Extensive remodel choices

[jchealey]

My wife says we are remodeling the house. I know this is going to ring somebodies cash register. When we went to the home show yesterday, we saw all types of wall construction. 2 x 4 , 2x 6, and now concrete walls with 2.5 inches of styrafoam on each side. Has anyone used those strafoam blocks and filled them with concrete? I am wondering if the building trades are used to those to get the plumbing and electrical in place?

[HayZee518]

The styrofoam forms are for the foundation on a footing. If you want electrical in them they have to go in before the pour! Afterwards they go in surface in EMT or wiremold.

[LazyPup]

Plumbing would pose no real problem because normally there are no plumbing lines in the exterior walls except when a line passes through the wall such as a water main in or a hose bibb.

Whenever a line is passed through a masonary wall we are required to sleeve it. A sleeve is a short piece of PVC about 6" longer than the wall thickness and 2 nominal trade size diameters larger than the desired pipe. The sleeve is put through the wall and sealed to the wall by any convenient means, which in this case would be accomplished by being poured into the concrete, then the desired pipe is passed through the sleeve and the space inside the sleeve is sealed with expansion foam.