We have just finished watching your Workshop DVDs and found them full of good advice. I especially liked the reason you gave for requesting labor-only bids - that your lawyer won't let you have the sub furnish the materials due to liens from material suppliers. I will definitely use that! Kim Oleson

Joseph's Forum Posts: 0
Journal Entries: 5
Interview Answers: 62




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First ICF Pour

Posted to EurekaHouse-ICF by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 3/6/2008

We poured our basement walls today. It was our first ICF pour. We weren't ready, but I didn't want to wait until next week, with rains expected this weekend. Hectic, but everything came together fine. We poured 23 yards into 9'-4" tall walls, no blow outs. Two guys were running around ahead of the pump hose tweaking the bracing and scabbing plywood over open joints in the block. We didn't have time to sleeve for some service penetrations into the mechanical room, so I cut them after the concrete turned green. Plumbing the wall was a chore. Typically you lean the wall towards the bracing so you can push it straight after the pour (it's really hard to pull towards the bracing). We didn't lean it in enough, and had to push the walls from the backside by setting up whalers and braces off the existing fence and excavation walls. We will try to place the basement slab and build the floor deck above the basement next week. Once that's done, we will backfill and work on the footings for the rest of the house.

Posted by Pat in Arnold, CA on 3/11/2008 2008 Merit Award Winner Pat's Forum Posts: 212 Journal Entries: 22 Interview Answers: 61 Average Forum Rating: 3.52 Pat's Selected Image 3/11/2008	What brand of ICF and SIPs are you using? We are looking to build with the same in the Sierras east of you.
Posted by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 3/12/2008 Joseph's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 5 Interview Answers: 62 Image from Joseph's blog 3/12/2008	Hi, I'm using BuildBlock ICF's and Insulspan SIP's. A good SIP contact is Mic Charmicheal of Sipbuilders. For ICF in the Sierras, I would recommend Tim Butts of Advanced Environmental Building Design. Let me know if you would like their contact numbers.   Joey

Why We Stay...

Posted to EurekaHouse-ICF by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 3/3/2008

Views of the Golden Gate Bridge are just over that house!

Photos

Try a JPEG

Posted to EurekaHouse-ICF by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 3/1/2008

Here are jpegs of the plans but they won't be big like a PDF...

Photos

cover sheet	first floor	second floor
elevations	elevations

Rocky Start

Posted to EurekaHouse-ICF by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 3/1/2008

We moved out of our house in September, 2007, one week before the twins were born. I didn't have my permit yet, even though plans were submitted to the county in July. Got the permits on Thanksgiving and I started tearing down the house.

We are living in a two-bedroom apartment at Lake Merrit. Jasper and Juliet in the small bedroom, Jackson and Jordan (the twins), Janie and I in the larger bedroom.

I had to start building in January, I couldn't wait, it had been too long to get to this point. One year designing, one year getting approval from the Municipal Advisory Committee, one year preparing working drawings and structural engineering, and six months with two plan checks to get a permit. 

I know I shouldn't have dug my basement in winter, as soon as they took away the diggers the rains came. The first two weeks of my project were spent hauling out buckets of mud that had caved into my basement. Every day we tried to recoup what had happened the night before.

Finally the sun came out. In two weeks we got the hole cleaned, control lines set, footing forms in, rebar, inspection, 26 yards of concrete, stripped the forms and stacked the ICF for the basement. We're getting ready to pour the walls on Thursday after we set all the ledger hangers and get an inspection.

The partial basement is about 20% of the building footprint. I expect the on grade footings to be much easier.

Photos

Two feet of water (mine) in the hole.	Day one, setting batter boards.	Formed up and ready to go!
My, what big footers you have, Grandma!	26 yards and only the basement...	First day stacking walls.
End of the first day.	End of day two.

Got My Permit!

Posted to EurekaHouse-ICF by Joseph in Berkeley, CA on 12/17/2007

I'm just starting out on my first "whole house" building project. Been designing and planning and dealing with bureaucracies for four years now, and just received my building permit (no small accomplishment).

The house will be in the hills across the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge. It will be all-ICF construction with an SIP roof system and solar radiant-heating system.

The demo guys are busting out the existing foundation as I write this, I hope to pour my footings early January, 2008...

Posted by Douglas in Sacramento, CA on 12/26/2007 Douglas's Forum Posts: 21 Journal Entries: 7 Interview Answers: 69 Average Forum Rating: 3.61 Image from Douglas's blog 12/26/2007

You found vacant land in Berkeley?  Did not know that any existed.