering shall be attached to the PolySteel® Forms furring strips with approved corrosion-resistant, coarse-threaded, self-tapping screws, having sufficient length to penetrate the furring strips a minimum of 1/4 inch (6.4 mm). No. 6 and No. 8 screws in forms using expanded steel cross ties have an allowable pullout capacity of 23 pounds (102 N) and 27 pounds (120 N) respectively. No. 6 and No.8 screws in forms using welded wire cross ties have an allowable pullout capacity of 49 pounds (218 N) and 59 pounds (262 N) respectively.
    
    For Portland cement stucco finishes, an approved metal or wire fabric lath shall be attached to the PolySteel® Forms furring strips with minimum No. 6, lath-head screws or 1 inch (25.4 mm) long galvanized self-tapping sheet metal screws. The screw spacing shall be 8 inches (203.2 mm) on center vertically and 12 inches (304.8 mm) on center horizontally. The stucco finish shall be applied in accordance with the applicable code.
    
    An EIFS finish system shall be installed in accordance with its current ICC-ES Legacy Evaluation Report. Other approved exterior finishes are permitted and shall be installed as required by the applicable code.
    
    We also offer an external covering called Perma Crete which is about 1/2 the price of traditional 3 step stucco. It is a beautiful durable finish.

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