MAXXIMUM CONSTRUCTION

The concept of using insulated forms that fit together similar to Lego pieces is appealing in it's simplicity and time saving. That's part of the reason $5 worth of Styrofoam and plastic sells for $20 and change. The only problem is the approach relies on Styrofoam holding wet concrete. Therein lies a problem that can bite you. The approach ARXX has come up with relies on a steel track that's screwed to the plastic stringers embedded in the Styrofoam. Angle braces are set between the track and the ground every six to eight feet. The hope is this will keep the wall from falling over while the concrete cures. The problem is the wall may lean slightly if the bracing isn't fully snug or braced well enough. The pour may seem to go well only to discover later, such as when you are ready to hang drywall, that the wall has swayed. All four walls have swayed one way or another. It's not much, but the floor covering is linoleum tile, and a less than square room will show. That's essentially the approach I'm taking. That is I've had to draw a rectangle with square corners that just fits, and shim the wall to meet the rectangle. There's another aspect that's worth considering for the long term. Ideally all of the insulation on the basement wall should be on the outside. It's be nice to strip all of the Styrofoam off of the ARXX block once the concrete cures and move it to the outside of the wall. Another issue has to do with the block alignment. The framer managed to assemble some of the blocks such that the plastic ribs do not line up along the full height of the wall. This creates a needless complication when trying to attach Styrofoam panels with screws and Wind-lok caps.