Look around, lots of helpful videos from both users and the makers of ICF, check out BuildBlock's channel as one guy who works there posts something once a week, be it adhesive or design work that icf can do despite what certain expert engineers say.
This way of doing a basement is a great idea a friend of mine built his whole house and garage this way got say its well insulated. Best part there no heavy forms to wrestle with. Keep up the great videos
Mike, I'm an old guy, and I've been around alot of contractors. I wish I had known more like you!!! You take pride in your work and it shows, and unfortunately these days, that is rare in a craftsperson. As far as the foam, when I had to use my foam gun, I would try to get the foam from Hilti, it was more expensive, but always seemed to work better. Just a suggestion.
Congratulations on 10k. I grew up on job sites like this one. I like how clean you have everything, it makes life so much easier. Look forward to the pour.
Thank you for the video. This is the first video that I've seen that has a clear explanation of the bracing and strapping. Thanks for spending the time filming and editing this. 48"x36' ?
My dad grew up in Gatchel and graduated Tell City high while I grew up in Jasper. Been gone a long time and love to see the scenery and familiar places in the videos. Fun to watch the work going on and very informative. Not too many basements here in Texas.
Still trying to catch up on your videos nice explanation on how to stack and pour you are a fine fellow nothing but respect for you and the way you handle your work no yelling and you treat everyone the same thanks my friend hello from northeast Georgia
Great video explaining your preferences and why. Very well done Mike, it pays to hire a professional for this work, and you are a 1st class PRO! Work safe Doug@ the "ranch"
@@DirtPerfect The drone footage always gives a better perspective of the job site. It's good someone with skills was flying the drone because I would have knocked a hole in the side of the water tower. Lol.
Speaking of spray foam... was helping my nephew build his log cabin... built-in Jacuzzi tub... almost finished. I asked him to get some spray foam so we could seal the pipes coming up from the basement. Next morning when I arrived, he told me he went ahead and sealed the tub.... he did alright. Shot the whole can under the base. Said he wanted to make sure the drain hole was sealed. It was, however as the foam expanded, the whole tub lifted about an inch. So, I congratulated him on getting it sealed and taught him how to use a handsaw. I think that was the last time he ever looked at a can of foam again!!! But, I digress.... ICF build is looking good!
great job and the drone just makes me jellous i seen a lake out back and a road 1000 miles straight wow if i win the lotto some day im heading out there lol great vid keep them coming
In the last 8 years since i started watching more YT videos, I notice more and more posting ICD Basement or whole house or no basement but just as an addition. Just have to wander around the search list using "ICF house/home" or "ICF basement"
def the best vid ive watched most info learned a few tricks myself lol ie brickledge for edge slab support and 2x4s on the top course for additional horizontal strength to combat deflection at the wall top during pour
My wife and I had a log home built and finally moved in this past December. The subcontractor who had the plans from the builder didn't bother to read them I guess. I happen on the job site and there was a semi load of concrete blocks. I was like what's all these blocks for and he said this is for the basement. I hit the roof! I said let's look at the plans....it called for a 10 inch poured concrete wall. He got all pissy and said blocks were better. We argued and I dismissed him from the job. New sub came in. And in 2 days had the foam forms in place and the concrete was flowing. The basement is my man cave and I love it. Stays cool, I have a home entertainment center, office and a 1,200 gallon custom aquarium down there. Football this year has been awesome so far!
As a 'retired' basement waterproofer I can tell you that CMU are the worst to use in a basement, they retain water like a reservoir and you would never know until you notice leaking and then drill the base in the middle of each pocket/hole space.
@@Joshua79C that's exactly why I didn't want them. He was trying to take the cheap easy way out! ...some say I overbuilt our home and I may have but it's what I wwnted. If the Lord see fit to allow let long life it's a house I'll have for many years !
@@jasonking2943 I did read all your first comment, I am gad you caught them trying to pay the cheap way just so they could make a bigger paycheck in their own pocket. I hope you also watched when the waterproofing was installed.
Mike, good video. Have done 0ver 200 ICF walls and projects. There’s a glue made in Canada that with a very small bead will glue your blocks together and eliminate the need for bracing. You can pour the wall, 4 ft at a time (not supposed to drop concrete more than 4 ft) then walk back around the wall and pour 4’ more, until you get to the top. The walls will flex, but not blow out. Then the next day you come back and push the wall in or out and take any bow out. The concrete will take 20 years to completely cure, so your wall is actually flexible. ALWAYS waterproof the exterior wall with a waterproof matting material made for underground steel pipe. It’s thick and resists any penetration by gravel etc. It comes in rolls, and is self adhesive, It’s made by Chevron Chemical
Mike, the flexible discharge Waterhouse (4”) can be adapted to the concrete pump discharge boom, and lowered into the block wall to the proper depth allowing the concrete to be poured close to the surface of the foundation, and raised 4’ each time you make the next go-around pour. We also have poured the footer and then set the first row of blocks directly into it, squared it up and let it set over night. When you get to the top of the wall, any variance in height can simply be shaved off to level. Simpson makes a “sill tie” that actually wraps around your sill plate, and is embedded into the concrete. Put these into the top of the pour at the required coding distance. If there’s a engineered flooring system at the top of the wall, you can set the hangers into the blocks and pour them in, then install the wood floor joists, thus locking the walls in place. Make certain that you install a French Drain system at the exterior base of the wall system. Thx for the great videos. Makes me want to get back into the business. Would love to build one with you just for the thrill of doing it again. There are lot’s of little tricks to make your job faster and less expensive for you. Good luck. My home was 3450 sq ft with 12’ ceilings and 36% glass exterior walls. I had one 3.5 ton A/C/heat pump combo. My average utility bill was $72 a month and we were all electric (no natural gas in our area at the time). I had 2 vent free propane fire places and they used $15 of gas a year. My Suburban Propane guy wouldn’t lease me the equipment because I didn’t use enough to justify him renting it to me.
Cassette Walkman Stephen Taylor here. I did not. But I thought with your experience you must have been doing this. In another video, a guy builds his French drain like a leech bed for a septic system using only rocks to prevent clogging by mud and other material over the years. That combined with a porous pipe would perhaps be best. Don’t know if it’s worth the money and time though in many instances?
Very informative brother. Anyone preparing to do a basement should definitely watch, very good. What is the cost compared to conventional block walls. If you want to share ? Thx buddy.
And compared to traditional formwork it saves on not having to pay for renting forms and the time to install and then remove them. Takes less time to use ICF than it does to use formwork or blocks and as a retired waterproofing pro it still needs such tech for drainage and the wall itself, but wont leak or retain water like all those cheap CMU blocks do.
that was fun to watch as i'm usually the one doing the ICF i would like to try those panels 8 foot seems nice we use integra spec 4 foot those braces are awesome wish we had them but then again we are not doing much over 4 foot walls nice job you take pride in your work and it shows
From my own experience with gravel, I wish i knew about things like stabiligrid and truegrid pavers for it, as with free flow gravel like you just did, that gravel will just get pitted like heck and require maintenance and when it gets down to the geotextile it will rip up from general driving as well as plowing when/if it snows in the area enough to require such. For the added cost of pavers it definitely saves on maintenance time and cost and makes for easier times with snow removal. I learned a lot of tips from many ICF users and the manufacturers who provide it as well, you are correct on leveling them for a more level top surface, many things i will be doing if I ever build an ICF myself when time comes if I get a home of my own and it would need basement replacing or just build anew.
do those black tabs keep the blocks from floating when you fill with concrete? best all around explanation of the process I've seen, thanks. we have done 4 now and your tips are great
I own a basement company and have our own aluminum forms. We have never considered icfsfor the obvious reason bit I could see where homeowners and diyers would use them. I would think they would be used more in the northern areas to protect the concrete in the winter time.
How hard or easy is it to get a bow out of a wall in remaining floors left to stack and pour ? What tools would you recommend for cutting in electrical boxes and wiring ?
Can you build an entire house like this? If so how would it compare in price compared to regular barndominium? Thanks for sharing your knowledge brother
You should be able to pour way more than 2-4 feet at a time. Local cement plants charge $1000 for the pump truck to show up. You should be able to get an entire house poured in 2-3 different pours.
@@90TBDWhat they mean by 2-4 feet at at a time is going all the way around the foundation in a 'lift' of 2-4 feet, then continue around again with another 'lift'. Continue like that until the pour is finished, all in the same day with just one pump charge.
Enjoyed video Mike, down here in hick town we use your standard block and mortar for basements old school but proven system. Every once in a while you'll get a home owner with some change in there pocket and get to set the prefab basement walls. The system you are using seems superior to the rest, what are the benefits in using this system vs the others? Sell me on it.
IMO: From my own experience waterpoofing said CMU and solid exposed monolith concrete, them CMU sure retain water like a reservoir and total crap IMO, but a good deal with those with small budgets as long as they are smart enough to drill a hole in the middle of voids in each block at the base to allow water to flow out and into a baseboard system carrying it to a pump well. But unlike monolith the CMU also have more prevalent noticeable cracking from settling, easy enough epoxy bond and tape fix. Prefab is really nice but no nearly as budget friendly as ICF which acts as form from the start which once installed does not need removing and thus saves time compared to traditional formwork which also incurs a rental cost from before start of install to removal. Have worked on one basement using such where the joints literally cracked open, all the waterproofing me and the other guys in my dads business did wound up being for not due to that fact, it was a basement for a "church" to go up atop from what my step dad told me then.. ICF is only like 10 to 15 bucks a block, and depending on cost of CMU in the area one is building it can be less than or 10% more than using CMU blocks, and less than formwork style. and a thicker wall than what precast may offer in the area as well which is only insulated on the inside by a minimum of 2 inches at most. Concrete itself also varies from region to region.
@@DirtPerfect these things have intrigued me. Are you planning on taking us each step of the way through this build? Not asking for trade secrets but just so many questions I like to ask.
@@DirtPerfect Yep, I figured it was Southern Indiana what with that "Southern" accent and all. Personally, we are down in South Alabama near the coast, really enjoying my ICF home since 2006. I sprayed foam up in the walk-in attic on the backside of the decking (I keep a chocolate Easter Bunny up there for comedic effect when showing visitors the house) and carefully positioned my home facing North-South with the main exposures to limit solar heat gain in the summertime and placed porches on the North and South exposures and no glass on the Eastside and only two small horizontal windows on the Westside. I only need a 2-ton unit to cool the 2000 square feet living space and I use a wood stove in the "winter" time (all 6 weeks of it). My HVAC power bill was only $160 for all of last year. ICF is the new standard to compare all modern construction. We have a Middle School nearby that is all ICF, (Escambia Co. FL)
Thanks for the sub and I would. It call cost a negative it will pay for it self over time but to answer your ? Kinda depends on floor plan and you location thanks for watching
We have been using form-a-drain for 5 years now. I noticed that you were using it as well how do ya like it? I think it is a awesome combination with ICFs I been doing ICFs for almost 15 years or so
Damn so much easier. Back when I was doing forms we didnt have this. We had the 4 bar and 6 bar old would forms. About 6 months before I left doing forms to drive truck full time we saw a house with this styrofoam foundation done. They did the entire house. Window and door cut outs place was totally sealed with a metal heated roof to keep snow and ice off of it.
We have an ICF above grade tornado shelter. 12" walls and 12" top, monolithic pour. Problem is the mice got into the foam even tough I stuccoed the wall before adding vinyl siding. Maybe I'll remove the siding and get some colored Shotcrete .
Only bracing on the inside with these, as long as you got an inward bow as shown in the flying shots, the braces will push out the wall in order to have straight and plumb walls once all is set if everything was aligned properly when poured. Even above grade its only braced from the inside, the webs provide the outside bracing.
Hey brother. I’m about to start my log home build and would like to use NUDURA for my ICF. Your videos have given me a lot info to tackle this task. Thanks man. If you have any info on who to contact to get the product message me if you can. I know your busy. Thanks for your help and knowledge.
I am building my 2nd house soon and I'm wondering what ICF would add to the cost of the house over conventional forums? I understand I could do basement footing to rafters and I would save on insulation and exterior wall studs but I wonder what the cost difference would be roughly? This is a great video and I appreciate the time you spent to show us this. Do you have any interest in traveling to southern IL to build my house like this lol? Thanks again
Around here it’s about 10% more but you save that in energy cost in a few years. I have a older video on upper level pour get time check it out are check out my website Simon and Harris home builders. My house is built that way and love it. Don’t think I can do the hole job but would be willing to come over and help the contractor if is is open to it
My house is ICF, purchased it over building it.. Anyways I can confirm Dirt Perfect is correct my heating bill last month december was $93 for the gas bill. 2000sq foot rambler in WA state. Granted that includes heating water, and the stove but those are epic small loads. I keep my home at 71 24/7 with radiant heating floor. I'm tempted to build my shop with them.
Since you're leveling and gluing the first two nudura courses to the footer,how do you lean the balance courses in 1-1/2 inches prior to pouring without knocking the courses loose ?
down were you are when adding an attached garage to a home, do you not have to dig out the whole garage area, and put a footer all the way around. double wide wall at house on the bacment footer.. and put up a block or solid pour wall up to grade then fill the whole center with gravel compacting in 6 inch lifts, then pour the slab,,, we do here, an drain tile all around as well as in an x under the basement floor to a sump hole in the basement, all tile must flow into that basement sump hole witch is normal built under a stair case, and a pipe throw the wall for the sump pump hose to go out
Shit love these videos .. I do a lot of grading for rv pads and what not but hire the concrete guys to do their thing .. But I’ve thought about getting into concrete work some ..
Question , 1 where will the sewer connection go through the wall / footing to a drain field ? 2 where does under ground hydro come in or do you drill holes after the pour?
When you dig a hole for a house you have to step the dirt back. So work can be done safe. A excavation has to be a 1to1 slop for access. Theirs no way to get a compactor all the way round the hole foundation. Maybe a jumping jack, but way then theirs a safer way. Your excavation is illegal to work in!! (YES).
I’m looking at building a house next year so I’m curious what would a foundation like this cost using a ICF versus a traditional concrete forms foundation? Just curious on the ballpark difference in price thank you.
This does triple duty, as a form it goes up and does not need to come down and thus saves time in rental costs for traditional formwork and as a insulator it also saves time in that aspect as well when it comes to finishing the interior. Still requires waterproofing stick and peel and dimple board to guard against water pressure and leaks. Take it from me as a 6 year experienced pro of basement waterproofing and having to deal with all sorts of basement structures except ICF as I worked from 1995 to 2002 (seasonally for my step-dad who owned and operated his own business). Wish I knew about these then.
ALl ICF "block" type forms go together pretty much alike. except Quad Lock which comes only in KnockDown form so assembly is required as you build up and KD form are the most versatile IMO..
1st,, if you are using ICF,, you can pour the footer wall and the footer with a bag all in one pour... 2nd ,, if you are gonna put an ICF on top of a footer that's already poured,, Use some scrap 2x4 and a ram set and nail some on the outside corners and a few along the length so it does not move,, also you really need to tie the ICF down to the rebar so it does not rise...
@@DirtPerfect Did you use the plastic leveling feet? I am not a fan of that either.. Before that was an option we did and still do use stakes and 2x4 for the top of the footer, place the bag inside.. than install hat channel to support the ICF. Once we get the first two rows on and tied together we pull up the sides of the fabric to complete the footer shape going over the hat channel and secure the fabric to the ICF with some L shaped metal channel screwing into the hatchannel and the ICF... We have poured 5-6 rows with the footer before,, Just need to make 2 or 3 passes with the pump truck,, and make sure you have a guy lightly kicking the air bubble out of the footer... Make sure you pin the fabric down to the ground where one piece meets another.. so the concrete can't get in between the layers.. I usually just use reinforcing mesh to make C shaped clips you can staple the bag to the ground,, I also usually use the mesh to make the baskets for the rebar.. to tie everything together... Sucks paying for the pumper truck twice or repeat delivery charges... But like always depends on the footer.. But we have done the foundation of a mid size church like that,, which was a rather long pour.. lol... as soon as the corners are poured we usually have the skid steer guy full in the outside corners, as this is always the most critical area with a failure can happen...
@@DirtPerfect mind explaining what you didn't like? not arguing just curious as I've never used the bag, but have done plenty of traditional footers. my thoughts are you could save on a pump truck and the # of pour days and cold joints. but not sure I'm a fan of floating a wall above a bag either and maybe the pump cost VS simplicity is better spent than labor on setting up a floating wall.
That's a nice system. Do you have trouble though with carpenter ants and termites tunneling all through the Styrofoam within a few years of construction . I sure did even though we had them spray the ground they just stayed inside the Styrofoam they were a real problem.
Shame at 30secs you had to put that 1/2 or 3/4" gap in there to make the wall a specific length, bet you could have done without that, though not much to plug it with foam and strap I guess. That guy doing the gravel eh, that's some experience right there. In the UK here and been involved in a few Nudura jobs, its good stuff I reckon. Imagine if they ever invent transparent poly eh, you could see that mud coming up and vibrate it out perfectly! Great job video'ing as well as doing the job, but you didn't need anyone saying that.
liking this video series--but..........where's the basement door to walk outside? just a window --are the home owners midgets maybe-ha! don't they want a drain in the floor? waiting to see how uns do ur french drain too. i remember u showed us a drain pipe inside the corner of footer before-maybe that hooks to the floor drain somehow? but i would like the R-value of them walls for sure. my basement was a poured wall, they used metal forms for it.
Same here, in MA where I live a door is definitely a must to pass code and not just one egress/emergency window. ICF definitely saves time compared to using formwork and superior to CMU crap walls (am a former basement waterproofer) which will retain water like a reservoir.
BigJim57 I live in the same state as Mike (Indiana) and have a basement that is at least 1500 sq/ft and only have 1 egress window with like a half culvet vertical to hold back the outside dirt. In an emergency the entire window can be removed from the window frame.
@marcus dixson That was kind of my wonder. In my area, on non-code foundations the verts can be stabbed in during the footing pour, code areas they have to be tied in to the footing iron in any of 3 or 4 ways, depending on how the footing/wall is constructed. But ICF or conventional, anything we've done is always tied in to the footing rebar. If doing tall walls, you tie in short verts of 4' or so, then tie in the longer verts using the diameter x 50 formula for lap length prior to setting ICF blocks or wall panels. So the shorter verts have to be of sufficient length to make the math work for how big of rebar is speced and how tall the wall is. It does make setting ICFs a PITA, especially on tall walls, but code is code. I do live in a seismically active area, so the rules are probably different than the area in the vid. If I would have an inspector show up to our ICFs without tie-wire and footing secured rebar, he wouldn't even bother walking the whole perimeter - we'd be tearing it apart, footings and all. But that's why its interesting to look at how things are done in different areas.
Myself I would have built that road twice as wide that's what it is or at least a half hour with again just so you have passing room and made the end of the driveway a little bit wider myself.
Myself would have used a solid paver (truegrid or stabiligrid) for gravel to keep it in its place and made it deeper for better drainage and not need to install any pipe. Makes for less maintenance as no potholing or reposition due to plowing when it snows ( i live in MA).
@@DirtPerfect Built in? We are a Nudura Installer as well and we use the form locks which we install last after rebar goes in. ie blocks clips rebar formlocks new row of blocks
