ICF Homes in Houston (Austin, Howe: home owners insurance, builders, buy)

[mrara]

I am interested in ICF (insulated concrete form) homes in Houston. The few customs builders found on the internet seem too expensive. Are there any ICF homes built in master planned communities in houston?

[latetotheparty]

contact some of the icf manufacturers and ask for contractors in your area.......

or go here: http://www.forms.org/

[fordlover]

Originally Posted by mrara

I am interested in ICF (insulated concrete form) homes in Houston. The few customs builders found on the internet seem too expensive. Are there any ICF homes built in master planned communities in houston?

No, there are currently no master planned communities that I'm aware of building ICF houses. This is still very new to this area, and is slow to catch on, especially considering the higher inital cost of building.

Nearly everywhere else in the world it's common to find homes built from concrete or CMU, but here it's very rare.

[rigas]

there was a builder about 4 yrs ago who was doing icf in the katy area (greenhouse and clay rd area really). they went out of business after about a year.

icf is just not realistic in todays market with the price of concrete vs labor and so on. it does a great job with efficiency but it will take years of cheap electric to pay it off. my brother actually has an icf home out by fairfield. but he built it himself and is also in the concrete business. i have heard some rumors about some communities that where supposed to start closer to galveston a couple yrs ago but i am guessing the economy had a different plan.

[mrara]

Thanks for the replies. Most websites claim that a similar home built with ICF would cost 3 to 6% more.

ICF homes seem to be catching up in the North of the country. However, in Texas its been slow. Is it just the costs? Is there an awareness issue too?

[fordlover]

some of the problem is awareness. The other problem is home building in Texas is dirt cheap compared to many other high population areas, so I strongly dissagree that an ICF home would only cost 3% more in this area.

My home was built in 2007, and is 1800 sq. ft. conventional stick frame home with R38 insulated celing, and Tech Sheild roof decking. My highest electric bill for a summer month has been 130 bucks, and this year, my highest bill was 102 bucks, and we turn the thermostat up to 80 during the day, and down to 76 at night. It's a hard sell for the additional expense when the only real upsides are better energy effency and sound deading.

I tend to not buy the resistance to fire arguement.

[rigas]

i agree with FL. i had a customer a couple of yrs ago when concrete was about $10/yd lower then it is now who was looking into trying an ICF home to see how it went. his ROUGH numbers where about $8-9/ sq ft higher then stick framing the same house. on a 3000 sq ft home at $8.50 that would be $25,500 MORE then building it stick framed. that would be ROUGHLY anywhere from 6%-10% of the cost of the home (of course depending on who is building and where and so on) and more like 10-15% if you exclude the cost of the land in the homes price (build on your lot?) it would take a LONG time to pay off that extra 25k one electric bill at a time. being as Houston is prone to hurricanes, ICF may be beneficial for standing up to the high wind and blown hazards. in guatemala (and other places in central america) some home builders are looking at and trying icf as they are seismic areas. my brother in law guilds HUGE homes (10+ million dollars in some cases) in central america and they are starting to use ifc but it is also not super cost effective as of yet. labor is so cheap there that they still use CMU (concrete block) then fill it with concrete for the walls.

[austinicf]

Originally Posted by mrara

I am interested in ICF (insulated concrete form) homes in Houston. The few customs builders found on the internet seem too expensive. Are there any ICF homes built in master planned communities in houston?

I'm an ICF sub contractor and it has always been difficult to get into master planned developments. Most of these projects come with canned designs and ICF is not an option. I think that is starting to change with recognition of green building by even the large production builders. Let me know if I can help.
AustinICF

[fakeer]

The main, and often overlooked, aspect of ICF houses is that you can choose to let the outdoors in, unlike a conventionally built house. The concerns that are addressed are certainly not just those of energy costs and sound but have to do with health. The modern house, by nature, is a kiln of chronic diseases. It has it's own set of preferences that are very different from those of the people that inhabit it. Humidity is a good example. What is good for us is evidently not good for our drywalls, insulation, paints etc which are readily outgassing and degrading at the slightest imbalance in temperature and relative humidity*. So, you and your dwelling are at complete odds with each other. Why fight it out? The cost saving in the name of efficiency might be penny-wise compared to the accumulated health costs in the long run.

* [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1474709/pdf/envhper00436-0331.pdf[/url]

[brutal]

you must also look in to home owners insurance. Im looking to build and on well no fire hydrants for fire dept. The land I bought HAD a house but burned to the ground. I talked to my insurance company and the difference between stick built and masonry is $1800 more a year for stick(2200sqft) due to fire hazards and no water should the house catch on fire. He was very familiar and knew how fast a pumper truck would run out of water without hydrants. That's still a large consideration as Ill be retired in 15 yrs and the cost of electric and insurance is not going to go down. Needless to say I was alittle shocked and talking to neighbors said that was a factory for some that sold and left