I am in the planning stages of my new home.
I don't no much about ICF construction but it
seems like the way to go. I have 2 quotes for
my house, the CTF is about 13k more than the
wood construction. How long could I expect
before recoup my costs. I live in the Canadian
East Coast.

Based on the infomation you provided I would say it would be exactly between one year and never.

For one the only way to know is to provide us with more information. ICF walls are just one key (very viable) aspect towards complimenting the energy efficiency in the shell construction of your home. When used in conjunction with a properly sized heating system, attic insulation etc... your recoup in your cost can be seen a lot sooner.

What I think many need to keep in mind is that even though it may take a significant amount of time to see the recoup in upfront cost through your energy savings, there are other ways to look at the return on your investment in terms of energy efficient upgrades. What people need to realize is that the building industry and the way the real estate market operates is changing DRASTICALLY. Here in Oregon we have legislation being implemented that is going to possibly require every house on the market to have a energy audit done to the house BEFORE it can be listed. Like an EPA sticker on a car that indicates the amount of gas a car consumes in MPG's, the building and real estate industry is going to have energy 'certificates' that indicated how much energy usage a specific house consumes.

From talking to appraisers what I have found is that energy efficiency is going to become a mainstream variable in determining the value of your home. What this correlates to in our area is that every dollar in energy that is saved per year will correlate into a $20 return on investment to the value of the property. So say going ICF saves you $30-40 per month on your energy bills, this corresponds to a $360-480 savings per year, which equals a $7200-9600 increase in the value of the home.

There are other ways to look at the recoup in costs as well. Say that your mortgage payment is $1000. Say that your stick frame house is going to cost you $130 per month to heat and cool. The ICF house cost $75 per month to heat and cool. Your ICF upgrade cost $13,000. This corresponds into a ~ $80 increase in your monthly mortgage payment. The total monthly costs for your stick house is $1130 per month. Your total monthly costs for your ICF house is $1155 ($80 + $75 + $1000). Difference being that $55 ($130-$75) of your energy savings is going back into your pocket / being applied to your loan instead of being sent to your utility company.

Ozzy there are so many variables but I hope that this sort of at least gives you a basic insight on this subject. - Pete

One misconception is the "how long to pay for it". Unless your paying cash for your house, your house payment is a monthly expense just like utilities. So you see get the benefits immediately.

But what wildblue meant to say was that additional information would be needed to give an educated guess as to energy savings.

But don't think of ICFs as just an energy saver. How about the safety, comfort, quiet, mold resistance?

Ozzy,

I am from Ontario, Canada. After a year of research and planning, my wife and I recently enaged in building an all-ICF 2-storey house. I mostly agree with pcoughlin, however there are some differences when it comes to code, climate, cost, etc. We started a web site at www.AllIcfHouse.com where, among other things such as project status, materials, etc., we discuss the things that we took into account when deciding whether to go all-ICF or not. You are welcome to visit and post questions or comments.

pcoughlin, I like your post! I think the real eastate market will have to become "real" within the next few years. THe market appraisals are so out of touch with reality! They only consider $$$ per square foot and compare one house with another regardless of construction, cnostruction materials etc.

There is a movement, even here in the US, to look at the real value of a house, ie. its carbon footprint, its life expectancy, its energy efficiency (on-going carbon emmisions) etc.

So, folks, the time will come sooner than you think, that a "2x4 spec home 2000sqf" will not fetch the same amount of money as a "ICF/SIP or other advanced construction house 2000sqf".

Carbon emissions will determine whether a house is a 8mpg car or a 30mpg car. The tax incentives for a carbon friendly house will surmount that of one that is not.

Above 2nd. paragragh needs to read: will not fetch the same amount of money....

Manfred,

There is an edit button above your post that can be used to make changes in your post.  If you do not see the edit button then you are not logged in.

Ah, thanks Alton, found it. I obviously don't see the obvious, duhh

My wife and I are retired and are constructing an all ICF home. The exterior is complete and work is continuing on the inside. We wanted to build an energy efficient home to minimize recurring costs of home ownership and were willing to spend extra money up front to achieve our goal (2 BTU/SF/HDD.) People often ask me how much more it costs to build an ICF home vs. conventional stick framing. I’m never able to give a satisfactory answer to the question, because it’s an attempt to compare apples to oranges. How much are you willing to pay for greater energy efficiency, wind resistance, and a quiet interior? To achieve the same level of performance in a wood framed house would also cost more.

If you are considering building an ICF house, keep in mind these cost factors:

1. Depending on where you’re building, you may have to pay more for a general contractor experienced in ICF construction. Likewise, subcontractors, who are inexperienced with ICF construction, often pad their quotes to cover themselves for unexpected problems or refuse to bid at all.

2. ICF construction requires more careful coordination between subs. For example, exterior wall penetrations need to be carefully planned and sleeved before the walls are poured to avoid having to bore holes through the reinforced concrete once the location of plumbing, electrical and ventilation pipes are established.

3. In an all ICF house, floor joists are typically attached with hangers to a ledger board which is bolted to the ICF wall. This arrangement is more expensive than conventional deck construction.

4. Windows require wide jamb extensions due to the thick (12”+) exterior walls. Alternatively, you can wrap the interior window openings with drywall, but a wide sill of some durable material is still required. Recessing the windows on the exterior makes for a nice look, but complicates the window flashing and exterior trim.

5. Unless your particular ICF product has corner blocks with embedded anchor strips, you’ll have to wrap the corners with a minimum 28 gauge sheet metal or provide some other means to attach siding and trim at building corners.

6. Siding (e.g., fiber cement lap siding) may have to be attached with screws rather than nails for adequate holding strength. I had to countersink each screw by hand to prevent the screws from compressing the foam and deforming the siding. Attaching furring strips first might have made this unnecessary, but, that too would have cost more in both time and material.

7. Exposed exterior grade-level EPS must be covered e.g., (parged).

8. Compared to a bituminous foundation coating over bare concrete, below-grade EPS must be covered with a more costly peel and stick membrane and/or drainage sheeting (e.g., Platon) to prevent water infusion.

9. Interior basement EPS must be covered with gypsum board or other fire block material.

10. You’ll probably want to beef up the wind resistance of your stick-built or trussed roof to match that of the concrete walls.

11. Because ICF houses typically exhibit low air infiltration rates, you should consider installing mechanical ventilation (e.g., HRV.) Likewise, all gas fired furnaces, boilers, water heaters and fireplaces should have a piped-in combustion air supply.

Can anyone add to this list?

Great list Clark. I hope everyone on here can add to it. Very good information!