Insulating Concrete Forms - Installation
Coffrage Isolant Expansé (CIE)
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Installation in 8 steps
1 - Site Preparation
2 - First Coarse Placement
3 - Reinforcement
4 - Door and Window Openings
5 - Wall Allignment
6 - Concrete Placement
7 - Mechanical Installations
8 - Interior and Exterior Finishes
1. Site Preparation
Make sure footings are straight and level with a tolerance of +/– ¼"
Place all ICF form materials at least 6´ (1800 mm) inside the perimeter of the footings
On the footings, clearly mark all door and window opening locations
2. First Course Placement
Place a corner form on its mark and proceed around the perimeter of the building, placing forms as necessary
For subsequent courses, start at the same corner and work around the perimeter in the same direction
3. Reinforcement
Immediately following placement of the first course of forms, place any necessary horizontal reinforcing steel in the appropriate slots in the webs of the first course
Be sure to observe the proper lap slice distances and the correct separation distances for non-contact splices
Insert vertical reinforcing steel from the top of the wall
4. Door and Window Openings
Door and window bucks are formed with a material suitable to hold back the concrete at the opening and provide adequate fastening surface for windows and doors
Insert pre-built bucks in the wall as it’s built
Insert reinforcing steel around all openings as explained
in the ICF Product Manual and according to design specifications
5. Wall Alignment
Following installation of the 3rd or 4th course of forms, attach the ICF Alignment System to the wall
The ICF Alignment System provides form alignment and a convenient scaffolding system that allows access to the upper portions of the wall
6. Concrete Placement
Concrete can be placed in the wall using many methods The most common method is the use of a boom pump
We recommend double 90° corners to reduce the velocity of the concrete prior to its being placed in the wall cavity
7. Mechanical Installations
For electrical rough-in, create channels in the foam using a hot knife tool or router
Place wiring and fixture boxes into these channels
Install plumbing using similar techniques as electrical installations—piping up to 1 1¼" trade size can be used without interfering with concrete thickness
8. Interior and Exterior Finishes
The ICF form wallsystem accepts your choice of finish materials, inside and out
Depending on which materials you choose and your local building codes, finish materials can be mechanically fastened to the webs or applied to the wall with adhesive as required
Available finishes include: Gypsum board, plaster, siding (wood, metal, vinyl, cement fiber), stucco, EIFS, brick, stone and log
Proven and tested fire ratings
You get a 2-hour UL/ULC listed Fire Resistance Rating on every 6" ICF wall you build. You can double it to a 4-hour rating by adding fiber to the concrete. Fire retardant is added to the EPS foam providing a self-ignition temperature of over 800° (430°C) in every ICF form we build.