ICF Reinforcement

Plain or Reinforced concrete?

Plain concrete ICF walls do not require reinforcement and can only carry the same loading as a brick wall.

Reinforced ICF walls can resist bending loads just like reinforced concrete beams and so can carry a wide variety of loading and are designed to the same Codes of Practice .

Reinforced ICF Benefits

The Polysteel BBA Certificate states that its system is suitable for buildings up to 18m high. Indeed when the system is just replacing cavity walls reinforcement is not required but the building will normally need a structural frame.

On the other hand, reinforcement is required when the structural designer is taking advantage of the unique structural qualities of ICF to resist wind and other loading.

For instance, industrial and agricultural buildings normally incorporate structural steel portal frames just to resist wind loading. However, if the walls were built up to the eaves with reinforced concrete ICF the complexity and cost of structural frames are entirely avoided.

Most dwellings and commercial/small industrial units can be divided into separate & adjacent ICF cells using the internal walls. These cells can be arranged to support beam and block floors or hollow core slabs at ground/upper levels.

These internal ICF cells can be used to substantially reduce the amount of structural steelwork required in any type of building.

Reinforced concrete ICF walls can be designed to resist wind loading in any building. The roof structure can consist of steel or timber trusses.

Projects can be completed in half the time at much lower cost because steel frames are not required.

The individual cells formed by the ICF walls at basement or foundation level can incorporate thinner base slabs spanning between the walls of the cell. Every cell is a rigid box of concrete that will not crack or move under loading so any damage caused by foundation movement is extremely rare in ICF buildings.

If a building is designed by an engineer experienced with ICF then costly thick slab foundations or piling can be avoided.

ICF Polybloks are uniquely useful in the construction of basements. The retaining walls can be easily and quickly built using semi-skilled site labour and can easily be extended above ground up to the eaves of the building.

ICF walls can be built faster at lower cost than any other type.

When retaining walls are required, for instance in warehouses or agricultural buildings, the walls of the ICF cells can be lined with stainless steel to provide storage for food products (etc.) that have to be kept clean and uncontaminated.

The ICF walls provide the building frame and the retaining walls, all whilst providing a low cost structure.

Wide openings can be provided in any wall at very low cost by adding a few reinforcing bars above the void. Bi-fold doors often jam because of temperature change deflactions in supporting steelwork. Small openings for windows and doors are easily formed in ICF.

Wall openings easily formed at low cost.

Rapid Construction

Using Insulated Concrete Forms for your project will reduce construction time significantly. Indeed, Polybloks can be delivered on site within a week or so of the order being placed. And the walls can be completed up to eaves level in 3 – 4 weeks using semi-skilled labour.

Traditional construction methods are taking a lot longer than ICF projects at the moment. For instance, it can currently take builders about 3 months to specify, get quotes, order and get the kit for a timber framed house. For cavity wall construction, bricklayers are becoming hard to find and very costly to employ.

Quality Without Skilled Labour

Render Is Preferable

If the building is rendered or finished with timber or composite paneling skilled labour is not necessary. However, it will be required for a brick skin or facing of imitation brick with slips.

Polyblok380 will Provide High Quality Retaining Walls using existing staff

The main advantage of Polybloks is that the Polyblok380 units can be used in retaining walls up to 3m high when provided with the necessary reinforcing bars. This provides the builder with the capacity to build high quality basement walls that will be very resistant to leakage – without skilled labour. The alternative precast concrete systems cost an exorbitant amount and take several months to deliver.

Where ground water may be present, we can provide solutions that will ensure the basement is never flooded – at an economic cost.