Structural Design Services
PolySteel will act as your Structural Engineer
We specialise in using the unique structural advantages of ICF to develop Design Solutions for our customers that are both safe and economical to build.
With over 20 years’ experience, we provide Design Services that are tailored to meet each client’s requirements at both the Concept and Construction Stages of their project.
Concept Design.
Benefit from ICF’s unique structural advantages.
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
ICF has unique properties that can be used to provide very economic structural solutions for many different purposes.
OUR EXPERIENCE
Projects involving unusual structures or specialised solutions (i.e. agricultural or industrial buildings) would be able to maximise the benefits of using ICF by leaning on our 20+ years’ of experience in designing and managing ICF projects.
OUR APPROACH
If you would like to send in your project details, we will provide a Proposal to develop the Concept Design. If approved, we would then provide a detailed Cost Estimate and Quote for the supply of ICF PolyBloks required.
CONCEPT DESIGN FEES
In most scenarios, a fee will not be required to provide a Concept Design. However, when the project is complex we will provide a very competitive fixed fee quote based on the information provided to complete a Concept Design.
TYPICAL PROJECTS
Structural Layout Design.
BUILDING REGULATION APPROVAL
It is always necessary to have Building Regulation Approval once you obtain planning permission and have decided to go ahead with the project. We provide Structural Design Services that will:
- Meet the requirements of Approved Document Part A – Structure.
- Provide an optimal design to minimise construction costs.
OUR DESIGN SERVICES
Your design will be provided in a folio including:
- Interpretation of the Site Investigation Report and preparation of the appropriate strip foundation details including any reinforcement and bar schedule. If a single course of Polysteel ICF forms extends 400 – 500 mm into the ground the amount of heat loss from the thermal bridge at ground level in minimised. Whatever fioundation type is required by the SI we will provide a layout designed to take full advantage of this unique benefit provided by PolyBloks.
- Where extensions are being built we will advise on the best structural layout to minimise the amount of underpinning required.
- Fully dimensioned plans and sections of all the ICF wall structure elements of the project, including floor levels.
- Recommended concrete pour sequence in 3D views.
- Details of the connections between the floors and the ICF walls to ensure that the structure is fully braced against wind loading.
- Recommended sill and head levels for windows and doors and the reinforcement required for the lintels. This will minimise the amount of cutting and hence reduce wastage.
- Liaison with the Principal Structural Engineer and the Roof Designer
Professional Liability
Our liability is limited to to the reasonable direct costs of removal, repair, renewal and reinstatement of the ICF walls insofar as they are affected by any design errors, including any reasonable temporary propping and associated works necessary to carry out such reinstatement or replacement of the ICF walls in the event of a design mistake.
In residential buildings the roof is always used as a structural diaphragm so that the walls parallel with the wind direction brace the walls that are at 90 degrees to the wind direction. Our structural analysis of the walls completely relies on this, but it is part of the structural design of the roof, and so the Principal Structural Engineer must ensure that this is the case.
Fees
The standard fee for the Structural Design Service is 10% of the estimated cost of the ICF walls in the Project with a minimum charge of £950. The installation cost of the ICF walls is always about the actual cost of the forms themselves and so we normall calculate the cost of the forms, double that and charge 10% of that for the design fee. This charge also applies to the structural design of swimming pools and retaining walls including reinforcement details and bar schedules for reinforcement purchase.
ICF Construction
Call us if you need more detailed information for your ICF project, browse our technical library and FAQs for construction details using Polybloks.
