Friday 3.31 we took delivery of half our foam block. We got 4 courses up on the back wall of the garage, and two courses up just about everywhere else. Instead of stick framing on top of a traditional foundation, we are using insulated concrete forms (ICFs) from Arxx. The material cost is higher for materials, but you get excellent soundproofing, fire resistance and insulation values, plus it's a very easy system to use. West wall of the basement: Perimeter walls and the bracing/scaffolding/alignment system. From left to right you can see the garage door, a garage window, the front door, the entrance hall window, and the guest bedroom window. SE corner view: 4.13: The big hairy scary mud day. It took about 5 hours to pump 28.5 yards of mud. We had a couple of bulges, but no blowouts. We rented some 1.25" plywood forms and formed up two 8" thick, 8' tall retaining walls. We poured those without incident. 4:23: Installed water main pipe and first floor drain waste/vent pipe. Leveled ground for slabs. Filled with sand. Insulated. Installed 6x6 wire net. Installed radiant heat piping. We poured the ground floor slab on 4.26 after passing inspections/pressure tests. We paid to have it professionally finished. Ground floor framing: