ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms)

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Sparki74

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Hi there,
We're looking into building a two storey 2800 ft in Cork with ICF. Spoke to a company in Cavan about it, sounds good. In lay men's terms, it's like a concrete sandwich.... takes about 2/3 days to put up a house. Have any of you ever heard of it or can ye give me any recommendations.

Thanks
 
Sparki74 said:
Hi there,
We're looking into building a two storey 2800 ft in Cork with ICF. Spoke to a company in Cavan about it, sounds good. In lay men's terms, it's like a concrete sandwich.... takes about 2/3 days to put up a house. Have any of you ever heard of it or can ye give me any recommendations.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Theer are a couple of threads on ICF's in thsi forum if you use the search facility. Most appear though to be more query related like your own.

One of the things I've noticed about it though is that it looks suitable for sure where you are cladding/bricking the exterior. There appears to be synthetic/acrylic renders available that adhere to the EPS... but I'd wonder if there would be problems in years to come with it falling off.

Who's to crowd in cavan that you are looking at?
 
There is a company in Clare doing it called Vision Homes Ltd. I am not connected to this company in any way
 
...as well as.....

ecoform, styrostone, rewardwalls, nudura, euromac & polarwall.... to mention just a few :)
 
Also Eurozone in Enniscorthy Co. Wexford.... My partner has just started to build a house using it. will post back his comments.
 
The crowd in Cavan are called Interspec, they are based in Ballinagh. I was talking to the owner who seems to know a lot about a lot of things when it comes to houses. He said that no matter what company you go with, with respect to ICF, it is the best build.

We just got our planning permission through last week and we're thrilled. All the hard work starts here!
 
Sparki74 said:
The crowd in Cavan are called Interspec, they are based in Ballinagh. I was talking to the owner who seems to know a lot about a lot of things when it comes to houses. He said that no matter what company you go with, with respect to ICF, it is the best build.
Click to expand...

....its Integraspec by the way.

And no, not all ICF systems are the same...

- polarwall use extruded polystyrene as opposed to expanded polystyrene (EPS) by other suppliers..... I don't know which is better
- some, but not all systems have furring strips so that you can screw plaseter board onto as opposed to dab & slab
- the thickness of the UPS varies also 50mm's each side upwards. Integraspec are at 63mm's each side.
- euromac have a roofing systems & concrete insitu system. (have not seen that from anyone else)

...apart from the system, you need to watch that the installer is experienced & knows what he is doing. The walls have to be straight.

- also does your builder know how to correctly apply the acrylic renders so that it does not crack in the future. (he will tell you yes... ask to see where they have done this, inspect, have your engineer inspect)

...just a few things to be aware of.

Fortunately for you, as far as I can see, Integraspec looks to be a pretty good system.

Have you got quotes on how much this will cost v's a highly insulated conventional form of construction?

ninsaga

BTW, just be wary of "he owner who seems to know a lot about a lot of things when it comes to houses" ... he's a salesman...... has he told you of any downsides?
Is his system/bulder homebondeed/premier bonded etc etc?
 
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Ninsaga,

he chose eurpzone after visiting a number of different companies and looking at their products. all of the prodcuts differ slightly. he found this company very open in allowing him in to thier factory to examine their products. he is also dealing directly with the MD who is helpful and interested in the job, not just in selling his product. but i think the main reason he chose eurpzone is because it is manufactured in enniscorthy where as a lot of other companies import the product from usa and canada. he is guaranteed stock as and when he needs it with eurozone as opposed to having to wait for container to arrive in etc....
 
Hi There, thanks for your comments. After reading come comments on it, I can see that there are a lot of questions that need addressing. I don't want to take the risk of putting up ICF walls with a possibility of them bulging.
 
Where can I get contact details for the company in Ballinagh-I have checked phone book and done a search to no avail
 
Once the right render is used it will never come off the wall. If you look to how houses/buildings are built in Germany etc they always insulate on the outside and apply the render to it. This is not a new system, its just kinda new to Ireland. But any old render cannot be used. The best I have found to date is Weber (Northern Ireland) and Terraco (Wicklow). The comforting thing about both these companies is that they insist installers be trained specifically for their products. If they havent been trained, dont use them.
 
The Continentals ( incl. the Germans) use EPS on the outside of the buildings. After the wall is standing and dry. They hardly ever use insulation on the inside of a building due to its structure and insulation damaging effect if not done propably
Structure damaging because moisture trapped in a wall will damage any structure, the timber in the joist hangers for example.
U-value influence because of the moisature in the walls trapped. The moisture transmission rate of a wall has to increase with every layer of material, starting on the inside of the wall with a low transmission rate, increasing to the outside. If the material used on the inside is of the same moisture transmission class i.e. made from the same material as the outside material the disaster is pre-programmed.
And most manufacturers of these EPS boxes use one and the same material for the inside as for the outside......And do not even state the fact that a moisture transmission does occure. The moisture transmission rate/class of the concrete-or whatever goes in - must be stated as well......and who on site can mix a concrete according to stated moisture transmission numbers ?!
My personal view: if you don't know how to use concrete then use something else to build with.Cast concrete structures for homes are not common in Ireland, most that are errected are precast. Concrete engineering is still in it's infantcy here. And these salesmen are making a chance of it.
 
in case anyone is interested i did a thesis on integraspec and energy efficiency in the construction industry. using thermal imaging, h.e.r and standard calculations I.C.F came out ahead of timber frame and standard build every time. the system i analysed was Integraspec and i took thermal images of one of their developments in Birr. the builder down there was very happy with the system and now vows he'll never go back!
 
unfortunate said:
in case anyone is interested i did a thesis on integraspec and energy efficiency in the construction industry. using thermal imaging, h.e.r and standard calculations I.C.F came out ahead of timber frame and standard build every time. the system i analysed was Integraspec and i took thermal images of one of their developments in Birr. the builder down there was very happy with the system and now vows he'll never go back!
Click to expand...

Was the builder in Birr "Platinum ICF" by any chance?
 
No the builder wasnt platinum ICF. He was a contractor who was erecting the Integraspec system. I will not post his name here as he may not want me to do so. I was very happy with what I saw and thermal images were taken and these reflected very favourably on I.C.F. I compared these images to thermal frame and they also proved much better than that too
 
unfortunate said:
No the builder wasnt platinum ICF. He was a contractor who was erecting the Integraspec system. I will not post his name here as he may not want me to do so. I was very happy with what I saw and thermal images were taken and these reflected very favourably on I.C.F. I compared these images to thermal frame and they also proved much better than that too
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Was just curious. I was onsite with Platinum with the Euromac system a few months ago.
 
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