1. Above Grade ICF Walls
Interim Summary - Details & Water Management Strategies
Building Green With Concrete
October 22, 2015
Presented by Brian Hubbs, P. ENG d

2. Overview History of ICF Above Grade ICF Research Future Research
Air & Water Testing
Thermal Modelling
Future Research

3. RDH – What We Do Existing Buildings New Construction
Research, Energy & Forensics
Product Development & Testing
Diagnostic Testing
Water Penetration
Air Leakage

4. ICF Foundations – Below Grade
ICF – Traditionally below grade
Good at insulation

5. ICF Walls – Above Grade
Recent expansion to above grade

6. ICF Walls – Typical Installation Detail

7. ICF Walls – Interfaces and Unknowns
So many more interfaces above grade
more complex. Or are they? We’ll see

8. ICF Walls – Test Objectives
Test the performance of several current practice details
Develop and test economical assembly details
Minimize need for additional air and moisture barriers materials if possible
Develop details for future adoption into building codes

9. ICF Walls – Phase 1 6 common practice window interface details
Commonly accepted window interface details
Get a current performance benchmark

10. Air & Water Testing ASTM E283 – Air Leakage
ASTM E331 – Water Penetration P F + -
Air 75 Pa
Water Test at 150, 300, 700 Pa, and beyond

11. Air & Water Testing
RDH Test Wall

12. ICF Walls – Phase 1 Module 1 – Internal Buck - Unmodified EXTERIOR
Result – Water Pass up to 150 Pa - Bad Pa
EXTERIOR

13. ICF Walls – Phase 1 Module 2 – External Buck - Unmodified EXTERIOR
Result – Water Fail - All Pa
EXTERIOR

14. Module 2 – External Buck Unmodified
Result – Water Fail - All Pa

15. ICF Walls – Phase 1 Module 3 –Vinyl Buck - Unmodified EXTERIOR
Result – Water Fail - All Pa
EXTERIOR

16. ICF Walls – Phase 1 Module 4 – Internal Buck - Modified EXTERIOR
Result – Water Pass up to 150 Pa - Bad Pa
EXTERIOR
EXTERIOR

17. ICF Walls – Phase 1 Module 5 – External Buck - Modified EXTERIOR
Result – Water Fail - All Pa
EXTERIOR

18. ICF Walls – Phase 1
Module 6 –Vinyl Buck - Modified
EXTERIOR

19. ICF Walls – Phase 1
Phase 1 Testing Results
Air Test
Water Test
Rank ?

20. ICF Walls – Phase 1 – What We Learned
Typical window installation methods do not have an effective, defined layer of weather-tightness (WRB)
Water can penetrate into the foam and drain within exterior insulation layer
Concrete is the most air and water tight element
Achieving a good tie-in to concrete is important if conventional air and water resistant sheathing membrane WRB is omitted
Air Test
Water Test
Rank ?

21. ICF Walls – Phase 1 – 9000 Pa Test

22. ICF Walls – Phase 2 – What We Want to Learn
Cost effective ways to tie into concrete and potentially eliminate the need for a sheathing membrane
Test other proprietary systems
Compare systems to code standard sheathing membrane installation (WRB)
Air Test
Water Test
Rank ?

23. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Module 1A – Internal w/ Buck Flash INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

24. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 1A – Internal w/ Buck Flash

25. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Module 1B – External w/ Buck Flash INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

26. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 1B – External w/ Buck Flash

27. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 2A – Direct to Concrete
INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

28. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 2A – Direct to Concrete

29. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Module 2A – Direct to Concrete
Can anyone tell me what 20 in of water is
Pass to 5000 Pa!!
Less than Pa

30. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 2B – EIFS Basecoat
INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

31. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 2B – EIFS Basecoat

32. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Module 2C – Benchmark – Sheathing Paper INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

33. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module 2C – Benchmark – Sheathing Paper

34. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Module FB – Proprietary Foam Buck INTERIOR
EXTERIOR

35. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Module FB – Proprietary Foam Buck

36. ICF Walls – Phase 2
Phase 2 Testing Results
Air Test
Water Test

37. ICF Walls – Phase 2 Thermal Modelling
Two dimensional heat transfer simulations
Finite element analysis
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
R20

38. ICF Walls – Thermal Modelling
Air Test
Water T

39. ICF Walls – Phase 2 – What We Learned
Conventional ICF window bucks should be used in conjunction with conventional sheathing membrane systems (WRB)
Modified ICF windows bucks with direct tie-in to concrete core performs best and should provide equivalent performance to typical sheathing membranes if results can be replicated full scale in the field.
The simpler the detail the better
All modules perform better than the control WRB
Air Test
Water Test
Rank ?

40. ICF Walls – Next Steps Objectives
Prove interfaces are field buildable
Repeatable results on multiple sites
Ensure concrete core is water and air tight in the field
Test and develop additional details (base of wall)
Move towards a best practice guide
Air Test
Water Test
Rank ?

41. ICF Walls – Next Steps Field Testing Whole Building Air Leakage
Refine Details & Assemblies

42. Discussion + Questions
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