ICF walls and foundation questions

[decarteaux]

I plan to build a solid shed (12'Lx12'Wx12'H) using ICF walls and concrete foundation in beautiful southern Indiana. My first questions are concerning footers and foundation. Do I need to place the foundation below the frost line? Or can I float it on gravel and anchor it with rebar? Do I need footers for this type of foundation? The walls will be 12' high, so I am assuming that footers would be needed to support that weight.

This is going to be a mini version (in some respects) of the house I intend to build in a couple of years, so I would like to practice on this project. Thanks.

[concretemasonry]

You are probably the only person in the world that wants an insulated shed with a 12' ceiling. - Why?

If you want to learn and play around, you should build it it as a home. A home must have footings below the frost level.

A home is not like a shed, so anchoring it is not going to provide you with any education or experience.

Footings would be required to support the weight AND loads of a home. Your shed loads are minimal.

A shed will provide you with little in the way of education that you can translate to a home, assuming you already have some basic construction abilities/experience.

If you ar going to build a shed of those dimensions, your local building will impose requirements that may not make the experience gratifying or meaningful to the real world of construction.

Dick

[decarteaux]

Why such a building? It will be a two-level building that will house a workshop, alternate power interface (generator, wind turbine power inverter, battery bank, etc) for the house, storage and a very small office in the upper level. I don't mind over-building the shed in order to get acquainted with ICF construction and a few other things that will be incorporated into it, which will then give me a little insight into what to expect when I build my next home. Maybe not much insight, but some.

It will be more than just a shed, yes, but I don't believe that I stated it would be just a stick-built piece of sh*!, either.

Since you seem to think that this won't be a meaningful exercise, I'll check with my local builders to get advice.

[concretemasonry]

More information would make it easier to get better answers for you. To virtually everyone a shed is a shed, not a multipurpose two level structure for a mini power generation/control sytem and computer center.

You are over the "magical" 120 sf used by most municipalities, so you will probably have stricter requirements than a typical shed. - Zoning, land use, exterior finish, roof slope/materials, access/egress, etc. If you are out in a cornfield, you should only have construction problems to learn by.

You could "float it on a structural slab or you could use conventional footings below frost and a floating slab inside. The weight is really immaterial to the size of the footings, since the structure is not that substantial.

You will learn something when it comes to attaching/supporting the interior raised floor. You will also encounter some interesting access/egress challenges because of the use.

Construction of the basic structure is a piece of cake if you select an ICF system with good technical details and support AND hire someone familiar with pouring 12' high walls. - It is not the like the LEGO system people think it is.

Beware if the ICF systems that have as much thought behind them as the meat trays that they make for Walmart.

Dick