ICF New Construction Multigenerational House: The Foundation
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Last week, I introduced you to The MC Build – an ICF new construction multigenerational house that Jim is building for twin brothers and their wives. Today I’m sharing an update featuring the foundation walls and a whole lot of progress!
Looking for a home that’s built to last?
Let’s find out why ICF construction might be your answer!
Building the Foundation Walls
Before we get going, keep in mind that the snow and temps made this phase more difficult than normal. Not only were the temperatures below zero with the wind chill, the ice was insane.
The crews braved below 20-degree temps and wind chills below zero to finish the foundation and first floor wall framing, it was a LONG week for them …..it was cold!
Ok, let’s get to the update.
Last week, that big empty hole in the ground finally got some walls!
The foundation looks like an actual structure instead of just a giant dirt pit.
Once the concrete footings (the picture below was taken a couple weeks ago before the cold weather moved in) and slab were poured, it was time to build the walls!
Jim and the crew spent about 3 days stacking the ICF blocks like giant Legos, getting everything ready for the pump truck to fill them with concrete.
These blocks stack together like building blocks, creating a form for the concrete.
(And…..you can see the snow and ice have arrived below……)
The hollow center gets filled with concrete, creating a foundation wall that’s both insulated and incredibly strong.
After stacking all the blocks, the crew installed bracing to keep everything straight and steady during the concrete pour.
Related: See part 1 of this new construction house build
They filled the walls in stages, about 4 feet at a time, to prevent too much pressure on the forms.
While the system is fairly straight forward, it’s extremely labor intensive.
Think of the process like an assembly line!
Jim controls the pump, filling the ICF blocks with concrete while one guy follows with a vibrating tool to eliminate air pockets.
Another manages the power supply (because nothing work without power!) and the pump truck operator adjusts the flow from the concrete truck.
It’s a well-oiled system—messy, but efficient!
If you’ve never seen a concrete pump truck in action, it’s pretty impressive. The neighbors definitely knew something was happening that day!
Setting the First Floor
With the basement walls and slab complete, the framing crew arrived to install the first floor – creating the ceiling for the basement and the platform for the main living area.
Related: see why we are eyeing ICF construction for our own home
The framers laid out the floor joists according to the plans, then installed the subfloor on top. These plywood sheets create the actual walking surface for the main floor.
Stacking the First Story Walls
With the first floor in place, the crew started on the main floor walls using the same ICF block system.
The spent the day stacking icf blocks following the house layout and installed special frames for the windows and doors.
You will notice that the door and window frames are much wider and deeper than a traditional wood stick built home.
This is one of the biggest differences between ICF and wood homes, the windows sills in an ICF home are about 6″ deeper than a traditional wood built home.
Just like with the foundation, they set up bracing to keep everything perfectly aligned for the concrete pour.
Interested in more info about ICF construction?
Check out our new website called ICF New England, featuring everything (and anything) you could ever want to know about Insulated Concrete Form construction.
What’s Coming Next Week
Weather permitting (because New England loves to keep us guessing), the first story level will be completed!
Next up?
The concrete pour for the first-floor walls—as long as Mother Nature plays nice! ❄️
This coming week we’ll see:
- The roof framing, doors and window installation
- Interior first floor walls
Looking Ahead for The MC Build
UPDATE: This house is complete! Take a tour here.
Once the shell is complete, multiple crews will begin working on different parts of the home at the same time:
- Rubber waterproofing along the exterior foundation walls prior to backfilling the foundation
- Plumbing rough-ins
- Electrical rough wiring
- HVAC rough installation
- The special dog wash station for Miss Bonnie mentioned in Part 1 🤩
We’ll also start seeing that central “holiday room” take shape – the heart of this multigenerational home.
Looking to meet another family who is so excited to move into their forever ICF home? Head to this post, The Kenwood ICF home to see more.
More Posts On This House Build:
- Part 1: The Twin Brothers’ Story – multi-gen living idea and how it became an idea
- ICF Foundation Build Updates for the twin brother’s and their wives
- Part 2: Twin Brother’s Multigenerational house interior update
- The best interior doors for multigenerational living with solid core interior
- Multigenerational Floor Plans That Actually Work
- The multigenerational house is complete. Take a tour of the interior.
- New House Build Splurge or Save checklist
Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.