ICF Construction Beginning!

We picked up the door and window frames to be used with the Rewards Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) today. For a chronological listing of our building projects with ICF (or insulated concrete forms), be sure to look through the ICF Building Index. John and the children began assembling them immediately. It is amazing how easily they are put together. The 16 foot pieces were cut to size and then screwed together with sheet-rock screws. Of course, there are always mechanical difficulties! Corner braces are then added to maintain the 90 degree angle as the concrete is poured. Additional bracing with 2x4's will also be added to prevent the forms from bowing. Here is a picture of the door frames completely assembled. The corner bracing will be removed after the concrete is set. Since these are plastic, the sawing to size creates a lot of snow-like trash. So, we have our own cleaning crew! Tomorrow we will pick up the bracing and begin laying the ICF blocks. On Friday, if all goes according to plan, we will fill the forms (which will make our walls) with concrete. Doing it yourself is a lot of work but also a great sense of accomplishment. It will be a wonderful experience for our children. Especially the younger ones who were not old enough (or not around yet) to help with our house in Alabama. Plus, we will be saving a ton of money!