Can I leave Fox Blocks forms exposed to ultraviolet rays for an extended period (months)?
Yes, but you will notice a light dust­ing on the sur­face and a yel­low­ing dis­col­oration of the forms. This does not indi­cate any detri­men­tal effects to the ICFs. We do sug­gest, that if the exte­ri­or fin­ish is not going to be installed with­in around a 3 month peri­od or more, the forms be pro­tect­ed from UV rays by installing a tem­po­rary build­ing wrap type mate­r­i­al. The pow­dery film must be removed with soap and water before the appli­ca­tion of a syn­thet­ic stuc­co fin­ish or water­proof­ing mem­brane.
Do I need an engineer to design and stamp Fox Blocks building plans?
Fox Blocks are list­ed in the build­ing codes (IRC- Sec­tions R404, R611 or NBCC Part 9) with spe­cif­ic applic­a­bil­i­ty lim­its for res­i­den­tial con­struc­tion. If the project meets the applic­a­bil­i­ty lim­its with­in the build­ing code, a Pro­fes­sion­al Engi­neer may not be required (depen­dent on local build­ing depart­ment require­ments). A build­ing offi­cial has the right to request engi­neer­ing and in some regions all projects require a professional’s stamp. For any projects that exceed the applic­a­bil­i­ty lim­its, a Pro­fes­sion­al Engi­neer is required for the struc­tur­al design. Check with your local build­ing depart­ment.