# Forum More Stuff Go to Whoa!  ICF Build - Das Bunker - Brisbane

## Whodoesthat

Hi all, 
Thought I'd try to document our new ICF build in Brisbane. After a lot of procrastination, we decided to go ahead and demolish our existing house and build a more family friendly house from ICF. We love our location and the exisiting house was a nasty 80's build (balsa and sticky backed plastic) so a reno was really out of the question.
 During the project I will be using various trades and will project manage under my OB permit.(Have already built a 2 bed single story "granny flat" without the granny, on site from the same materials). 
Not much of writer so pic thread mainly and will attempt to update weekly.I'll try to answer and queries through pm if it helps. 
Week 1
Started last Wednesday with House demolish,clean site,cut block, 360 cubes of fill off site to surrounding suburbs (thank you gumtree) . Quiet weekend, as I was nadged!. Monday saw profiles set, 20t excavator off site replaced by 5t with hammer to get the last of back wall and cut footings in hard ground. Bloody hard work as a trench monkey but getting ready for steelwork.So all in all a good start to what my wife calls a "fiddly job". Keep you posted next week.Cheers

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## Belair_Boy

> Thought I'd try to document our new ICF build in Brisbane.

  G'day and welcome to the Forum.  :Smilie:  
Always good to see another ICF builder, I will be looking forward to watching your progress.
What type of ICF are you using?

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks B_B, I'm using Ecoblock this time for the main house. I used Formcraft before for the 2 bedder, which is a bigger block but not readily available now on the East Coast.The Eco is local so supply is easy.Pros and cons for all the blocks out there...cheers

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## Whodoesthat

Hi again,
Week 2 - Good week even though steel arrived a day late on Friday. Once the 4ton of rebar on site, we started  tying 6m cages for the 700mm x 300mm footings. Monday was a biggy with all the starter bars intersected and tied in for the future walls. 16mm starters at 200mm centres for the back retaining wall and 12mm starters at 400mm centres for the remaining.
Prior to the boom pump arriving on site all starters were braced with reo and dummy top bars to align for pour. Ordered 30m3 + concrete and finished the pour in three hours with the final tally being 31m3....slept well. Next on the list is to rough in the plumbing and form slab....can't wait to break out...cheers...a bit pic heavy but might be of interest to those with a t steel /concrete fetish :Smilie:

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## Teriwrist

Looking good.. Can never be too pic heavy  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## travelislife

Nice solid looking set of foundations, nice when it isn't muddy and working on solid ground as well!  Keep the pictures coming, love it.

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## shauck

Yeah, I couldn't help but notice the dry conditions too. Jealous. I've been covered in red mud for the last few weeks on the job I'm doing.

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks for the interest,Teri Travel and Shauck, another couple of good progressive days, weather has been kind, but showers over weekend. I planned the build for this time of year as I built the 2 bedder in February.....rain,  rain,,,more rain,,,,whodoesthat! and it's as hot as Hades. So what have we achieved over the last couple of days. Finished footing and cut slab beams 450 deep x 350mm wide...all in hard as ground. Plumbing got signed off without a hitch.Hired a tipper to run the last of the fill offsite which took up most of Thursday. Picked up a littera digger (Boxer) and pulled in 25 cubes of scalp (ex tunnel fines and road base) to build up the slab. Smashed it all today and will start on boxing the slab with shuttering over the weekend. Mesh up the beams, slab reo and placcy before looking to pour early to mid week. Can't wait!!!
Words of wisdom for the week: Don't fill your petrol machines with diesel......... causes to much angst  :Smilie:  Cheers

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## Belair_Boy

Looking good, keep the pictures coming.
I am also envious of the dry weather, last week was my first dry one in a couple of months.
Good luck with the slab pour.

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks Belair. Finally ready for the pour after a lot of prep (a lot more than I had anticipated) The slab construction is substantial to say the least and I'm confident it will see me out and beyond. We have caged the slab beams and tied in the footing starters. The perimeter blocks were cut down to 200mm internal 300mm external. These have been shuttered and braced in readiness. All internal openings have been measured  and  excess starter bars folded back into the slab reo. Check,check and check again. Public holiday today and crew / boom pump only available Friday for the pour. Big rain forecast for the weekend, so hopefully get the job done in time.

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## Armers

Looking good mate, too bad the last lot of photos didn't come up  right... did you want to double check the post!? 
Cheers

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks Armers, I think it's sorted...cheers

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## Armers

Sorted... Cheers Sunshine  :Biggrin:  
Why such a hardcore slab, poor ground?

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## Whodoesthat

Ground is firm as, needed breaker for footings. Engineers required it as whole house is concrete ,suspended slab 1st floor with 2nd suspended slab/concrete roof...with potential to go up .......a further 32 floors!  :Shock:

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## Armers

Holy 30 floors batman! Nothing like being built like a brick sheethouse!

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## CraigandKate

> Ground is firm as, needed breaker for footings. Engineers required it as whole house is concrete ,suspended slab 1st floor with 2nd suspended slab/concrete roof...with potential to go up .......a further 32 floors!

  Now I understand the bunker title!! Great work so far keep the updates coming.

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## Whodoesthat

What a day, weather held with only a light shower this morning. Heavy rain event still forecast for the weekend...so it will be good for the slab. Seven trucks brought in a total of 39.2 cubes of concrete. Calling the last truck quantity is a bit nerve racking...am I under/over...but as the pic shows we had half a dozen shovel fulls left.... Decided to up the spec of the concrete from 25mpa to 32mpa, as the suspended slab will be the same. So we are officially out of the ground...  :2thumbsup: . Blocks arrive Monday and survey for internal walls.Should be well into block walls by the end of next week........Cheers

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## ChocDog

workshop, garage and wine cellar. That sounds like a perfect house to me!

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## Armers

In that order too!

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## Whodoesthat

Cheers Choc / Armers. Priority calls!
Weather was as predicted...wet which was perfect for the slab. The rampart held up with the 55mm of rain o/night....any more....mmmm. We cleaned / removed the slab shutters this morning and blocks arrived soon after. Internal walls surveyed and pinned. Built a couple of hundred blocks in readiness for tracks tomorrow and hopefully lay first blocks.

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## Whodoesthat

Rain stopped play today, so an update. A busy few days saw the track for the block being set out and fixed. We have completed the first 2 courses, which seemed slow going , as they are double tied and double reo at 200 centres for the retaining back wall. Braces are nearly up and fixed, so we expect a clear run for the remaining 6 courses.If we can achieve  3 courses each day and factoring in the fiddly lintel reinforcement, we should pour the ground floor but next weekend. A couple of minor modifications have been made,which are non structural, with the removal of an internal centre wall in the entrance corridor.Having stared at plans for an eternity,it is only when lay the first blocks that you get a true sense of scale.........Cheers

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## DuckCommander

Thanks for the updates and pics, very cool.  
How does the eco-block compare with block and what was your thinking around choosing it?

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## Whodoesthat

Hi DuckC and thanks for the interest.Looked at all the blocks,Formcraft,Zego,Thermacell and Eco. I used Formcraft before but now based in WA so shipping was an issue/expense.Went with Eco as it's local and supply is simple, we needed extra connectors and had them the same day.I think all systems have their pros and cons. The Eco is a sturdy block with 65mm of poly each side, downside is they have 18 connectors per block, assembly is 90 seconds ea  when you get the routine and do 2 at a time. The braces can be an issue, as some blocks will only let you use their bracing system etc....so reasonably happy with what I have.

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## DuckCommander

How does the price compare to block? I guess you're cutting down a fair bit in labour costs as getting the foam in looks pretty straight forward.
The braces do look a bit piddly. Do you know what pour heights you can get before the foam starts blowing out?

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## Whodoesthat

Hi all, a couple of update pics. Lost a few days to weather but have caught up over the last week. Blocks went up quickly enough, then started the fiddly steel work. A fair bit of prep in the lintels with 8mm x 800mm ligs spaced at 200mm centres. Retaining wall at back also at 200mm centres in 16mm.Another 100 slab ties to fix before pour Monday before the pump arrives and commence pouring the walls with 150 slump of 25mpa core-crete.All windows and openings have been shuttered, the garage being the most diifficult but has come up well.All T joins have been braced with "bandaids" for added strength.
DC - More expensive than block work but don't have the time / expense of battening out the walls for gyprock and insulation.We can pour to 3m with a metre sweep each lap.

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## witheng

Hi Whodoesthat 
I build ICF homes, and You have chosen the best system on the market Eco - Block.
I suppose you bought all of your supplies from Eco-ICF supplies at palm woods ( the main distributor for Queensland ) I've found from experience David has the Only fully integrated system in Australia.
 They have all of the accessories to make the job easy with special ligatures for over windows, doors and Beams, special window and door EPS mouldings , plus more and then there's "eskydeck" the unique insulated suspended floor system - no formworkers required !!!!
As far as the other systems go they are all good but some you have to fabricate corners etc I've found with the Eco-block ( Eco-ICF builders) you get the complete package.
with the owner being a builder himself you get it from a builders perspective and don't get the bull from salesmen.
with Eco-block you can easily get category 1 cyclonic rating, and a 180/180/180 fire rating which most of the the others can's give.
All in all It's a better way to build ... good on you 
enjoying watching your build photo's
Steve

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## Eastwing

> Hi Whodoesthat 
> I build ICF homes, and You have chosen the best system on the market Eco - Block.
> I suppose you bought all of your supplies from Eco-ICF supplies at palm woods ( the main distributor for Queensland ) I've found from experience David has the Only fully integrated system in Australia.
>  They have all of the accessories to make the job easy with special ligatures for over windows, doors and Beams, special window and door EPS mouldings , plus more and then there's "eskydeck" the unique insulated suspended floor system - no formworkers required !!!!
> As far as the other systems go they are all good but some you have to fabricate corners etc I've found with the Eco-block ( Eco-ICF builders) you get the complete package.
> with the owner being a builder himself you get it from a builders perspective and don't get the bull from salesmen.
> with Eco-block you can easily get category 1 cyclonic rating, and a 180/180/180 fire rating which most of the the others can's give.
> All in all It's a better way to build ... good on you 
> enjoying watching your build photo's
> Steve

  You really love it?

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## Belair_Boy

How did the wall pour go?

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## Armers

Yeah keen to see! Its been going so well!

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## Whodoesthat

Hi all and sorry for the late update. We poured the walls which went well and then I had to stop the job while I went to work for 5 weeks. Once back we got stuck back in, braced the acrow towers (over did it...message to self ...I'm not twenty anymore) and took delivery of the eskydeck beams and had the suspended slab up.....taking a further  43m3 of concrete ! Very pleased with the layout downstaris and the mancave is cavernous...... :Smilie:   This was completed last week and Monday saw us putting the upper floor walls in place. It's been a hell of a busy week compounded by near evil temperatures throughout, which got progressively worse as the walls went up, and sun reflected back off the blocks. So we only have a lintel to construct Monday and plan to pour mid week. The "lid" is expected for delivery next Friday so will spend the weekend making up the beams before starting final prep for back propping below , to move the towers (God forbid) to the upper slab. Keep you posted....Cheers

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## phild01

droolin' over this!

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## Whodoesthat

So nearly ready for the pour Thursday, with lintels finished today and vertical steel placed in position for next suspended slab (roof) and 400mm parapet. Straighten and plum the braces and all set to go.

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## Armers

Looking good mate... Also its good to see the wine flowing already! 
Cheers!

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks Armers, well spotted.... the pour eventually went well yesterday after a few delays with the pump.Six trucks rolled over the four hours for the pour, with 30m3 of 32 Mpa coreflow being the final tally. Back propping the suspended slab today and acrow towers down ready for lifting to upper story next week. Will spend the weekend filling the eskybeams with inserts in readiness for starting the concrete "lid". Waiting on window quotes etc but with countdown to the loopy season already upon us, may not get till January....we'll see.  Cheers

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## Belair_Boy

Great stuff, nothing like having solid walls at the end of the day. :2thumbsup: 
Hopefully my last wall pour wont be that far away.

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks B_B, couldn't agree more, wall thumping is my fave pastime which always brings a smile to my chops.  Good luck with your pour.  Spent yesterday back propping and wow does the space open up with the acrow towers pulled out! Beams for roof failed to show so weekend will be site cleaning and brace removal. Windows got measured and will be delivered pre xmas :Smilie:  just gotta hock my first born to pay for them.......Cheers

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## witheng

The Eskydeck flooring looks good

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## ICFMAN

I have ICF blocks. (Insulated Concrete Forms). Any amount for sale.  Shipped to any country worldwide.   Size: 50 long (127cm), 10 high (25.5cm) and 6 (15cm) wide  (with a nominal concrete core of 4 (10cm) ).   It is the exact equivalent of 4 CMUs (concrete masonry unit) in area and only weighs 1.25 pounds.  The forms are stacked without mortar and are interlocked like a Lego Set into which reinforced concrete is placed, creating a wall and foundation with a fraction of the labor of conventional CMU. Please email with details of quantity needed. Country to be delivered and target price to: garyjmcneish@gmail.com

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## Whodoesthat

Quick update - Weekend busy stripping braces and cleanup. Crane early today to lift the acrow props up and day assembling. A couple more timber props and good to go. Beams arrived on site and awaiting inserts, so the first of them should be up in position by tomorrow with any luck....

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## Whodoesthat

The rest of this week saw the upper propping and lintel form work/staging. All towers were levelled and cross members put in situ. Easky beams finally arrived and spent a day packing the inserts followed by the unenviable task of manually handling them to roof height.Steel up in readiness for placing into the beams as we go. Half the beams and top hats were completed with the balance due for placement Monday.....tooooo hot this weekend to do much as were expecting a G20 40+degrees.......A couple of pics...Cheers

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## witheng

surprised you're not pouring the walls and esky deck in one pour you get a stronger bond

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## ringtail

Wow, looks good. And massive. What do the neighbours think ? From a carpenters perspective I can't think of a more complicated or expensive way to build a house. Each to their own though. Enjoy the heat  :Biggrin:

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## phild01

> Wow, looks good. And massive. What do the neighbours think ? From a carpenters perspective I can't think of a more complicated or expensive way to build a house. Each to their own though. Enjoy the heat

   Something I am wondering about too, but am sure it will be an awesome house.

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## witheng

It's NOT complicated to build it's big boys Lego.
 If built properly the cost is no more than a rendered brick veneer house and needs a lot less maintenance
Brick veneer is NOT in the same ball park though
with ICF , The insulation benefits are enormous up to 80% heating and cooling saving, sound insulation is enormous, fire rating is 180 / 180 / 180 ( 3 hour), easily built to category class ONE cyclonic , PLUS , PLUS, PLUS ....
Good on Ya whodoesthat for thinking outside the sheep mentality of stick frame and building a QUALITY HOME out of a SUPERIOR Product.
ICF has been around in the USA, Canada and Europe for over 30 years As I've always said Australia is 20 plus years behind the rest of the world.
in the USA and Canada... Schools, high rise and public buildings are made from ICF .. 
check out :  ICF Builder Magazine - The information source for residential and commercial ICF contractors   and see what can be done with ICF 
Steve

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## intertd6

> It's NOT complicated to build it's big boys Lego.
>  If built properly the cost is no more than a rendered brick veneer house and needs a lot less maintenance
> Brick veneer is NOT in the same ball park though
> with ICF , The insulation benefits are enormous up to 80% heating and cooling saving, sound insulation is enormous, fire rating is 180 / 180 / 180 ( 3 hour), easily built to category class ONE cyclonic , PLUS , PLUS, PLUS ....
> Good on Ya whodoesthat for thinking outside the sheep mentality of stick frame and building a QUALITY HOME out of a SUPERIOR Product.
> ICF has been around in the USA, Canada and Europe for over 30 years As I've always said Australia is 20 plus years behind the rest of the world.
> in the USA and Canada... Schools, high rise and public buildings are made from ICF .. 
> check out :  ICF Builder Magazine - The information source for residential and commercial ICF contractors   and see what can be done with ICF 
> Steve

  From my own observations, there are a couple of defects that can occur after a couple of years which are, some horizontal cracking at the pour points, this allows moisture to enter & exit & on occasion can cause rust / lime stains on the surface finishes & cause bubbling of paint.
regards inter

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## ringtail

Whoa, no need to get defensive.I can't stand brick veneer or most modern housing construction methods full stop. They are all 100% wrong for the sub tropics IMO. But as I said, each to their own

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## shedhead1962

Hi, any chance of providing some more detail regarding the 'esky beams' or whatever the suspended slab floor system is called?  is there a link to some more detail or something?
thanks.

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## Whodoesthat

Well just got home after 5 weeks  away and the final roof pour/shell is complete. Back propping removed and the space has really opened up. Lintels have come out well and all is good. Really glad I went with the the skylight openings they have come out really well and throws some good light down the stairwell. Windows arrive today and will be stored until the loopy season is over. Can't see a great deal happening over the break but should be full steam in New Year. Have a good Xmas.A couple of pics.
Before anyone asks, the roof parapet is sealed to hold water for full cure.This has worked well to minimise shrinkage cracks, with none evident at the mo.
Shedhead - David Kuhnert - Likes a chat and will answer all q's you have. Just goog eskydeck.  Cheers

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## PlatypusGardens

Wow wow wow and wow   
Did I mention "wow"?    :Shock:

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## shedhead1962

> Shedhead - David Kuhnert - Likes a chat and will answer all q's you have. Just goog eskydeck.  Cheers

  thanks Mate.  Will do.

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## Armers

Looking awesome mate! Envious of the build.  
Cheers

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## Bigmaxy

Thanks for sharing. Have you found any issues with the brick sizes being imperial even though they are in mm. Ie. Brick heights being 406mm = 16".
Cheers.

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## Whodoesthat

Hi all,
Been a while , with the build starting and stopping due to work commitments but its finally taking shape. A lot of pics for those interested.
Since the last post we have completed the following:
Internal: Installed the windows ( note to self, pay somebody to do it next time) a massive job!
Chased all the services into the poly and have completed electrical and plumbing rough in. 
Installed the stairs - Very pleased with them - took two of us a full day to install and will look terrific when 40mm oak treads are fitted.
We have sheeted completely with 13mm gyprock which is now in the process of being set, this has transformed the inside and happy with the result. TG I didn't have to carry the 11 tons of 6m sheets!
Externally:
Backfilled behind the house.
Scaff went up and rendered and painted top half. Renderers to complete lower.
Have finally finished waterproofing the roof with a torch on double membrane and have capped the parapet . Fitted 4 Ned Kelly rainheads and chemset the downpipe brackets.
Installed the 2 double glazed  custom skylights, another hard day! but worth it.
And for some R&R making a couple of wine racks for the cellar.
So here are the random pics :  Attachment 106354  Attachment 106355Attachment 106356Attachment 106359Attachment 106360Attachment 106361

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## PlatypusGardens

This should be on Grand Designs   :Smilie:

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## Whodoesthat

Thanks PG.... a nice thought but I seem to have developed a heavy dose of Tourettes since starting...... :Censored2:  :Tv Happy:  :Yikes2:

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## PlatypusGardens

:Haha2:

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## Renopa

Thanks for the update, it looks great!!   You have been moving right along when you look back and check the slab was poured last August.  Great work!  
Love the stairs....PG could have made those for you, along with bits of his artwork along the way!!   LOL

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## PlatypusGardens

That sort of welding is a bit out of my league. 
And something that size....I'd weld myself in to a corner in my tiny shed and they'd have to crane it and me out through the roof   :Rofl:

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## Gaza

Nice job 
Are you doing waterproofing to roof slab your self ?  
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Whodoesthat

Hi Gaza, looked at several methods of waterproofing the roof slab. I was originally going with a liquid membrane, which I was going to do myself. I did a lot of research and ended up with the torch on bituminous membrane, (Index mineral) as I did not want a revisit. I also needed the warranty, as the membrane suppliers site visited to ensure it was applied correctly. I ended up labouring for the waterproofer and humped 50 rolls at 45-50kg a roll up to the roof, never again!. It would be possible to do yourself, allowing for trial and error. Bitumen paint first, rolled on. First membrane, lapped and torched and final membrane lapped again. A lot of fiddly work around the parapet and lapping up and over, which we capped. The job took a few weeks (220m2) and back braking if you are on the torch.All seams are troweled as you go.

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## Whodoesthat

A number of people have asked how services are run when using blocks. A couple of pics of chases back to concrete core, easily done with a jigsaw (quicker than hot knife). Main plumbing pipes have been chased between the slab beams and then to bulkheads for longitudinal run. Electrical runs  the same with a number of slab penetrations throughout. The only downside to using ICF is that the planning for powerpoints, lights and  future usage have to be spot on, the internal steel framing. Data ./ Foxtel cables have been run throughout with extra conduit if required. All A/c pipework has been chased into the walls with no external pipework to building except for core drilled penetration. The ground floor rooms have  also  been plumbed and wired to cater for a future kitchen (so it can easily be turned into a self contained 1 bed unit.   
Bathrooms have been sheeted with 9 mm villaboard to take floor to ceiling tiles ( 2000+ 10 gauge screws  each countersunk at 200mm centres.) Bath hob built in readiness for waterproofing.

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## Bigboboz

Hi Whodoesthat, love the detail on your build and the place looks awesome. We're in the process of getting plans done for a two story extension to our place and looking at either ICF or Hebel at this stage.  
I have wondered what people do with the external surface of ICF, from your above post you're cement rendering, is that right?  Is there anything tricky about doing this? Amazing that concrete sticks to polystyrene! On internal walls, the gyprock is fixed directly to the ICF panels? 
Did you look at Hebel as an option?

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## Bigboboz

Oh and love your roof, we're keen to do something exactly like that, solid floor and parapet.  Did you use the Esky Deck for the roof or is that a different product? Does it have a strong R value?  Looks like you have some form or capping on the outside edge of the parapet, is that right? 
Thanks,
Rob

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## Whodoesthat

Hi Rob, to answer your q's, the Eco blocks are constructed with a series of connectors that sit 5mm below the surface from both external sides. These are spaced at 200mmm centres and are used during construction to attach braces to and  screw fasten Gyprock / Villaboard sheeting internally, thereby eliminating the need for battening. Not all ICF systems have these strips!   These can also be used to fasten cladding material externally such as hardiplank (horizontally only to pick up the 25mm strips) etc. As for the render, we have used Kwikwall with a little extra polymer this time, but used Rockcote on the 2 bedder we are living in at the back. We have not had any problems to date but be aware that not all renders can be used on poly.
Both suspended slabs are formed using Eskydeck and the parapet/skylights  was formed and poured in one.(skylight openings requiring remedial work with a concrete saw). I have attached a couple of pics of the esky insulation, the beam channels have 60mm of poly which form the beam creating a 300mm deep beam to top of slab, The Top hats are 150mm deep poly and end up with a 100mm slab on top.So in effect you end up with a 400mm depth overall. Very pleased with the thermal barrier with no noticeable heat transfer at all. We installed the roof slab in middle of Summer....! Notice the CD player melted!!!!! Inside the house was cool.  On that note the 2 bedder we are in at the mo, we have not used any heating (currently in a cold snap) was 5 degrees the other night and the kids are lounging around in shorts only.
The capping for the parapet is just a formed colorbond profile to ensure watertight integrity but render and running the torch on, up and over would probably have done.
To sum it up, we are very happy with the ICF as long as it is constructed correctly, braced properly etc, its all in the detail (which adds cost). While very pleased with the roof, it was one of my major cost blow outs. When I built the back, single storey, I used I beams /  purlins and  Kliplock colorbond roof sheets (as per commercial build) This has a 3 degree pitch and a commercial 200mm insulated blanket beneath the sheets. I added a further 100mm of insulation between the purlins as the gyprock went up. This has worked very well and for cost effectiveness perhaps should have gone that route again. Having said that the roof slab is engineered to take a further storey should........................ I get bored!.  Cheers Jake

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## Prados

Umm, can I ask "how mush is the fish" (c)?  :Shock: 
Well, I meant how many cubes of concrete for the whole structure??? 
Cheers,
Alex

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## Whodoesthat

Hi Alex, 
Footings and ground slab 40m3
Lower walls 31m3
Suspended slab 43m
Upper walls 28m3
Roof slab and parapet plus skylight hobs 53m3 
So a grand total of 195m3 give or take.......to date...with another 100m3 of external walls to fill and .........stairs...and perimeter paths......and driveway.......... and ..................................mausoleum which I probably should have built first.

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## Bigboboz

Thanks for the response, very helpful!

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## RONCA

> Hi Alex, 
> Footings and ground slab 40m3
> Lower walls 31m3
> Suspended slab 43m
> Upper walls 28m3
> Roof slab and parapet plus skylight hobs 53m3 
> So a grand total of 195m3 give or take.......to date...with another 100m3 of external walls to fill and .........stairs...and perimeter paths......and driveway.......... and ..................................mausoleum which I probably should have built first.

  Hi WHODOESTHAT,
Not sure if you are aware, what looks like a screw into a plastic water pipe run. It is in the photos dated 6 th June 2015
RONCA

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## Whodoesthat

Hi Ronca, 
Very observant, yes we did hit a bulleye while putting up the last of the villa, We had  all the plumbing pressed up for exactly that reason, all fixed. Didn't realise I'd put the pic in. 
Cheers

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## Prados

> Hi Alex, 
> Footings and ground slab 40m3
> Lower walls 31m3
> Suspended slab 43m
> Upper walls 28m3
> Roof slab and parapet plus skylight hobs 53m3 
> So a grand total of 195m3 give or take.......to date...with another 100m3 of external walls to fill and .........stairs...and perimeter paths......and driveway.......... and ..................................mausoleum which I probably should have built first.

  Hi Whodoesthat,
Wow!!
Would you go with ICF again and concrete flat roof or would you go to partly ICF/timber/steel frame and tiled/sheeted timber truss roof or steel roof? 
PS   I am trying to build (just started again after a long break) an extension with timber walls covered by some hebel panels some masterwall panels. We were considering ICF on a boundary, but... But now we are thinking to use ICF or similar next time, as we are not planning to stay for a long time at current place.

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## Whodoesthat

Prados, definately ICF. Depends if you plan single or double storey .Im not a fan of timber for structure but you have lots of options,as long as anything other than icf is well insulated,otherwise you are defeating the purpose. If you had a view from roof, go concrete and parapet with ballustrade, waterproof and tile or pave.As with all things budget dictates and simplicity of build design, start throwing in angles,curves etc the cost increases. Good luck with your build.

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## Whodoesthat

A quick update to the build. Work has been getting in the way but the house is taking shape and we past lock up.. Internal sheeting and painting completed. External render completed and in process of being painted.External Stainless pin fixing for external glass ballustrade.  Bathrooms waterproofed and ready for bedding and tiling. Kitchen ordered...39 drawers!?! which will test the dementia when trying to find the salt?......Flooring is down, 15mm ply drilled and fixed to slab on waterproof sheeting. 220mm x 20mm French Oak boards secret nailed and glued to ply. It will look stunning when sanded and coated with 4 coats satin finish....... (as it will be the only furniture we will have....hope it goes well with the bean bag). The wife is now officially calling herself the the "workshop widow". I have made the benches,castered welding bench and another castered bench to move around. The wine cellar is painted and between that and the workshop I'll never leave the ground floor......a couple of random pics mainly blokey.......Cheers! Will do an update when we have the last big push when I return from work...

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## Armers

From grey stuff and foamy stuff comes something looking awesome.. Great work so far, I am loving this ICF build. I hope I could have a go at ICF sometime in my life time! 
Cheers

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## Whodoesthat

Armers, thanks for the comments
Finally finished external painting and the floor guys completed surround of stair well.Perimeter sanding done in readiness for slimline skirt. Spent a couple of hours on the w/end semi polishing the stairwell slab. Going to keep as is as, its the only exposed concrete in the build and should look good with the stainless pin fixed ballustrade. ....cheers

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## Whodoesthat

A couple of external pics the painter just sent through..

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## PenderleaBurrow

Hi WDT,
Looks fantastic.
How did your concrete polishing go? I am at lockup with my icf build and am considering polishing (semi gloss) the floors. Did you rent equipment? How big was the stairwell slab? Etctera, etcetera, etcetera.
Cheers
Greg

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## Whodoesthat

Been a while. PB sorry for late reply just haven't been on. I semi polished the stairwell with my 4" grinder and metal flap wheel. Pleased with the result, not perfect and not wishing to sound like a tosser, very "textural". Every body who walks up the stairs runs their hand along it. Its the only exposed piece to say the whole house is made from it. 
Where we are up to. 
Floors polished in satin, albeit prematurely , and looks terrific. After  a lot of starts and stops, due to trades being hellish busy in the building boom of Q, electrical fitout nearly complete. Bathroom tiling commenced and on going. I hate tile shops! You can get it soooo right or sooo wrong. Kept it simple in the downstairs bathroom using 900mm x 300mm. Looks good and the larger tile really opens the room up. 
Painting internally now complete after on going "glancing light" issues with the Great Wall.........long story! 
Kitchen delivered last night ready for install. Bench tops wont be ready until new year due to businesses already closing their order books. 
Picked up the American Oak treads this morning, wow and they will look stunning when polished and pin fixed with glass ballustrade... 
Thought I'd make the back yard flat....a fiddly job but reasonable idea for outdoor undercover eating etc mmmmmmm...... Pulled a 5t machine in to start digging the fill, left from original cut. 5 days on a mini loader has brought on premature aging of most body parts, but ended up with with a flat yard......finally. Then started to cut the retaining footings..........which will be ICF block with 16mmm @ 200mm centres...and cut ..and cut...unrelenting!  We dug so much and have discovered antiquities.... :Shock:  and the mound is just as big as before.....job for xmas!  
 Was hoping to be in by Xmas but work calls...Cheers 
Couple of random pics:

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## Gaza

Is that gnomes in last pic ?   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Armers

hes dug a blooming hole to old school china!

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## turnstiles

Looking fantastic. Those large bathroom tiles are magnificent and the stair treads are going to look superb.  
Was there a reason for the "landing" halfway up the staircase? Aesthetics? Break up the climb? (Not criticism as I like it - was just wondering the reason!) 
I'm loving everything about this build.

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## Whodoesthat

Hi Armers, thats what it feels like!! 
Turnstiles, the landing was a code requirement as we were one rise over. It was overlooked and actually got council approval but was picked up when I got the stairs made.  
Chased the plasterboard and poly back to concrete to take the suspended kitchen cabinets, Got most of the kitchen cabinetry installed and waiting on plumber for island bench positioning.Tiling complete in downstairs B/R, so all in all a productive day and starting to look like a home.

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## Whodoesthat

The progress has been slow due to work commitments and the loopy season has finally ended.Finishing trades are lined up......so a hectic couple of weeks ahead.
Since the last post, we have retained the backyard....monster job! and concentrated on the drainage around the building (enough for three standard houses and hopefully never to be revisited) The retaining wall is waterproofed, 50mm drainage cell and geofab. Been evil hot so glad to put on hold while the ground settles before doing the slabs for outside eating and paths/stairs.
Internal has seen carpeting to bedrooms and I finished off the skirting before robe doors were installed. Only fans, kids desks and a/c to finish.
I polished the stair treads over xmas and have been installed....very happy with the end product. Put the flat bar stair rail up  and down and up...damaged the wall and had to patch and repaint  :Upset: .....chemset 28   x  8mm rod and now finished....waiting on ballustrade 
Bath room tiling 95% complete and vanities should be here next week so can final fit the plumbing.
Kitchen is the same but should be finished by week end, we can then template the island bench for stone top.
So all in all some progress and can see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Was hoping to be moving in this time home but back to work soon...next time.....at least the vino is in from storage :Drink:  
A couple of random pics....cheers

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## Gaza

Great job 
What did thoes treads set you back each ?  
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## Whodoesthat

Hi Gaza,
 PM'd

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## Whodoesthat

Too bloody hot  and progress is slow. Kitchen cab guys are finishing off and steel/stone slab has been templated. A good day to go choose the stone finish. Laundry cabs installed and vanities due next week...Heading away again soon, so the Somme at the back will have to wait. On return, crack on with the new drive and concreting the outdoor undercover eating / slab.Cheers

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## phild01

I've gotta stop looking at this thread ...the pics are killing my download speed  :Cry: .

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## adamhollitzer

Hey Mate,
Awesome job on your house.
Just starting to look at building an icf house, would you mind telling me roughly how many square meters of icf walls you used, and the approx cost for materials including the concrete?
I am still trying to work out what the budget should be.
Did you also use suspended concrete floors, sorry haven't gone through the entire forum yet.
What slump concrete did you use?

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## Schnaphappy

I've just read this thread from Tatars to almost finish. Really hoping to see the completed product. 
We are looking to build in the near future and was wondering what material to build it out of. I really like the detail and the photos you have put up thus far. Where abouts in Brisbane did you build? We're currently looking at Wilston but right next to the train line so the eco blocks seem perfect for sound proofing the house. 
Still keen as mustard to see all your hard work completed!

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