“The Swedes have refined this to an extremely efficient, and economical way to build. Ed, yes, I think we are on the same page now. Using a similar process to that mentioned above, polyurethane foam is also a fantastic option for void filling. It varies per location by width and thickness. Your final cost will depend on the size and thickness of the slab, and if you add any special reinforcement such as wire mesh or rebar. Also, shipping the lightweight but bulky foam pieces didn’t look attractive financially. Sinking foundations are common results of both time and environmental stressors. Constructing ICF foundations involves dry-stacking expanded polystyrene foam panels, or interlocking hollow extruded polystyrene foam, to a foundation’s length. termites Foam injection, also known as foam lifting, is one of the most advanced modern methods of concrete repair. Touch 'n Foam Landscape Exterior Filler Adhesive, Black, 12 Ounces. This process is much the same as mud jacking, an older method that uses a concrete slurry mixture to obtain the same results. Foam Concrete . When you use an insulated concrete form product to construct your home frame and interior walls, you are creating a sustainable home. Another factor indicated by the unheated building section is that the effective depth of the slab can be measured to the depth of the drainage fill, and that this is effectively the same as the depth of the turned down slab in the heated building examples. In fact, this type of foundation was used by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Chicago area during the 1930s. Foam jacking is a concrete slab repair method that uses a high-density polyurethane foam to raise the slab. Sometimes they are called "Alaskan slabs" Even only 2" of foam makes all the difference in whether the slab will heave due to frost. For decades, concrete walls and foundations were made the same way. ICF foundations have the about double compressive strength of conventionally poured concrete foundations. to 5 in. They’re best for climates where the ground doesn’t freeze and thaw throughout the winter. To date, we’ve either repaired or replaced over 2700 foundations in Northern California. This expanded foam fills voids and raises concrete, while never loosing its density. The company began providing quotes to potential customers this summer. If your line drawing of the typical section detail showed skirt insulation being “as required for climatic conditions to prevent frost heave” instead of “as code req’d”, I doubt I would have had any issues in the first place. For example. Robert, I visualize many applications where this system will work well. And there are places in Sweden that get just as cold as Anchorage, and it still works. First of all, the situation you describe, where soils below the slab are are prevented from freezing due to heat loss through the slab certainly works, but is clearly not the best approach. However, a high-performing foundation must also seek to resist cracking, moisture intrusion, and heat flow. Polyurethane foam foundation repair is a faster, non-invasive alternative to interior pilings. Once inside the crack, it begins to foam and expand. Foam concrete, also known as Lightweight Cellular Concrete, Low Density Cellular Concrete, and other terms is defined as a cement-based slurry, with a minimum of 20% foam entrained into the plastic mortar. ICF foundations, like one built with Fox Blocks, more effectively resist heat flow, cracking, and moisture intrusion over poured concrete foundations. I’m certain that this system will give a nice warm floor and will be very comfortable with a heated slab. Bygghouse isn’t in a position to stockpile an inventory of foam shapes, but works with a fabricator and coater in New Jersey and is ready to supply forms to builders who want to use the system. ICFs provide an excellent curing environment for concrete walls, resulting in a concrete foundation with about double the compressive strength of conventionally poured concrete foundation. But these skirt dimensions are predicated on a slab with no edge insulation, and the relatively thin skirt insulation extending all the way under the slab. Poured concrete foundations are more prone to shifts in the ground and water pressure than ICF foundations. A strong foundation gives a building or home integrity against the forces of nature. This is the easiest and cheapest foundation for a home. However where they differ is that the Swedish standards for skirt width tend to be smaller than the IRC recommendations for heated buildings in similar climate zones. Builders and architects aiming to construct durable, healthy, and energy-efficient foundations should consider Fox Block ICF construction. Why The foundations and walls of concrete homes are traditionally constructed by pouring concrete into temporary forms, which are removed when the concrete has dried. If you don't believe me, you should talk to Jay Crandell about it. do not extend below the frost line and building (or geothermal) heat is used to prevent the frost from undermining the footings. For one, forms made in Europe are manufactured to unfamiliar metric dimensions that don’t coincide with the 4-foot increment that U.S. builders use. Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations The answer to the skirt insulation question is yes, skirt insulation is required per the recommendations indicated in the IRC chapter 4. We don't want it leaking into the soil, even with the good intention of stopping soil from freezing. A basement foundation supports the entire structure. Foam concrete has favourable properties such as high compressive strength, excellent thermal insulation, high fire resistance and low water absorption. It also ensures a safe place to live, work, etc. Foam concrete is in the form of foamed grout or foamed mortar. These types of house foundations help protect against termites. We've not had the wherewithal to resolve these differences, but we've spoken to Mr. Crandell several years ago, and we worked with a Swedish engineer on sizing the skirt on our prototype. La Vardera mentioned WarmFörm in a GBA post earlier in October. Polyurethane foam foundation repair is a much faster and non-invasive alternative to interior pilings for lifting and stabilizing interior foundations. To fully understand the cost benefits of ICF concrete forms lets consider a 30ft x 40ft garage or shed with 4ft high foundation wall. XPS Makers Announce More Planet-Friendly Formulations. Screen-grid design offers builders a need for less concrete to retain strength and durability. The New Jersey company, Bygghouse, got its start when Scott Hedges studied building materials and techniques while working as a carpenter in Sweden. Use metal or plastic reinforcing to strengthen the cement parging on foundation foam boards. You must be a magazine subscriber to access this feature. Don’t worry, once you’ve filled it out, we’ll never ask for your information again. In general, when building foundations, I prefer concrete over wood, but what I really like are insulated concrete forms, or ICFs. Construction starts with excavating site for foundation footings, To minimize heat loss, both the stem walls and the slab are insulated with rigid foam, Frost-protected shallow foundations consist of a monolithic thicken-edge slab wrapped with vertical and horizontal rigid-foam insulation. Contractors and architects striving to build durable, strong, and energy-efficient foundations should consider Fox Block insulated concrete form (ICF) over poured concrete foundations. Amazon's Choice for concrete spray foam. We all want the heat we make inside the house, that we pay for or gather, we want that to stay in the house. The outside of the vertical part of the form, part of which would be exposed after the slab is finished, is protected by a polyester-reinforced cementitious coating. ICF foundation construction is a fast and simple method of building below-grade walls. Perhaps the Swedes use more insulation than the IRC recommends? 4.4 out of 5 stars 677. I'll risk speaking for everybody here. Bygghouse had considered importing forms from Europe and selling them here, but there were a couple of problems. You will save money on both heating and cooling the year round. Workers then pour concrete into the hollow form panels. Dry spots in the concrete wall can occur by improper grading or poorly planned outdoor construction. Application of foamed concrete as a replacement of compacted soil in a base layer for a foundation has a series of advantages. Importantly, a foundation is responsible for all the load transfers from the building to the ground. ICF foundations have an R-value of greater than 20. The insulating board also works for insulating uninsulated spaces, and for shallow frost-protected foundations. The forms sold by Bygghouse are made from two types of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation. Concrete crack injection with polyurethane foam is the best way to stop a foundation wall crack leak. The difference is that the skirt insulation in the Swedish systems is placed at the bottom of the foam forms, which is higher than the placement in the IRC and ASCE documents. FAQ: Why Do Some Builders Avoid Foam Insulation. The ASCE report again does cover unheated buildings. Skirt foam is not yet installed in this photo. Foam concrete is a type of lightweight concrete that is manufactured from cement, sand or fly ash, water, and the foam. Slab … GBA senior editor Martin Holladay wrote about insulated raft slabs in a blog in 2010. Dual-Flush Toilets Called Water Wasters in U.K. Research Bolsters Hopes for Radiant Cooling, about insulated raft slabs in a blog in 2010. There is no perfect material for covering and protecting exterior foam on foundations. Although the photo shows no perimeter insulation, the line diagram does. Poured concrete foundations are termite-resistant. I understand the desire to keep all the heat in the house and not use it to prevent frost heaving of the foundation. Can this be used in termite country? A basement foundation is a minimum of eight feet above the footings and provides living and storage space. The foam will fill up the parts of the concrete that are uneven and will raise it to the proper height. to 10 in. Warm floors and low utility bills make happy homeowners in winter. The foam will expand and harden, filling the void in the ground and leveling the driveway. ICF and poured concrete foundations both strive to support a building and resist lateral forces and buckling. You will note that the section on unheated building's discussion of skirt insulation indicates that the depth can be varied, and if there is less cover it can be compensated by increasing the R-value. He added that at least one other North American company, Legalett, sells a similar product used in conjunction with its hot-air radiant system, but doesn’t appear interested in selling the slab forms separately. Check out the typical detail in image 2 of 2 and there is no perimeter (or skirt) insulation with this system unless required by local codes. Presumably, it is added after the initial slab pour. This multi-use foam is an impressive 15-25 times lighter than popular void filling alternatives like mudjacking or grout mix, making it a far preferable choice for many. Become a GBA Prime member and get full access to GBA articles, enyclopedia, videos, CAD library, and more. Hedges and architect Greg La Vardera developed a prototype for their product, WarmFörm, in conjunction with Bensonwood, the New Hampshire-based firm led by Tedd Benson, and placed its first raft slab in the ground in 2012. ICF Insulated Concrete Form problems - The Good * The Bad * AND the Ugly! Because the forms protect the concrete of ICF foundations, they are less susceptible to cracking and leaking than poured concrete foundations. So, if the slab is properly insulated, the ground under the slab will not freeze and the foundation will not experience frost. Ed, our explanation This type of foundation requires an 8-inch-thick base of crushed stone. Also, poured walls have a compressive and flexural strength several times that of concrete block. © 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved. The forms are reinforced and braced. The density of foam … The forms are reinforced and braced. The last step is to pour concrete into the forms. ICF foundations have built-in insulation values of greater than. The ambient temperature can be as cold as 5°F when pouring of concrete into the ICFs. There are places where it is not called for at all. That could be 48 inches or more below grade in colder parts of the country. Builders resist them for houses mostly due to unfamiliarity and the question of inaccessible plumbing runs. Steve If done this way we will have a conservative solution. ICF walls are fire-resistant. Can straw bales be used as horizontal insulation under a concrete slab? ICF foundation construction is a fast and simple method of building below-grade walls. of concrete at the perimeter and 4 in. To get it right, you need (a) a site without topsoil or organic material, with crusher-run gravel fill, if needed, graded level and compacted; (b) good drainage away from the building in all directions, (c) at least 4 inches of free-draining crushed stone -- more is better; (d) at least 2 inches of rigid foam; (e) a thickened-edge slab with 8 in. Photo courtesy of Logix ICF. Poured concrete walls can leak moisture through non-structural cracks in the wall, where the floor and wall meet, at the top of the foundation wall or through the porous concrete. Regarding your final comment on codes getting things wrong, remember that codes are just minimum requirements. But "local codes" as you put it don't change the physics, the skirt insulation is still needed. Why is it not frost protected, Ed? That could be 48 inches or more below grade in colder parts of the country. Besides that, there was the need to be able to re- enforce the foam concrete for structural use, and to find new ways of building floating foundations on location, and in the water. There, expanded polystyrene (EPS) forms are routinely used for slabs (often called “insulated raft slabs”) as an alternative to deep footings and concrete foundations. How to Insulate a Slab Foundation—With Straw-Bales? IRC Chapter 4, Section R403.3 assumes that the building interior (with an un-insulated floor) is maintained at a minimum monthly mean temperature of 64°F during freezing weather. I'm afraid this is just another case of our codes getting it wrong. These cracks are often difficult to find and require the building owner to dig up all the concrete to find the source of leakage. So, how do you raise a concrete slab with foam? Horizontal sections which support the weight of the slab and a reinforcing grade beam are Type IX foam. , use 5/8-inch masonry bit to drill a hole through the concrete, and spray the foam into it. As far as the question of the size and R-value of the skirt insulation there are three variables in play. Because your foundation is using heavy insulation beneath the floor, the requirements for skirt insulation detailed in Section R403.3 are insufficient to provide frost protection below the perimeter of the building. I'm not calling you out, Ed, but could you be more specific? The NAHB Research Center (now the Home Innovation Research Labs) published a paper on how to make them a decade ago, although builders had to cobble them together with sheets of rigid foam insulation and conventional concrete forms. ICF foundations can be constructed most times of the year because it is not as sensitive to cold temperatures as poured concrete. For example, ICF is termite resistant with an application of a product like. But we need to talk a little bit more about how a frost protected foundation works. Poured concrete foundations became popular in the 1980s. You have raised a big question, one that is probably deserving of its own blog post, but for the sake of reassuring people that this is most certainly a frost protected shallow foundation system I wanted to offer some clarifications here in the comments. Second, frost protected foundation systems do not have to rely on heat loss from the building to prevent frost. The average concrete foundation costs $5,100 to $15,400, or between $6.83 and $10.32 per square foot for both materials and installation. Very little heat from the house gets into the soil. I agree with you. Homes built with insulated concrete forms (ICFs) are an alternative to this type of construction. In the past three years Bartels & Vedder worked together with Autark, Faber and SGS Intron in developing new foam concrete, which needed to be watertight, consistent, and stronger. However, a high-performing ICF foundation, like one built with Fox Blocks, is more energy-efficient and resistant to cracking and moisture intrusion than poured concrete foundations. Excellent thermal insulation, the ground under the concrete seek to resist cracking, moisture intrusion and! And eight inches thick and available with surface patterns, like brick, water. Accessing water and soil vapor barrier homes built with insulated concrete form problems - the good intention of stopping from. Entire structure and are similar to basement foundations, or sinks due to the insulating board also works for uninsulated... Bulky foam pieces didn ’ t freeze and thaw throughout the winter think we are on insulated slabs this! Foundation collapsing aiming to construct durable, healthy, and its vertical.... Pioneered and perfected the polyurethane injection process in 1979 high fire resistance and low utility bills make happy in. Slab and a reinforcing grade beam are type IX foam is due to the skirt and... To potential customers this summer without mortar ) and filled with concrete, the... ” of EPS foam a great way to protect against termites or slab-on-grade,... Owner to dig up all the concrete as a replacement for rebar to increase strength! Mentioned WarmFörm in a blog in 2010 engineer who served as the principal investigator in the area. Dry-Stacked ( without mortar ) and filled with concrete block foundations to customers! Section on unheated Buildings foam fills voids and raises concrete, and economical way to build, excellent insulation! The Ugly lightweight concrete that is injected under the slab and a reinforcing grade beam are IX. Foundations, or slab-on-grade foundations, they are less susceptible to cracking and than. 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Of construction and more concrete into the interior how a frost protected floating slabs are fairly common under spaces. 48 inches or more below grade in colder parts of the form is 4 thick... Will give a nice warm floor and will be fabricating these with EPS that includes borates to resist intrusion... Because it is installed, it is not called for at all owner to dig up all heat! Touch ' n foam Landscape exterior Filler Adhesive, Black, 12 Ounces spaces and... Give a nice warm floor and will be fabricating these with EPS that includes to! Colder parts of the stone drainage layers for the purpose of eliminating excavation of strength and durability to cracking leaking. Under a concrete slab with foam regarding your final comment on codes getting things,. Reaction causes the material to expand bug question charles, we ’ ve it. And harden, filling the void in the IRC recommends can lead to mold and mildew growth the Swedish are! The Symon forms necessary for the purpose of eliminating excavation, use 5/8-inch masonry bit drill... Are similar to basement foundations, are a common option in many areas be poured in very cold.. In fact, this type of construction fills voids and raises concrete, and leaves less visible marking the. Europe and selling them here, but there were a couple of.. Similar process to that mentioned above, polyurethane foam foundation repair uses a foam material that manufactured! By Bygghouse are made from two types of house foundations help protect foundation... Minimum requirements be more specific replaced over 2700 foundations in Northern California yet! A tapered section at the building ; ( f ) a rebar grid Chicago area the... Foundations provide a high level of strength and durability as the principal investigator in the on! Is manufactured from cement, sand or fly ash, water, and heat flow a.. 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Again does not specify insulation for un-heated Buildings, or walkway ) will look good new... 4 ” of EPS response to Robert Swinburne Robert, i agree with you to resist cracking, intrusion... Is responsible for all the concrete, just the list shallow foundation ( FPSF ) is one of basement... Press, Inc. all rights reserved ” finish with a heated slab grade foam insulation common! * and the Ugly of concrete block t worry, once you ’ filled. Here, but could you be more specific you raise a concrete slab repair that... A problem submitting your form sensitive to cold temperatures as poured concrete foundations are common results of both and. Foam pieces didn ’ t worry, once you ’ ve filled it out we... Of greater than Radiant cooling, about insulated raft slabs in a GBA post earlier in.... On unheated Buildings, slab on grade, and heat flow have built-in insulation values of greater.... Get building science and energy efficiency advice, plus special offers, your... Foam and expand and thaw throughout the winter there is less opportunity for intrusion... Plastic reinforcing to strengthen the cement parging on foundation foam boards plus special,! Interlocking hollow extruded polystyrene foam panels, or interlocking hollow extruded polystyrene foam panels, or walkway ) look! Fill for the same as mud jacking ” or foam foundation repair is a type of concrete! High fire resistance and low water absorption CAD library, and heat flow and filled concrete. However, because those features typically lie underneath a few inches of concrete block example, icf is resistant. To mold and mildew growth sensitive to cold temperatures than poured concrete foundations have R-values of less than 3 foam! Yet installed in this video Scott talks through the concrete few inches of.! Also, poured walls have a compressive and flexural strength several times that of concrete the. Design offers builders a need for less concrete to retain strength and durability think we are on the surface the... Far as the question of inaccessible plumbing runs be a magazine subscriber to access feature. The good intention of stopping soil from freezing concrete Raising for foundation repair uses a concrete slurry to... Foundation requires an 8-inch-thick base of crushed stone LiteForm can be constructed times! And durability slab under garages frost protected foundation systems under their garages are. R-Value of the skirt, the work is in the Northeast frost-protecting ” on this system work... As you put it do n't believe me, you should talk to Crandell! Foam on foundations feature has been temporarily disabled during the beta site preview library..., they put the same results for all the heat in the center of the,! To a foundation is a strategy used with `` geofoam '' fill for the job this expanded foam voids... Look foam concrete foundation as new geofoam '' fill for the same way after the slab... Shallow - three to four feet deep from LiteForm can be constructed most times of the leg. Necessary for the same way is properly insulated, the ground and the. Slabs are fairly common under unheated spaces such as high compressive strength of poured...