ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms)

Sas,

Another reason screwing is better than dabbing is down to the movement of air and heat loss. When a wall is dabbed it is not tight against the wall/insulation. Therefore there is a possibility of air movement behind the slab. Where there is air movement there is a risk of thermal looping (hot air rising, pulling cold air to replace it) and heat loss.
 

Just Read that article and i'm more confused than ever now. Sounds like all these certificates are a bit of a money spinner so noone wants to let go of their influence. That 60 years durability seems to be a big issue on any tax break buildings which could prevent use of ICF.
 
randompunter said:
Just Read that article and i'm more confused than ever now.
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Welcome to my world!. At least I'm only at the beginning of the planning stage so I've time to get even more confused.

Thats why I've been looking into the Kingspan TEK system and the poroton block system. They seem to be the only "alternative" building systems that have IAB certificates.
 
Anyone know what happens if you ever want to extend in a ICF house will it crack and half a domino effect if you try to knock out a section of wall
 
Hello First post - I believe a crowd in Offaly called M2 Emmedue have IAB Certification. I know nothing about them or the quality of their product, but it looks interesting.
here is the link to their certification [broken link removed]
 
Is the webber system for rendering very expensive? Also what about the ICF and the speed at which it can be erected?
 
Hello to all
I'm currently in the early stages of planning a self build (I'm a first timer), ICF technology has me interested.

SAS, I was just wondering if you went ahead with the ICF build? If not, what were the reasons for not using this technology?

This thread is a bit old now, so in the three years since this thread was started, have there been any changes with regards to the whole certification mess?

Any input from other members is also welcome.

Regards,
Ned
 
Up to floor level and the ICF has just been delivered to site. First floor should be up and poured by Saturday. We went with reward but that was because we found a builder who was very experienced in ICF and some of the features of our home. Went with ICF for air tightness, the solid feel to it and the speed of construction.
 
krissovo said:
From the fact sheet

"Actual U-value of concrete & iForm: 0.25M2k – BBA Certified"

The walls are 400 thick
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I build SIP structures for a crust, and interestingly, a similar wall built from , 370mm thick (total, including external leaf) would have a u-value of 0.15.

As regards what's BRE vs BBA vs IAB, it's quite straightforward.

BRE and BBA are two UK entities, previously part of the Home Office, who offer testing and accreditation to manufacturers and constructors, of building products and systems. Both are physically in the same place (Watford, UK - btdt ) and both do a wide range of physical testing on anything from a clip to an entire building, beam etc (huge test capabilities).

IAB, on the other don't do testing, and accredits systems. Physical testing can be in the UK (most) or elsewhere, and results incorporated in the IAB cert. Quite often that testing is still done.....at BRE/BBA !

The merits of all 3 certs are equal. Insurers etc do not differentiate between them.

As for ICF, well like everything else, there's good and bad in everything, but the quality of the finished ICF product is far more influenced by site practices, site quality and, even the weather ! than a factory system.

We are currently fitting a SIP roof to an ICF system (3 buildings), and imho, the ICF has limitations in this area.
 
Just clicked out your like there galwaytt & got a warning that there is malware on that site.
 

I didn't go ahead with anything yet. Honestly. We decided to go the completely passive house route and the design we had wasn't up to it.
We got preliminary planning approval 2 weeks ago so we're getting there.

I'll be starting Aug\Sept all going well.

There is only 2 ICF systems in Ireland I'd be interested in and that's purely based on the technical spec of both. You want more insulation on the outside than the inside basically. So that leaves www.thermohouse.ie and [broken link removed]. This is not a recommendation.

The Wolf System is a passive house certified one with a u-value 0.1. I saw the Irish show house, fine job. Expensive system though.

Guide price for erecting ICF incidently (labour) will be €20 (+ VAT) per sq metre of wall measured through the openings.

I'm seriously looking at externally insulated masonry as my build option. Cheapest build option for passive level u-values by far based on my pricing.

You don't really want to be taking the advice of someone that got planning nearly 3 years ago and still hasn't decided how to build though...
 
Thanks for the reply sas and everyone else.

I'm still struggling to take in all the info and come to any kind of a decision, guess I'll just have to keep reading.

Regards,
Ned
 
... just read that Construct Ireland article online. Interesting comment in there is Mr Balfe's comment that '80% of product failure is down to installation problems'. That much, I concur with.

It is also the reason that 'traditional' methods and materials will always struggle to meet their on-paper aspirations and targets. The best factory-made product (of any kind) is useless, if quality of site work renders it's performance, void.
 
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