LOGIX ICF Solve Foundation Headaches |
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Geoff, a builder and developer, has been building homes in the south of England for nearly 20 years, from large individual houses to small family home developments.
So when he was asked to oversee the construction of a luxury home Nr Haslemere in Surrey, he was pleased to get involved and help liaise between contractors and clients.
The design of the substantial four bedroom house incorporated a basement, which posed no problems as the ground was sand.
Once ground was broken, clay was found about a meter and a half down, this changed everything, as now there was a complete springline around the proposed basement with water running at a progressive rate. This also threw up another major problem, as near by, there were established trees which could create a heave problem in the clay between the summer and winter. |
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It was found that the engineering of the foundations had to be changed dramatically, and rather than simple strip foundations, something else had to be done. The engineer was looking at going down beyond 2.5 meters in places to get below the heave problem, It became very clear that with this depth of foundations a complete basement could now be incorporated into the build.
With this basement construction, there had to be incorporated into the walls a reinforced structure to hold back the water pressure and soil, and to provide insulation and a damp proofing. A construction technique was now needed that would take into account all these problems.
Insulated Concrete Forms seemed a swift and sensible way forward as the width of the inner core could be increased to accommodate the reinforcing work, and the polystyrene would give the insulation as well as helping with the damp proofing.
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A specialist contractor, Alternative Construction Ltd, was called in to recommend a specification for the structure.
After looking at various different options, it was clear that LOGIX Insulated Concrete Forms had many advantages over other similar products. | |
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| · Plastic bridges built into the polystyrene would allow external products (damp proof sheet membranes and timber cladding) to be attached securely to the blocks. |
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· Plastic bridges already built within the blocks allow for reinforcing bars, without creating a cold bridge. |
| · Pre-made moulded corners with strengtheners. |
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· Strong and dense enough polystyrene to allow for vibration compaction within the inner core (essential when reinforcing). |
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· Building heights in excess of 3 meters, even with the reinforcing, thus reducing concrete pouring times and hire of the concrete pump.
The work was priced to include both the basement and the external wall structures, once all was agreed the work commenced.
The basement walls were poured on the Friday before Christmas to allow the extra time for the concrete to strengthen. Normally you wouldn't pour concrete in such cold weather, but due to the insulating formwork and concrete producing heat as it cures, the otherwise unfavourable conditions were not a problem, thus avoiding delays. |
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Check back here for updates as the project progresses. |
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