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"Fastfoot® MP
is an easy setup" said JC. |
Centre Construction
of London, Ontario recently formed and poured a
single family ICF
foundation using the
Fastfoot® MP System. JC Chartrand, President of
Centre Construction, is a design-build contractor
with a lifetime of experience contracting single family homes to large hotels.
"I was very interested in the system", said JC. "It made so much sense to use the base of the ICF block to hold the
Fastfoot® fabric. That way I eliminate driving stakes, setting up
lumber and then stripping everything. I don't like wasting
time. And I don't like setting up a bunch of forms only to strip
them all the next day. That is not good for my back, and it's
certainly not good for the environment."
"As well, I liked the idea of pouring the wall and the footing
at the same time; it eliminates the cold joint and produces a
much stronger foundation".
Easy to Install
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MP supports are used to hold the ICF
blocks at the correct height
and allow for simple height adjustment. |
JC found the system very easy to setup and adjust. Each support
consists of a pair of vertical 1/2" coil rods which hold a webclip™.
The height of the webclip™ and ICF block is adjusted with a few
turns of the coil nuts. "This system is just so easy to work with,"
explained JC. "Even after I have built the wall, I can adjust the
height with a few turns of the coil nuts."
"Initially I was concerned about racking of the supports, but this
was not an issue. At each corner the supports reinforce each other,
making for a very stable setup,"
said JC.
The footing steel is easy to attach to the base angle of the
support, and the horizontal steel is installed in the normal manner.
"I installed the vertical steel after I did my final height
adjustment to allow easy adjustment of the wall", said JC.
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JC glued his Advantage® blocks together
for extra strength and stability. |
JC glued his blocks together for added strength and stability. "When
you think about it, the glued ICF blocks are acting just like a
piece of footing forming lumber, except we are using the bottom of
the ICF block to form top of the footing."
JC used the
Advantage® ICF block.
"The Advantage® block performed perfectly
for me", said JC. "I chose Advantage® because it was readily
available from Home Depot and they didn't require me to go through a
training program. I have been forming concrete all my life - what is
training going to do for me?"
Most of JC's project was 5' in height, with one end a full 8'.
JC braced the bottom inside to the ground and the top to
the outside bank. "Bracing is very simple",
confirmed JC.
Concrete Pour
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The concrete pour was easy with
Fastfoot® MP. |
"The concrete pour was easy", said JC. "The only
complication was that my helpers didn't show up, so I poured it all
myself. I first poured the footing and half the first block to
prevent form uplift, then I filled up the balance of the walls with
a couple of passes."
"As the home uses premanufactured SIP panels above
grade, foundation accuracy was essential. The poured
walls were accurate within 1/8" in all directions,
and I saved $1,500 with
the system."
Click
here for the MP Installation Guide.
Click here for a Logix
MP project. |
