I built our 4000 sq ft ICF home in 2003. The wife and friends said I was crazy to use ICF. Currently we are experiencing a heat wave of + 40 C. (Canada) and the interior is 20 C, or about 70 F. Love it. As well when the winds exceed 50 mph we don't hear nor feel them. Our heating costs are very low even though we have 6 months of cold winter, often below -40 C. This house has not moved 1/8 inch in 20 years. I went with a high efficiency gas furnace for expediency, but even in the winter it runs very seldom. The only way to build.

To find studs in an ICF use magnets to locate drywall screws that coincide with location of studs. I use this in conventional construction as well.

We just built a 6200sqft home (including finished basement) and used an R30 ICF product. Blown away with the efficiency so far especially the ability to manage day/night temperature swings. We barely need to run our AC unit or heating system. It has been silly efficient so far. Absolutely love it. You raised a couple other points that resonated with us. We're on a rural property and you would never know when it is windy outside. And yes the usual temperature related creaks or pops are non existent with ICF. Highly recommend that anyone looking to build with ICF include a higher end HRV/ERV system to constantly exchange the air inside since it creates such a tight envelope, and also to look into a HEPA/VOC filter for your furnace and/or recovery ventilator.

I’ve kinda always had my heart set on concrete construction, so ICF just kind of makes sense to me as the best way of doing that. To me I want to build a house, and live there the rest of my life, or until something forces me to move. I want it to be durable, and extremely comfortable. Lots of effort will be made to make the exterior zero maintenance too. It’s not just the time I don’t want to spend later, it’s also the money. If I can build it to just last in the first place, I’d rather.

I've just had a quote for Nudura in the UK, with the cost of wood and insulation being so high at the moment, it's actually looking cheaper to do ICF than timber frame or traditional block. Possibly a win win 🏆

Great videos and very educational!! We just bought a 4700 SF ICF home built in 2003 in Andover, Kansas. First thing i noticed was the consistent temperature throughout the home. We’re renting a traditional home in Illinois and it’s highly inefficient. The wife and i slept in the new house and noticed how quiet it was. I did feel the air in the basement felt a little still. I also noticed how little the HVAC had to run to keep the temperature up. Thanks again for your information.

If the sheet rock is screwed into the plastic studs, just use a magnet to find the screws. No need for a stud finder.

Loving your videos. I am helping a friend who has decided to build her house with ICF blocks. I'm 65 now and a retired former General Contractor and Chief Building Official, so I have experience in building and the regulations and codes that govern their methods and materials, and I really like the advantages that ICF construction offers, but I don't have any prior experience working with, or inspecting ICF construction. I'd really appreciate any and all advice you can provide. My friend would even be willing to pay you a modest consulting fee for one on one phone or video chat consultation sessions regarding specific parts of the construction process, like your Geothermal heating and cooling system, and perhaps the Solar electrical system. I also have prior experience working as a lead draftsman for an Architect very early in my career, so I am working on her house plans myself, with the guidance and help of an engineer friend I used to work with. I hope to have the plans completed before Jan. 1st of 2022. Please let me know if there is a way to contact you directly, or some way I can get my contact info to you without putting it up in comments here for the whole world to see and abuse.

I was a builder developer in Washington state for 20 years. Most guys on KZfaq dont know what they are talking about. They spout shit. You are one of the few guys on KZfaq that I respect. You tell it how it is and give great information. I like how your videos are not trying to act Hollywood. I retired at age 49 and moved to Madison Alabama and will be building an ICF HOME but what is your opinion of the EF BLOCKS, they are not full coverage concrete wall they are a mesh work ,do you think they would be as energy efficient. I want to start building in the end of the year. Thank you sir God bless

Icf houses a cool. I have a wood framed house with steel siding and lots of thick insulation. Really like the steel siding.

I love the window "here" lol

Good points, but I don’t really like my icf for one reason, siding was a huge pain, the corners have no studs to nail to....no screw to, yep no nails, long time and a pain, then around the windows, by the time the trim goes on, no place to nail...trim. Then, try and put something in, outside water tap, or anything, needs to be core drilled depending on size, all can be done but difficult. However, all good points, sound transmission, high R valve, picture hanging, ya but there are so many drywall anchors. If I were to do again, I’d use regular concrete construction in ground, ICF, very difficult to water proof below grade, then at ground level the area before above ground gets siding, what to do there, limited to large, but best parking always cracks after few years. I waoukd allow extra interior for double 2x4 walls to keep the bridging from cold heat to help in insulation. To have a sealed wall, spray foam, gives vapour and air barrier. Above ground, I would use, I can’t remember the term, it’s plywood with a high R valve inside, that way there is constant backing for trim, pictures ect. Both interior and exterior. I also found very messy to wire, the static foam stuck to everything. That is my experience as well, being a tradesman I was able to do all the work myself, except roofing, don’t like heights. But sheet rock didn’t move, no nail pops, no shrinkage, lots of ore planning, I managed to put in lots backing for towel bars ect. Messy, because had to cut out the styrofoam in 1/2”. That’s my experience, I didn’t do it for cost, I did it for durability. Energy savings is great. I would say it’s more durable due to concrete, so depending where you live, it’s actually simple as hell to install-ICF-1400 sq ft floor in a day. But, in my case I had to use a pile of plywood to hold the forms in place. Even they say 8’ pour is fine, do not believe them, support the corners and opening very good with extra. If you think it’s good do more. I did my place in two pours, 9 feet bottom, 9 feet top. The floor joints were a bit of a pain too, had to use special joist hangers. My take, research, all options, and decide if you are doing it yourself or not. I can see a contractor cutting corners without you knowing, building myself I didn’t cut corners. I am happy with the place but found too much work for the little things. Siding ect. ,

The only hidden cost is a “Air Circulation System.” These houses are so tight that the interior air needs to be refreshed. This system can be designed to handle the square footage, and really takes care of all your humidity or dryness problems. My house is 3600 sq ft, with 36% exterior glass (floor to ceiling) with 12’ ceilings throughout. We only use electric, which includes a sewage pump system, and one (yes, one) AC/Heat Pump. We also have our own well, so there’s an electric pump in the well. My average utility bill? $72.00 per month. So, how much more was the construction costs? About $6-8.00 per square foot. But, when you figure the average 3600 square foot house with normal wood construction you can expect to pay $200-300 per month for electricity, plus an initial cost of much larger AC/Heat units. So, within a year you will re-coup all your extra initial construction costs!!

I installed a whole home dehumidifier in my icf home just recently it was staying in the mid 60% range for the last 2 years

Another great ICF video, I'm sold on the idea. Time to get going I guess. What are your thoughts on the floor ICF forms? How did you do the upper level floor in your home?

Thank you for the video and thumbs up I am looking at using ICF in the future for a shooting range and a home. The only problem I am finding is a termite one as they will eat into ICF blocks and people who treat homes for termites are saying NO to treating homes built using any ICF ! Maybe in the future builders of ICF could treat them when the ICF is molded into shape ?? Like when you buy treated wood ? Thank you.

In my condo, you have to be close to a window or a glass door to get cell phone reception. In the winter, I only use the heat pump in one room.

Other than the insulation, the properties you describe are true for brick/CMF homes. I don't live in the US and in my country all homes are built either with brick, concrete or CMF blocks. When I visited the US, the noise and wind caught me off guard. You really don't have those problems with above mentioned homes. In the US the noise insulation between rooms were really bad. The insulation and ease of construction would make ICF my preferred choice. But just wanted to point out that other than those two properties everything you describe is pretty much equally relevant on for living in a non-wood constructed home.

can you do a video on how you mounted you main breaker panel to ICF? thanks

What is the name of that crane u were using to lift things? My plan has 36' walls so need some kind of crane.

Did you have any thoughts of going two story instead? Less foundation, less roof

Checking out your videos. Great stuff! Someone put me onto the idea of ICF construction. Me and my fiancé have land and are looking to build this year. The price of materials because of the pandemic is very high where we live so the decision to build this year is complicated. That said, ICF seems on par with a current wood frame build because of the price hike on lumber. My fiancé is a little hesitant as she hasn’t heard much about ICF and has talk to some guys who do wood frames who are hesitant about it. I feel some of that is just old school and lack of knowledge, but do we have any resources that show people that have lived in an ICF home for years and their experience over the years? Definitely showing her this video!

Hello garrett, allot of good information you are providing us. Just wanted you to give us review or ur opinion on ur crestline windows. I m looking into those windows, just need honest review of these windows. Thankx in advance.

Thank you so much! Some valuable points and very well spoken off. I am planning to build in south west Florida using Hobbs Vertical ICF, and the lot is already purchased. I absolutely love the ICF idea. What I really scared of, is the proper process of concrete pouring and proper vibration. How do you mitigate the risk of bursting, hollow pockets, proper concrete consistency delivery? Should I simply hire someone for the pour? Thank you!

Can you show your de superheater system plus the ground source heat pumps used. Ty

Thanks again for your review. I’m going to build a super small house of just 800 sq feet and when I consider that I just have to add 6 more feet to my footers and get double the living space… lights went off. They’re telling me about 120$ per lineal foot or about 18k for the walls with footings. 3x that to make my floors and legal windows and a trusses roof. Any of these numbers sound right?

Garrett, what did the cost PSF for your home work out to for your solar system and where did you locate your solar panels? You mentioned ground source heat pumps. Is this the same as geothermal, and what was the combined cost PSF of your two ground source heat pump systems? Also, what are you paying per KWH there in Kansas for electric from your utility provider? And, can you tell me something about your windows? I assume they're double or triple pane. Do they have argon gas and UV protection? I'm in the suburbs of a large city in KY. I haven't seen any ICF single family residential construction, but I have seen it in a hotel. I follow a KZfaqr in south central Indiana who has worked with ICF for some of his residential customers. To date it has only been for foundations. He'll be doing a two story house in ICF this year. From a contractor's perspective, he really likes the product. Thanks!

What would be your estimate cost for a 24x24 ft ICF wall? great video btw

Thanks for all yor ICF videos! On finding studs-I really like the magnetic stud-finders. I have a CH Hanson one ($7.49 at menards) Its just a magnet that finds your sheet rock screws. Are you guys with Butler REC? I am impressed with how low your electric bills are! Ours are much higher for less sq ft.

Hey Garrett, I've been loving your videos. Quick question on the humidity issue, have you or anyone you've talked to come up with ideas to mitigate the humidity before finishing the inside / moving in? Or would something like the faswall / any block that isn't styrofoam provide better breathability to equalize the humidity much sooner? The reason I am asking is because I know with traditional stick build houses, the exposed wood typically gets some mold growth which gets covered up and stays in the walls throughout the time you are in the space. Not good. I don't know how much of a problem this typically is (seems a lot more common in recently built homes), but it's not one I want to have.

I Wes wondering if you spent/n found windows that exceed the norm because that’s ur weak spots. I’ve noticed that my temp can b 72 in the center of the space but at the windows it can b 20-30 degrees less ( -25 temp outside) I’m wondering if windows could / should b fixed units as ur inside is so conditioned.

Garrett, these videos (ICF) are great, thanks for sharing. I keep wondering what is the truss looking thing on what appears to be a concrete pillar over your right shoulder (left side from viewers viewpoint)? Thanks much. [addition:] the $100.00 dollar monthly electric bill, does that include your solar generation offset? ie. $240 electricity used, solar generated $140, left with $100.00 deficit/bill? Thanks again.

100% true ! one level, good to go for 300 mph wind ........... a real bunker !

I wonder if the foam window bucks that ICF manufacturers are providing instead of wood would reduce the expansion and contraction noises 🤔

Man you had me at 100.00 per month for a 6k sq ft all electric house.... im in Missouri and we are looking into building in the next year.

I humbly suggest that the days of being able to build a home are long gone. If interest rates don’t enslave you, the value of the dollar will. 😢

Hey Garrett, I am building an ICF home with a basement plus two additional levels for a total of 5400sqft of buildable space up in Oregon and I am pretty torn on what to do for heating and cooling. We have a pretty moderate climate that dips into the low 30's in the winter and up into the 90's in the summers. The local HVAC contractors are quoting me $30k+ systems. My thinking is "do I really need to spend that kind of money up front in an ICF home?" Really dont know what to do.

What width did you go with for your ICF's ? I'm curious if there is much of a difference between 6 inch and 8 inch.

so did you build a storm shelter area within your home using the recommended ICF construction techniques?

Did you do a heating and cooling load calculation

Before building your ICF home, did you consider building a home using Precast concrete? From what I have read, Precast is superior.

Besides the insulation used in your interior walls (for sound damping) and the attic did u add any extra insulation to the inside or outside of the exterior (ICF) walls or is the ICF foam the only insulation you have on exterior walls?

Sounds like a whole house dehumidifier would be a good thing to have. Did you consider doing an ICF roof rather than stick or was the price difference too great?

Hey everybody, before you watch this video run to the corner liquor store and get your favorite beverage. And every time Garrett says, "ICF" take a shot. I call it the "Garrett-ICF Game."

Question how did you over come the problem of termites in the ICF insulation? I know you have wooden trusses. So that's why I asked this question because I've heard that termites tunnel through the phome.

Is the $100/mo to your local utility or the amortized & opportunity cost of your solar & geotherm & appliance upgrades?

Did you go with triple glazing? What was your price sqft? Did you insulate under basement floor? Concrete on main floor? Why not quad roof means no roof maintenance and then you'd have zero leakage and all conditioned space? Only questions I have at this time...one more step in MY learning curve as I am totally convinced ICF is the ONLY way to the future. Immediate savings on utilities to offset costs of building efficiently lend to help with payments.

Pretty good size. 6000sqft

Do you ever have any problems with humidity or moisture in your house. Do you feel that your air conditioning does adequate job to remove any excess humidity? Thanks!

How much did the house cost to build? How much would it have cost if you used a builder?? I know this is personal but I really want to do this too but I'm thinking the cost is prohibitive if I'm not as handy as you.

Will a magnet work to find screw heads attached to the "studs"?

How is your cellular signal in the house?

could you not use a mag to find screw heads in drywall? to hang pics etc...

Would an ICF home be even cheaper to heat if you had radiant heating system instead of forced air?

I like the exterior design.

Also in KS. Who was your builder?

Anyone else have mice issues with the foam portion? Not sure if they found a way up or follow wires in the walls / foam.

Are insect infestation more prone to ICF homes? Thank you for your videos, very educational for someone new to ICF homes.

Hello Garrette, id like to know why the project took 2 years. As per my understanding, the grey structure should take a lot less time as its a concrete pour. Can you please share if it was the finishing that took more time, or does ICF usually take this long to build with?

Why not build out of concrete blocks and ad form boards on the blocks? Would be a lot cheaper with the same out come.

Any issues with termites?

Lots of Styrofoam, good for environment. Let's push this for the sake of the world. Lol and do a reno, put in new patio door. Oh and did it get wet during construction. Water trapped between polybead and concrete makes sweet sweet mold. And breeds well in the no air flow thermal nest. And FYI lots of hundred year old wood homes.

My 2x6 framed house has gone through several hurricanes and I've never heard any creaking. Maybe do a better job on the details of design and fastening?

Hi Garrett- firstly, just killer. I found the perfect channel for my build. I am GC-ing a homestead in the Colorado mountains on 35 acres of pastureland. Doing all above grade on slab with geothermal radiant. ICF's seem to lend themselves to this build. Love the legacy aspect as I have young children. So I do have a couple of questions. 1. Did you use an HRV/ERV? You mention the moisture but are in Kansas with higher humidity. We are dry here year round so ERV makes sense I think. 2. You mention the small amount of noise you can hear through your windows. Are they triple pane by chance? 3. Did you pour walls before slab (this can prob be answered by checking out your other videos)? 4. Electrical - did you do the electric chainsaw? Any rec there? 5. Did you happen to put plywood behind your cabinets to make them easier to hang? Thank you and awesome work!

do you have heated flooring ?

garrett i think we are cut from the same cloth

I've heard that ICF allows termites to tunnel through the foam. One KZfaqr claims that in the south some insurance agents won't insure ICF houses. Is this BS or what?

It sounds like you are a hardcore energy saver, you may like earthship homes or any underground structure because they do not require heating or cooling what so ever. No 2 are equal! An earthship home can be more costly than a simple extra large root cellar underground. Did you know some sewage systems are made of huge metal circles that perfectly distribute the weight of the earth above them? Did you know that metal back then was inferior to the metal we have today? ; because our processes are more advanced, now they can last 100 years. And if you do it right, addint gravel and having a concrete foundation and all. You can make it last 150 years or longer.

I’m trying to imagine the amount of sweat I would experience if I kept my house 76-77 during the summer. I can’t even sustain 72 for any length of time. Back down to 70 is where we go.

Why does no one do icf roofs when they do a icf home?

Are you heating your water with a resistive hot water tank? If so you should think about upgrading that to a heat-pump version.

Sir one other question, in my area of Middle Tennessee where I will be building we have tornadoes so I wanted to do a concrete roof, what method do you recommend. Thank you God bless

Is ICF house a passive house?

For the start, I'd like to build an ICF shed, and see how it is, but seems like, here they only sell these blocks to companies or some shit... :

@5:54 From the window, to the wall, to the sweat drip down my balls

$100/mo. really is something to brag about. Put the savings away for your retirement.

😁✌👍🖖👌😎

we want to see you doing it... our imagination is not as great as your... we want concrete stuff

Why such a big house?

67 - 68 degrees in the winter??? Are you married? ;)