ICF vs traditional basement advice needed

For anyone who knows or has experience:

Having a home built north of Bennett soon, and the builder recommended going with an ICF (insulated concrete form) basement over a traditional pour. My understanding is that you achieve a bit better R rating and that it is easier to Sheetrock later when finishing it out. The basement finishing will not likely happen for a few years, but is a future plan.

Here's my question: is it worth the $5k ish difference to go with ICF in a basement setting? The basement will eventually have living space, but no plans for bedrooms for now.

Thanks for any advice!

the cost difference is probably for the contractor having to setup traditional forms vs the ICF. Just my thinking though. (labor/forms etc)

The traditional pour is the cheaper option. Apparently styrofoam Legos cost more overall

If the foundation is under the ground, the amount of insulation may not be a big deal. I'd be much more concerned with which one is more durable over time and is better at keeping water out.

It is going to be primarily below grade. Not a walkout. Flat lot.

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Originally Posted by 00tec

The traditional pour is the cheaper option. Apparently styrofoam Legos cost more overall

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interesting.

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Originally Posted by gnihcraes

interesting.

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Logic would dictate the opposite, but apparently, 1 pallet of those things is like $300.

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Originally Posted by 00tec

Logic would dictate the opposite, but apparently, 1 pallet of those things is like $300.

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Yeah, my logic is all messed up on this problem you present. I'd also have to question what is needed for water proofing, obviously concrete will have to be, what about the lego block pour? Same thing, or does it require a tar and a wrap of sorts?

I have no real data to help you here.

Just curious more than anything. We did a traditional pour here about 10 years ago. Seemed like a hassle, a lot of labor with forms, more so than some foam blocks would be.

a. setup blocks, pour, walk away.
b. setup forms, install wire, pour, wait, remove forms.
(basically)

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Originally Posted by gnihcraes

Yeah, my logic is all messed up on this problem you present. I'd also have to question what is needed for water proofing, obviously concrete will have to be, what about the lego block pour? Same thing, or does it require a tar and a wrap of sorts?

I have no real data to help you here.

Just curious more than anything. We did a traditional pour here about 10 years ago. Seemed like a hassle, a lot of labor with forms, more so than some foam blocks would be.

a. setup blocks, pour, walk away.
b. setup forms, install wire, pour, wait, remove forms.
(basically)

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They still use rebar within the blocks, but it seems that the ICF manufacturers demand a premium for their product because it is relatively new. I believe that they can stack and glue blocks together for waterproofing. You do get better insulation factor and nice smooth walls when done (insulation is nice flat styrofoam sheet), but I'm not sure it is worth it. The traditional pour is coming out ~$5k cheaper with insulation, waterproofing, etc.

I would check the overall insulation rating. Basement finishes, in most jurisdiction, now require a minimum rating. I believe it is an R13 minimum.

How many ICF projects has this contractor done? Does he have references for previous projects that you can talk to?

I find the ICF appealing, and would even consider going up another story above the basement with it if you lived in a hurricane or an area known for termites and other insect damage. I just wouldn't want to pay more to be the contractor's learning lab.

We did our house with complete ICF on the basement and 3/4 ICF upstairs. The southwall is all windows so it didn't make sense to try and use it there. Total cost for us was about 10% more for the basements and upper walls verse traditional pours and stick framing. Calculated R value for the 12" ICF walls (8" core) is a R38. That with a good ceiling, the house stays a very constant temp year round. (Once I got the roof on, winter hit, I started leaving a cup of water inside the house. Would check it in the mornings after a good -0 night and the cup never froze. Stayed 45-50 in there with no supplemental heat.) Since the walls were poured in unison, the 8" core is monolithic, therefore, pretty darn water tight as is. A couple of days after the pour, we had a large series of rain storms, the basement and the trench around the outside both flooded. We pumped out the inside and the outside had water up to ground level (8' of water) I left the water outside for a couple of days, because I was curious about how water tight it was. No water came in, even left soaking for several days. After my curiosity was satisfied I pumped out the outside trench. After everything cleared up I wrapped everything below grade with Bituthene (Bitch-athene if you've ever used it)This was done per ICF manuf. recommendations. Not so much for water, but as extra protection for the foam.

Finishing is pretty quick. Internal sheetrock goes fast. The plastic ribbing is at 6" intervals, so it gave lotsa options for attachment. Outside, upstairs I've used hardiplank. Hasn't been my favorite option. Nails don't hold well in the plastic, screws are better, but screws and hardiplank arent the most fun thing to deal with. If I had to do it again, I'd have paid someone to Sto the whole house. If I ever have problems with the siding, I'll pull it and get a stucco job. Be glad to answer any questions you have one it. Did it all myself, no contractor, so I got to figure out a lot of the pitfalls myself.

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Originally Posted by cstone

How many ICF projects has this contractor done? Does he have references for previous projects that you can talk to?

I find the ICF appealing, and would even consider going up another story above the basement with it if you lived in a hurricane or an area known for termites and other insect damage. I just wouldn't want to pay more to be the contractor's learning lab.

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The home builder has used the ICF contractor in the past, but I don't know who they use by name. It definitely isnt their first go around.

The house I'll be building for myself will be icf.

You also need to subtract the cost of insulation when you do the basement. And it adds a small amount of usable sq footage to the basement since half the Insulation is on the exterior.

When we were house-hunting, my Dad recommended that we consider a having a modular house built on land, complete with a basement. He used to transport modular homes from the factories,across state lines. Not only was it convenient to the homeowner (far faster to put together room blocks than stickbuilt) but the real bonus was that everything was built to factory standards in the state purchased. He always suggested Wisconsin homes, as they had incredibly high standards. They'd build the modular to your specifications, too, and would get a crane out there and put your house together much faster than regular contractors. I'm not sure if this is the same thing as an ICF, but it sounds like it.

Modulars certainly have come a long ways. That being said I will never consider them a good investment

Icf is insulated concrete form. CheckYouTube. Pretty cool. I actually plan to do the whole house except the roof icf. I was going to do monolithic but thatd be non traditional and suck in case of resale. Even though its a better design.

Barndominium is also in the running

My dad built his shop in icf. 2 stories tall
we laid it ourselves and called a mixer in to pour the Lattice. The r value is amazing even during the -20 days we get. If you are handy it will be cheaper to pour in Legos than try and form conventinal walls