Design:
Take advantage of Blue Star’s:
I. Dimensions
II. Features
III. Strengths

Codes and Engineering:
Ensure compliance with local and national building codes and with accepted
engineering practices. Plan and Layout:
Ensure that all elements will fit and function properly.

Footing:
Adequately Designed
Straight and True, Square, Level, and Smooth
Equipped w/ Eyebolts as Needed

Building Lines and Vertical Rebar:
Chalk footing and mark rebar locations.
Test fit blocks to check marks.
Remove blocks & drill bar locations.
Install 1st course guides as needed.

Construct window and door buck framing, bracing them properly.
Install bucks for doors and other openings which extend to finished floor elevation. Fiber tape may be used to provide additional reinforcement where block have been altered to a less than full cell increment.

Locate window bucks near point of installation for setting and bracing as the wall is being built.

Remove keys from bottom of the 1st course blocks and cut or shim the bottoms of these blocks as needed to compensate for footing irregularities.

Place blocks, ensure level, install Blue Backers™ as needed, secure butt joints, and install Blue Anchors™ as needed.

Insert lengths (≤ 7’) of vertical rebar in footing holes, install horizontal rebar and fasten to vertical rebar as needed.

Establish a running bond at each corner continuing into the field of each wall. Secure butt joints at corners with plastic ties.

Install subsequent sections of vertical rebar after the 5th course.

Install wall bracing/scaffolding and continue. Secure all top course joints with plastic ties, fortify weak areas, and finally brace and secure any continuous vertical wall seams before placing concrete.

Install any floor support devices that may need to be embedded prior to concrete placement, taking care to ensure that embedments and internal rebar do not interfere with one another.

(In these photos, a Simpson Strong-Tie® ICFVL connector system is being installed at a vertical post location.)

Establish level, final building elevation. Cut the top of the top course if required to achieve level before placing concrete.

Ensure that all top course butt joints have been secured with plastic ties, foam adhesive, or both.

Install Blue Clamp™ Top Course Guide Kits and prepare embeds for the top plate as needed.

Review concrete mixes, equipment schedules, wall bracing and sealing, and supply preparations before ordering concrete.

Adjust bracing and guide system to ensure proper tension, rebar position, and elevation.

Place concrete slowly at a 6” slump in lifts ≤ 4’. Short lifts are better, particularly for the first lift of any given pour.

Insert embedded items, finish the top course as desired, make final alignment adjustments, and clean up before concrete cures.

Thirty to sixty (30-60) minutes should be allowed between placement of successive lifts. Placement of more than 12’ total height in one day is NOT recommended.

Cut channels and recesses into the EPS using hot knives or routers.

Install conduit, lines, and boxes.

Create wall penetrations up to 4” through Blue Star Stress Isolation Spaces™

Secure installed items mechanically and/or with adhesives that are EPS-compatible*, such as low expansion foam adhesive or polymer mud.

* Some products, such as petroleum-based adhesives and coatings can damage EPS.

Install EPS-compatible waterproofing product/s to any below grade inhabited space. Apply interior and exterior finishes using conventional methods and materials compatible with EPS.