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Overview of ICF Tools & Accessories
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Introduction

Benefits of ICFs

Overview of ICF Systems

Overview of ICF Tools & Accessories

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Although ICF construction requires only common tools, there are many specialty products useful for speeding up work or improving precision.

Cutting forms to length or for door and window openings is commonly done with a circular saw, or almost any hand saw.    But there are also various thermal cutters.  Electricity   heats a taut wire that cuts cleanly and quickly through the foam.  Various hand-held and bench-mounted models are available. 

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one of many portable table models available

Large ones can cut through form units with a single stroke.  Bench models adjust to angles for precise mitre cuts.  Thermal cutters are also useful for cutting foam stock into popouts and other trim details that are glued to the ICF wall and covered with stucco.

Some companies offer combined bracing/scaffolding systems.  These consist of poles erected at regular intervals along the wall with brackets for floor boards about halfway up.  They are set up against the wall when the formwork reaches 4-6 feet.  They are equipped with turnbuckles or similar devices to enable the crews to adjust the poles (and hence the wall) to precise plumb. 

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bracing and scaffolding combine into one

Although some crews use a router, some find a hot knife handy for cutting channels in the foam surface for electrical lines and boxes.   A hot knife is a plug-in device with a handle and a curved or bendable blade.   The blade heats up to slice through foam quickly and cleanly.  They are also handy for creating fine architectural detail on the exterior foam surface, which is commonly covered with stucco.  Below are examples of a typical hot knife design:

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To wire a building, electricians cut grooves in the foam for holding the electrical cables. 

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hot knife lying dormant after use

Plastic Bucks are sometimes used in place of wood because they reduce the insulation around the door/window less, they are more consistently straight and true, and they are less susceptible to damage from water or insects.  Available are both plastic channel that the crews can cut and assemble into bucks on-site, and complete bucks pre-assembled to order.

Glues and adhesives are useful to attach cut block securely  to one another or strengthen weak points.  Some contractors glue every seam to hold the formwork firmly together.  Glues are also useful for attaching foam trim to the ICF wall. 

Expanding foam adhesive expands after dispersing from a pressurized can.  It can fill gaps in the formwork, connect irregular or mismatched pieces, and it insulates, maintaining the wall's continuous insulation.  Some contractors use large amounts on their ICF jobs, using industrial cans of the material and handy pistol-grip dispensers.


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