Pour Day 7 - Video

Pour Day 7 - Second Floor complete

RDV Contracting owner, Robbie Vernelson, monitors progress. RDV's crew consists of nine to 10 workers.

Jeff Philips of InFocus Design Studios shoots some footage of the pour. It could be pointed out here that he seemed to be wondering, "What's the big deal?" concerning pour day. That's a great question. When you have a crew and a pour team (including the concrete supplier and the pump truck operator) that know what they are doing and have a good working relationship on site, pour day is indeed quite uneventful. So, while the film may not be that exciting, that's precisely the point. We've dispelled some pretty big rumors and assumptions about ICFs as a result. In fact, the project engineer's inspector and assistant superintendent, were catching up on something clearly other than the pour down on the ground while the pour was taking place two stories up. On the first pour, the inspector was there every step of the way...up on the scaffolding, right by the hose!

Perfecting the plumb of the wall once concrete is screeded at the top.

Steel beam pocket is packed tightly and trowled by hand.

One more partial story (7' plus) of ICF on this wing. The roof system will extend from that point and include 10' dormer windows.

The "core" of the building, parallel to the concrete truck here, will rise two more stories.

Lord Aeck and Sargent, Architect Discusses ICF and Green Building Features

Derek West and Sarah Weiser, of Lord Aeck and Sargent, Architect, discuss features of a residence hall project, including the selection of ICFs for the project.

Introduction to ICFs - USGBC Talk-n-Walk - Durham, NC

Bradley Yoder, President of Carolina X Wall, introduces insulating concrete forms to two dozen USGBC members on site in Durham, NC.

Hollow Core installation/integration

Here are some photos of hollow core installation taking place this morning before the rain came.

Notice here that the rebar used to tie the floor system into the wall is a 90º rebar that turns up rather than down into the wall. This makes the placement of this reinforcement far more simple than if it were required to come up out of the lower level wall. It is nearly impossible to either bend the rebar precisely in between planks being laid, or to navigate the planks into place around a fixed piece of rebar. There is almost no way of knowing the layout of the planks and placing the rebar appropriately according to that layout beforehand, so simply installing them when the grout between planks is placed makes for much faster assembly.

USGBC Talk-n-Walk

Yesterday evening we had the privilege of welcoming the local chapter of USGBC and Triangle AIA COTE (Committee on the Environment) to our residence hall project to introduce them to ICF construction, and to hear firsthand from the architects why they selected the product for this application. Great turnout, good questions, some good wheels turning. The session was videotaped, so keep an eye out for that once our new website is launched in the coming weeks.

Progress: Post-pour day #6

Over halfway through the project! Here are some overall project photos.