Start with the wall types and the issued Section 03 11 19.00: confirm that each ICF wall type gives its concrete core and overall width, insulation value, fire-resistance and sound ratings, and finishes, that the structural drawings reinforce every ICF wall, lintel, and opening, and that the drawings locate construction joints, bucks, brick ledges, and embedded items. Then check that the brackets kept agree with those wall types, that the waterproofing section kept accepts EPS, that one evidence route, an evaluation report or a certification, is required, and that the misprinted standard number and the mismatched metric values have been corrected.
Assemble the review package
Gather the architectural wall types and wall sections that call for ICF, the floor plans and elevations with wall lengths, heights, and openings, the window and door details at ICF jambs, heads, and sills, the structural foundation and wall plans, wall reinforcement schedules, lintel and beam details, and the construction joint details, the brick ledge and cladding attachment details, the below-grade wall sections with waterproofing, drainage, and protection, the life safety plan with fire-resistance ratings, the acoustic requirements for demising walls, the envelope or energy compliance documents with the wall insulation values, and the issued Section 03 11 19.00 with Section 03 30 00, the waterproofing section it names, and the cladding, gypsum board, air barrier, and window sections. Follow one exterior wall from the footing to the top course, and one window through its buck, before assuming the others match.
WBDG publishes UFGS 03 11 19.00: Insulating Concrete Forming as a public guide-specification reference (accessed November 14, 2026). Use your project’s issued specification and amendments for the actual comparison; the guide specification does not automatically govern your project. The checklist below is an original suggested review workflow, not a reproduction of the UFGS requirements.
Eight checks to run against the issued set
Use one record per location or system. The CSV contains the same eight prompts plus fields for source revisions, observed evidence, the review owner, the decision, and closure references.
| Check | Sources to compare | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Wall widths, concrete core, and form unit types | Opening note (written for flat ICF walls; grid and post-and-beam systems named but not covered; basis cited as ASTM E2643 while the References article lists ASTM E2634) + Performance Requirements (a nominal wall width bracket with its tolerance) + Performance/Design Criteria (a concrete flat cross section bracket from the same list; straight, 90-degree and 45-degree corner, brick ledge, and tapered top units) + Manufactured Units description (unit types by the manufacturer to provide the walls indicated) + wall types, plans, and sections | Does each ICF wall type state both its concrete core and its overall width, and does the issued section keep values in the wall width and cross section brackets that agree with them, since the two paragraphs offer the same list for different dimensions, are the brick ledge, tapered top, and angled corner locations drawn, is every ICF wall a flat wall the section covers, and has the specifier corrected the opening note’s standard number to ASTM E2634? |
| Structural design and reinforcement | System Description (beams, lintels, load-bearing, foundation, and retaining walls) + Design Requirements (design, engineer, and construct the ICF wall system to the manufacturer’s instructions for anticipated loads, lateral pressures, and concrete placement pressures; monitored under the Quality Control Plan) + Performance Requirements (accurate positioning of reinforcing bars to ACI 318) + Cross Ties (multiple reinforcement positions) + Installation (reinforcement per the structural drawings at walls, lintels, beams, and openings) + structural wall plans, schedules, and lintel details | Do the structural drawings give the reinforcement for every ICF wall, lintel, beam, and opening, with bar positions the chosen cross ties can hold, and does the issued Design Requirements paragraph make clear whether the contractor designs only the forming, bracing, and placement for concrete pressure, or whether any structural design of the walls themselves is delegated, since retaining and load-bearing walls drawn by the engineer of record should not be redesigned by the form supplier? |
| Insulation, sound, and fire ratings | Performance/Design Criteria (R-value bracket tested to ASTM C518 or C177; EPS vapor permeance; STC bracket to ASTM E90 for the finished assembly; fire-resistive construction of the complete assembly to ASTM E119 with no rating stated) and note (thinner EPS for interior demising walls; the sound rating may not be attainable at the thinnest wall) + Table 1 properties + Expanded Polystyrene (ASTM C578 Type II, flame resistant, panel thickness bracket) and note + wall types, energy documents, life safety plan, and acoustic requirements | Does the insulation value kept match the envelope compliance documents and the EPS panel thickness chosen, where an ICF wall carries a fire-resistance rating on the life safety plan, is it tied to a tested ICF assembly, including the finishes on both faces, since the section names the test method but not the rating, and is the sound rating kept only where the wall types call for it and achievable at the core thickness drawn? |
| Finishes over the foam and the fastening strips | Opening note (forms protected by approved interior and exterior finish materials) + Performance Requirements and Cross Ties and Fastening Strips (flange width, vertical alignment, horizontal spacing; the metric spacing in the second paragraph matches neither its inch-pound value nor the first paragraph) + recess depth bracket and note (deeper recesses for electrical and plumbing) + Fasteners (to ASTM E2634; corrosion resistant; long enough to penetrate the flanges) + Protection (temporary cover against ultraviolet exposure) + wall sections and cladding, gypsum board, and siding details | Do the wall sections show a finish over the foam on every face, including in attics, crawl spaces, and above ceilings, along with any thermal barrier the adopted code requires over foam plastic, do the cladding and gypsum board details fasten into strips at the spacing the forms provide, is the recess depth chosen to suit concealed electrical and plumbing runs, and has the specifier corrected the metric fastening strip spacing so both paragraphs and both unit systems agree? |
| Openings, bucks, and embedded items | Door and Window Bucks (extruded vinyl, pressure-treated wood, or metal) + Installation (bucks at each opening; sleeves, inserts, anchors, and embedded items placed before concrete) + Mock-Ups (full-size assembly with at least one window, sill, head, and jambs) + Field Quality Control (inspection of door and window opening construction) + window and door details, MEP penetration plans, ledger, joist bearing, and anchor bolt details | Does each window and door detail name the buck material and show how the frame, flashing, and air barrier tie into it, does that choice agree with the window, door, and air barrier sections, and are sleeves for pipes and conduits, ledger and joist anchors, and other embeds located on the drawings so they can be set before the pour rather than cored afterwards? |
| Below-grade walls and waterproofing | System Description (foundation and retaining walls) + Waterproofing (compatible with the EPS system; Section 07 13 53 or 07 14 00, bracketed) + Examination (footings and slabs level and true; dimensions and reinforcement as indicated) + Preparation (footing tops cleaned of frost, ice, and water) + below-grade wall sections, drainage, and protection board details | Which waterproofing section is kept, and does that section’s membrane or coating list EPS as an accepted substrate, do the below-grade sections show the waterproofing, drainage, and protection over the foam up to grade, and are footing dowels and the first course detailed so the forms sit on a level, clean base as the Examination paragraph expects? |
| Placement, construction joints, and tolerances | Installation (running bond; forms anchored to supporting surfaces; alignment bracing around the entire wall; bracing and shoring to ACI 301) + ICF Wall System Length and Height (the height tolerance prints metric and inch-pound values that do not agree) + Concrete Placement note (construction joints, dowels, and keyways on the drawings) and bracket (as indicated, as approved by the designer of record, or per an approved placement plan; lifts within form design pressure; consolidation per the manufacturer or ACI 301; ACI 117 tolerances) + Field/Site Conditions (ACI 305R and 306R) + Section 03 30 00 + structural details | Are construction joints located and detailed on the drawings, or is one of the other bracket options kept and its approval path clear, does the concrete mixture in Section 03 30 00 suit placement and consolidation in the form cavity as the manufacturer’s instructions require, and has the specifier corrected the wall height tolerance so its metric and inch-pound values agree? |
| Evidence, qualifications, meeting, and mock-up | ICF Manufacturer Qualification (an ICC-ES evaluation report or a certification of conformance to ASTM E2634) + Materials (a third-party certification to ASTM E2634 in every case) + SD-06 ICC ES Evaluation Report and SD-07 3rd Party Agency Certification + Installer Qualification (trained by the manufacturer; similar projects bracket) + Pre-Installation Meetings and note + Mock-Ups and note + Field Quality Control (on-site training; inspection before placement) + sustainability submittals | Which evidence does the project accept, since the qualification paragraph allows either document but the Materials paragraph and the submittal list require the certification as well, does the evaluation report or certification cover the wall thicknesses, heights, and uses drawn, are the meeting and the mock-up kept where ICF is the main wall system, and are the local materials, environmental data, and LEED submittals deleted where the project does not pursue them? |
Worked example: a brick ledge, a fire-rated corridor wall, and a below-grade mechanical room
Illustrative example: a single-story training building at an installation has ICF exterior walls with brick veneer on a brick ledge, an ICF corridor wall shown as fire-resistance rated on the life safety plan, and a partly below-grade mechanical room with ICF foundation walls. The issued Section 03 11 19.00 keeps different values in the wall width and concrete cross section brackets, keeps the fluid-applied waterproofing option, and leaves both the evaluation report and the third-party certification in the submittal list. The wall type gives an overall width but no concrete core, the elevations show the brick but no detail places the brick ledge units, the corridor wall cites no tested ICF assembly and shows gypsum board on one face only, the window details show a wood buck while the window section calls for vinyl, and the structural drawings show no construction joints along a long wall.
Ask the architect to give the concrete core and overall width on each wall type and match both brackets to them, to detail the brick ledge course, to cite a tested assembly for the rated corridor wall with its finishes on both faces, and to choose one buck material in the details and the window section. Ask the structural engineer to locate the construction joints or to keep the placement plan option with a review path, and to confirm the reinforcement at the lintels. Ask the specifier to confirm that the waterproofing kept accepts EPS, to require one evidence route, and to correct the standard number in the opening note and the mismatched metric spacing and tolerance values.
Avoid a false conflict
Section 03 11 19.00 covers the forms, their insulation and fastening strips, bucks, and the installation and placement of concrete into them. The concrete mixture, reinforcement materials, and curing follow Section 03 30 00 and the concrete guide, below-grade waterproofing follows the section the issued text names and its guide, cladding, air barriers, gypsum board, and windows follow their own sections and guides, and fire-resistance ratings follow the tested assembly the drawings cite, so check those before calling a requirement missing. Some of the section’s own wording needs resolving: the opening note cites ASTM E2643 where every other citation uses ASTM E2634, the metric fastening strip spacing in Cross Ties and Fastening Strips matches neither its inch-pound value nor the Performance Requirements paragraph, the wall height tolerance prints metric and inch-pound values that disagree, and the Materials article requires a certification the qualification paragraph treats as one of two alternatives. Ask the specifier which wording the project intends before treating a difference as a design conflict.
When requirements disagree, follow the project’s document-control and clarification process. Do not assume that drawings always override specifications, or the reverse. Identify the exact sources and request an authorized decision.
Close the issue across the affected documents
Record the location or tag, drawing and specification references, issue dates, observed difference, and the decision needed. Assign an owner and keep the item open until the response identifies the governing requirement. Check the revised drawings and specification references together; a response email alone may leave the issued package inconsistent.
For the overall process, use the guide to drawing and specification conflicts. Mark an inapplicable checklist row with a reason, and distinguish a verified correction from a question that still needs design information.
Where Groundbook fits
Groundbook’s drawing and specification review helps investigate potential disagreements in the documents you supply. Include the relevant specification sections and drawing references, then verify the cited evidence with the responsible reviewers before acting on a finding.