Any effects on siding from ICF?

[Terry Beck]

See no previous posts regarding ICF homes (Insulated Concrete Forms). These are of course building forms of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) that act as a sandwich for poured cement walls. Generally my impression has been very positive of ICF as a building concept, but have heard that moisture can potentially become a problem since homes built with ICF walls tend to be extremely tight and will restrict ventilation. At least one manufacturer (Reward) states that as cement dries, up to 15 pints of water moisture can be released daily on each side of the wall. Therefore, interior and exterior covering materials must be permeable.

Question arrises because of a 4 year old home I saw yesterday. I could see no current problems, but for some unknown (undisclosed) reason, the prior owners had to replace all the exterior siding (LP) from the ceiling down (the top of the ICF walls) on all exteior walls (not just one side as the picture might imply). The siding appears to be installed over OSB sheathing, no idea if the builder has previously used a building wrap (ie. Tyvek), which one ICF manufacturer says should NOT be used.

Does anyone have any experiences with ICF, and any ideas on why most, but not all the siding would have to be replaced? (again, only the portion that would have been covering the ICF walls were replaced)????

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