The foundation is finally done, all it all it went great. We learned a few things along the way, so the next one should go even smoother. We used GreenBlock ICF's, and were very impressed with them. We had to modify the blocks a bit o make them work, so the corners needed to be fastened with lumber, zip ties, and banding, but the circular shape made it very strong. Lots of pics to share, here they are.
We did vertical rebar, 2 per panel, close to the corners, then one horizontal row around the top.
This is the dry fit, the corners were fastened with 175 lb rated zip ties, the ties held them in place until we were able to get the bracing and banding on.
Looks small, but when its finished we'll have 1700 sq/ft (including the finished basement and loft.
Standing in the mudroom, with my back the spiral staircase. Finished slab will be 6" higher than what I'm standing on.
These 2x6's are our connection detail for the inside corners. There is a nailing strip inside the foam blocks, one 3" screw through the 2x6, into each block, secures the blocks together. We'll also be reusing them as top plates in our wall panels.
Lucas and Sophia having fun, Lucas got a hard cast put on today, he'll heal fast, hes a trooper.
The banding seemed thin so we ended up adding a couple more rows along the bottom, and near the middle of the wall, better safe than sorry. You can see the "whiskey barrel effect.
Calling it a day, but the girls wanted one more shot.
Bracing on the inside of the walls was all we needed. To my amazement we didn't need a single brace on the outside. By bracing the inside level, there was no where for the wall to go. The beauty of a circle :)
The squares near the top of the wall were there for exterior bracing.
We are fortunate enough to have a neighbor in the well business. He runs a pounding rig. He figures he'll be there a week or two, but how great is that truck. Do some research on pounding VS drilling wells. We're learning something new every day.
