1.  Question:          How much more do ICF homes cost to build than a conventionally constructed home?

 

     Answer:            The national average says that ICF homes cost approximately 3-5 % more to build than conventionally constructed homes.  There are, however, many factors that determine the cost incurred to build any given home.  One of the main reasons that ICF construction is more expensive is that most sub contractors have no experience in dealing with the system and, therefore, the increase in cost is generally in labor.  We have found that by using craftsmen who have previously worked with ICF construction we can actually build ICF homes at about the same cost as conventional construction on the local level.  Material cost is another very important factor in the cost of building a new home.  In the wake of numerous disasters such as hurricanes and forest fires in the recent past, conventional building materials price has risen substantially.  While many materials such as lumber have increased in price in recent years, ICF materials and concrete have remained relatively stable in comparison.  This further brings the cost of building a fundamentally superior ICF home more in line with conventional construction methods

 

2.  Question:          How does the appearance of an ICF home differ from that of a conventionally constructed home?

 

     Answer:            There is so little difference in appearance that you may have actually been in an ICF home and not even known it. There is no difference in the exterior appearance and the interior only bears one small characteristic that would tell you that you were in an ICF home.  The only noticeable interior difference is in the window sills – ICF homes have window sills that are 9-14 inches deep because of the thickness of the exterior walls.  Actually, every ICF homeowner with whom I have spoken prefers the deep window sills because they provide more possibilities for window treatments and interior decorating.  Our Image Gallery contains numerous photos of ICF homes in the Starkville area.

 

3.  Question:          Why don’t I see more ICF homes on the market?

 

     Answer:            That is a difficult and multi-faceted question to answer, but I will do my best.  ICF construction has been around for almost 40 years.  At first, just as with any new technology, the cost to build an ICF home was much higher than the cost to build a conventionally constructed home.  Over time, however, ICF building costs have come down.  The majority of the existing ICF homes are on coastal areas prone to hurricanes because of the strength offered by ICF construction.  While strength has long been considered the most important advantage to ICF construction, with energy costs on the rise and resources dwindling daily, the energy efficiency of ICF homes has become as important, if not more important, than their strength.  Finally, there is the building industry.  The building industry is hard to change due to the people who work in it.  Most builders have been building the same way for generations and they are pretty set in their ways.  Although they can build a better, safer, more efficient home using ICF construction, most won’t even consider it because it is new to them.  If you lived in another area, like the Florida coast for instance, you would undoubtedly already be familiar with ICF construction methods.  In the Starkville area, however, ICF construction is still relatively new.  Still, there are ICF homes in the Starkville area, most of which have been built in the last few years.  Again, take a look at our Image Gallery which features numerous actual photos of ICF homes in the Starkville area.