In this photo, a worker is installing 2 x 12 braces alongside the opening of the garage door before the concrete pour.
Openings in ICF walls are created for doors and windows and roughed in with plastic V-Buck. They are hollow plastic pieces that take the place of rough window openings. They will be filled with concrete during the pour and thus represent a thermal weak point in the wall. That is, they provide no insulation, just a solid hunk of concrete around all openings that permit heat to enter and leave via conduction. That’s one of the weaknesses of ICF construction. Because of this I only installed on window in the basement. One of the other openings in the ICF foundation is the garage door where bridging loss is not a major issue (unless the garage is heated). The third opening is between the basement and the garage, again, not an area where bridging loss should be significant.
Contributing editorDan Chirasis a renewable energy and green homes expert who has spent a lifetime learning life’s lessons, which he shares in his popular blog,Dan Chiras on Loving Life. He’s the founder and director of The Evergreen Institute and president of Sustainable Systems Design. Contact him by visitinghis websiteor finding him onGoogle+.