I’m confused—Some ICF manufacturers recommend vibration of the concrete, others say to rod it or tap the outside of the form, and others say none of the above. What’s right?
The word here is to “consolidate” the concrete, which eliminates air pockets and voids. Elimination of these voids is required for the concrete wall to take on its full design strength. It is required by code and general good construction practice. Consolidation has three basic accepted methods, internal vibration with a concrete vibrator (this works the best), rodding (simply using a rod or piece of rebar and poking through the concrete multiple times, or tapping (tapping the forms with a hammer or other item). According to the CSA and American Standards, “all site placed concrete is to be consolidated sufficiently”. Some manufacturers suggest you use the tapping method, and fill with a more fluid concrete (5-6″ plasticizer induced slump). The problem is that an inexperienced crew often does not remove all the voids using this method. A reason that manufacturers make different recommendations regarding vibration is their concern for blowouts. There are variations in the relative stren
Related Questions
- Im confused --- some ICF manufacturers recommend vibration of the concrete, others say to rod it or tap the outside of the form, and others say none of the above. Whats right?
- I’m confused --- some ICF manufacturers recommend vibration of the concrete, others say to rod it or tap the outside of the form, and others say none of the above. What’s right?
- I’m confused—Some ICF manufacturers recommend vibration of the concrete, others say to rod it or tap the outside of the form, and others say none of the above. What’s right?
