"Midori Uchi" Project

Naikoon Contracting Ltd., North Vancouver BC, recently formed and poured footings for one of Canada’s 'greenest' homes which hopes to achieve the highest LEED Platinum score in Canada as well as meet the new R-2000 certification for energy efficiency.

Joe Geluch, President, has been a green builder for 15 years and won numerous awards for his efforts.

Click on the image to the right to go to the Midori Uchi project page. Note the rammed earth walls on the front left corner of the home.

"We always use Fastfoot® on our footings", confirmed Joe, "the fabric prevents ground moisture entering the foundation as well as prevents concrete damage to our lumber." 

Setting up screed boards

In order to minimize lumber, Naikoon's crew used 2x4s for the screed boards.

The laser is used to ensure the top of the screed board is at the exact height for the ICF blocks.

Folding Fastfoot® around corners

Fastfoot® is 'folded' around corners so that ground moisture cannot enter the concrete.

A hammer tacker with 3/8" staples is used to fasten the fabric to the top of the 2x4 screed board.

Wide Footings for Rammed Earth Feature Wall

The structural engineer required a 6' wide footing under the rammed each wall.

Naikoon's crew lays out two widths of Fastfoot® under the footing to protect against ground moisture.

The photo below shows the fabric and steel reinforcing completed.

Placing concrete in Fastfoot®

Fastfoot® is a closed form, preventing the concrete from being contaminated by the ground. Concrete is very expensive, typically from $150 to $200 per cubic meter. Fastfoot® prevents concrete leakage and produces better quality concrete by preventing contamination.

Engineers require 3" clearance between the steel and the ground. With Fastfoot® this distance can be reduced to 1 1/2" thereby increasing the bending moment capacity of the footing as the tensile strength of the steel is directly proportional to the distance from the neutral axis.

Dowelling

The engineer required 15M dowels 16" on centre to provide strength to the cold joint between the footing and wall.

With the monopoured foundation in the background, there is no cold joint, therefore providing a stronger foundation.