Issue 32

June 2010  

Quad-Lock's high performance insulation product for retrofits, the R-ETRO System, has made headlines again.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is promoting energy efficient retrofits and recently showcased the R-ETRO System in their "Energy Efficient Remodel Demonstration Project" in Sacramento, CA.  An abandoned, foreclosed home was the prime candidate for the Housing Group Fund (local redevelopment organization that provides affordable housing and home ownership) to rehab and retrofit into a welcoming and extremely energy efficient home.

Before

After

As you can see from the before and after pictures, this home has been transformed from an undesirable eye-sore into an adorable little bungalow that any family would be proud to own, while saving money without having to think about it!

Watch the video for the Energy Efficient Remodel Demonstration Project
(Note that the second video (8:03 min.) gives a much more detailed account of the project)

Learn more about SMUD and the Housing Group Fund.

The R-ETRO System has also made headlines in the latest issue of ICF Builder Magazine. 

Their April/May issue's featured story was "Retrofits and Remodels".  The R-ETRO System is profiled and the R-ETRO project in Whitby, ON is showcased.

Before

After

The exterior R-ETRO installation on a 1954 brick home in Ontario, completed by the owner Rudi Dyck of Das Haus Ltd., increased the R-Value by more than 300% and gave this post-war home a much needed facelift, transforming it for 21st century living.  Rudi states that "at the same time as saving so much money and increasing comfort levels within the home, straightening the walls and giving the house a modern look has also added re-sale value."  The family will be benefiting from a 64% saving in annual heating costs. Rudi adds,"With R-ETRO, it's so simple, how can you go wrong?"

Read the original Project Profile from Quad-Lock.

Read the complete article in ICF Builder Magazine.

For more information on the R-ETRO System, go to www.r-etro.com.

One of the most often-asked questions about ICF construction is "Do I have to tie my rebar?"  The very short answer is  "No.... but it must be secured."

Quad-Lock's recommendation has always been as follows: Do not secure rebar to the plastic ties with tie wire or zip ties. Leave it loose so you can adjust the wall prior to concrete placement. Horizontal rebar can (and probably should) be tied to other horizontal steel members, but not to the wall components, except for laying it on the rebar chairs on the Quad-Lock Ties.
To secure vertical rebar (and if permitted by building officials), cut short (4" [102mm]) pieces of plastic pipe 1¼" to 1½" [32 to 38mm] in diameter and drop them over the rebar stubs that are sticking up out of the footing. Do not place the vertical steel at this point. Build the Quad-Lock wall, placing horizontal steel only as you build. When the wall is at the desired height, slip pre-cut vertical rebar into the plastic pipe next to the stub steel, and secure at the top of the wall.

Here's the unabridged answer from the building codes:

The 2009 version of the US International Residential Code (IRC) is very clear on this issue in Chapter 611.  Since this chapter is specifically aimed at ICFs, it is clear that the important distinction made there is "secured", and not "tied".  Most ICF systems have provisions for keeping reinforcement bar in place with features molded into the plastic ties, which meets the definition of "other bar support system" in R611.5.4.1.  

Canadians: This same language ("secured") appears in CSA 23.1, Paragraph 6.6.7 "Support of Reinforcement". The word "tied" does not appear.

Furthermore, the development of lapped splices (both horizontal and vertical is clearly spelled out in R611.5.4.3. and the following table, Figure R611.5.4(1). The necessary amount of overlap for splices is easily found in this table. In addition, the maximum allowable space between lapped bars not in contact with one another is also clearly noted in R611.5.4.3. Excerpts from the 2009 IRC follow.

IRC Requirements for Rebar Installation and Splices

R611.5.4.1 Support and Cover. Reinforcement shall be secured in the proper location in the forms with tie wire or other bar support system such that displacement will not occur during the concrete placement operation. Steel reinforcement in concrete cast against the earth shall have a minimum cover of 3" [76mm]. Minimum cover for reinforcement in concrete cast in removable forms that will be exposed to the earth or weather shall be 1 1/2" [38mm] for No. 5 bars and smaller, and 2" [50mm] for No. 6 bars and larger. For concrete cast in removable forms that will not be exposed to the earth or weather, and for concrete cast in stay-in-place forms, minimum cover shall be 3/4" [19mm]. The minus tolerance for cover shall not exceed the smaller of one-third the required cover and 3/8" [10mm]. See Section R611.5.4.4 for cover requirements for hooks of bars developed in tension.

R611.5.4.3 Lap Splices. Vertical and horizontal wall reinforcement required by Sections R611.6 and R611.7 shall be the longest lengths practical. Where splices are necessary in reinforcement, the length of lap splices shall be in accordance with Table R611.5.4(1) and Figure R611.5.4 (1). The maximum gap between non-contact parallel bars at a lap splice shall not exceed the smaller of one-fifth the required lap length and 6" [152 mm].

Douglas Bennion

Training & Technical Services Department

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Quad-Lock Building Systems