Hi there,

I plan to build an ICF house in Ottawa area, Ontario, Canada. We will hire a builder for the job. Meantime I got few estimations, they are all between $11 and $13 CAN per sq.ft. of ICF wall, with a core of 6" or 8" concrete. This price is for the work and materials (including blocks, rebar, concrete etc). I wonder if this is the right price, or should I keep looking for better offers? I'd like also to know how much other people paied for their ICF walls? The shape of the house is a rectangular box.

Thanks,
Beno

When I left central Ontario in 2004 I was average charging 13-14 per sq.ft., so if you are getting 11-13 today that's a good price, I was using LaFarge for mud @ 92 per meter and bar was running me .26 for 10m and .32 for 15m, So your key hard costs for the job are Block, Bar, Mud, Pump, Labour. Back then I was also paying 25% less for block than what they are charging today, so I would say you are getting a good deal

Chris

You have a "few" estimates, and they are close to each other? Stop looking for someone to make a mistake, and start to work with the installer you feel the most comfortable with!

Those are good prices. Probably a little on the cheap side.

No way you are buying 8 in core for $13. installed. More likely 6 in.

The pricing is cheap because of the simplicity of your design, only.

Don't waste any more contractors time by shopping  for prices. Inform all bidders of the winning price and  get building. Good luck.

Beno:
More important than the price is the 'quality' and reputation of the installer.  Your 'great' prices are not any good if the contractor/installer doesn't know what he's doing.  Get some references and enjoy a great system.  We have been using ICF"s for 15 years in California and Hawaii (termite issue is solved!) and they are a great addition to the SIPs that we use for the floors, walls and roofs.

Good luck!

Gary

Shell Building Systems, Inc.
http://www.shellbuildingsystems.com
[email protected]

 

What size core are you using? If I remember correctly Ottawa and Hamilton were both considered siesmic active zones from the fault along the St. Lawrence Seaway, even though I only remember one little tremor in 1988 (Maybe a 2.0/tops) . I'd be curious of today's prices up there, I remember Ottawa was always a lot cheaper (Land Value) than GTA and central Ontario but labour wise it was all pretty much the same, except for Toronto itself as the highest.

You are dealing with two very reputable blocks, both manufactured locally (For you) and Corporate offices within a few hours, I don't know the local distributors but check with them for the installers references and go for a weekend tour to see what your bidders have done.

I'd like to say Go Leafs Go, but the Senators are due, now I live in California, so I have to push for the Ducks as well.

Chris

Hi Beno,

Are you planning to build in the East/West/South of Ottawa. I've been in conversations with EMM regarding my different options and would really like to do the DIY for myself. Keep posting perhaps I can learn a thing or two from your experiences and vice versas.

P.S. I'm looking for a lot East of Ottawa to build, at first this sounded like the easy part but as it turns out it's not.

sly

We bought a 5 acres lot 40 Km south of Ottawa, we will hire a builder. I got 2 estimations for ICF materials, Nudura was cheaper than Integraspec. Contact Steve at http://www.rideaulumber.com/ to get an estimation for the ICF Nudura.

Another guy from Ottawa here.  I currently live in Dallas but am looking to move back this fall.  We will be renting at first while we build our home (dunrobin area most likely).  Do you happen to have a breakdown of materials and labor for your quote?  I am very interested in building with ICF however I will likely perform the large part of labor myself.  Thanks again.

Brad

Hi Beno,

I have to admit that I am quite disappointed in your posting.  I was waiting to see if you would modify your posts after our e-mails exchange concerning the price per sq/ft prior to reply to your post.  

As mentioned, you haven't provided us with any drawings.  All you have requested from us is an average installed price per sq/ft. & we have provided it to you as per above.

How can you justify that we are more expensive?  Without a set of drawings, we can not commit to a price & I am sure that our competitions have told you the same thing. 

If you are still interested in getting an accurate price, please forward a set drawings.

Sincerely,

Marc Philippe

EMM Group
E-mail: [email protected]
Web pages: www.IntegraSpec.com

OK, I take back what I said, that Nudura is cheaper than Integraspec (for materials). And sorry for the delay, I was away for few weeks.

Beno,

I to am building a house in the west end Ottawa next summer, everybody tells me that icf is the way to go, what is the appox differance from icf to wood. Just starting to price it out now and is there a general % difference. Example does it cost roughly 10% more? I have a buddy who installed the Nudura block in his new cottage and it is unbelieveable! Feels like you are in the main floor when down in the basement. The beauty is that what you pay for upfront you save when you have to finish the basement, apparently you can just screw drywall right to the icf, no framing. One thing to keep in mind I have heard that you have to finish the basement with drywall due to the building code, you can not have a "unfinished" basement due to the styrofoam fumes if it ever catches fire, not sure how accurate this is but I did hear it from a city plan reviewer, check it out. Is there only the two suppliers that you mentioned as far as the icf, keep the posts coming as I am very interested myself.

Niara

 

Can someone confirm that this price is per sqft of wall or is this the price for flooring sqft Thanks

with regards to wall questions...the price usually refers to ft² of wall and not the floorplan. So a wall that is 20' long and 10' high would be 200ft².

One of the sub-contractors I contacted told me that a good starting point, or rule of thumb (for his company) is somewhere around $4 sq/ft (wall space) for *LABOR ONLY* (well, the form support rental was included).  There was no discount for openings - in fact if there were complicated or significantly over-sized openings, it would add to the cost.

Material costs will vary somewhat between markets/seasons/year to year, etc.  My materials quote was around $8 sq/ft.

total is basically the same as everyone else has said - $12-$14 sq/ft.

hey you better check your "installer" pricing, the block may be cheaper than others...but i charge different prices depending on what block they are asking me to install...some blocks are more difficult to install than others..thats what i like about you homeowners you don't think about the guy having to do the installation....yes it may all be the same when they are completed but there are some pretty difficult roads to take to get to where they want to go and i have fixed quite a few projects where the "homeowner" got a good deal on the blocks.  tell you what.... call your local ICF reps ..........see who gets back to you the fastest..thats usually a pretty good indication of what the call is going to be like when everyone is standing around on your job scratching their ....... wondering how to fix this latest little installation problem. just trying to cover the other side of the equation. good luck

I'm a contractor in Pennsylvania U.S. your prices are competitive. I would get some references of the contractors, see who responds quickly, has a good reputation for quality not hast. Also keeping in mind you pay for what you get, I talk to many clients and their always looking for the low price, commercial work likewise, the low baler is most commonly not the person to hire. The reason why some contractors are slightly higher than other comes down to many things some including, pay of employees, better paid employees typically the better work they'll put out, more expensive material-typically lasting longer and overall better value... some things to think of.
Also if their available look into superior walls - I’ve done some intense study on the 4 foundation systems CMU (block), Poured walls, Superior walls, and ICFs, Superior walls were better overall in terms insulating, water permeability, interior finish, timely install, and cost.... Keep in mind that with ICFs dry wall must be installer to meet codes compliances, Superior wall this is not the case, plus superior have ridged foam already in the concrete walls with the possibility of bat, spray foam, or blown in insulation also being able to be installed along with the superior company will set the walls them self with a 15 year warranty. If a simple home in one day given your foundation was prepped properly.
If you want any further info here’s my contact info
Zukauckas Construction

Welcome to the forum Zukauckas Construction!

I'll try to be easy on you since you are new, but at the same time you post does create a few questions.

Your FIRST post was on a subject about a house that was going to be built in Ottawa (some 5 hours away from Scranton, PA), with an initial post that was written 2 1/2 years ago? The last post before yours was made 1 1/2 years ago, is that accurate? That seems a bit outdated to me, doesn't it? You must have done some serious searching.

Since you have conducted a search, you may also want to take the time to review the subject lines that seem to be on the differences between ICF walls and Superior Walls. Since this is the ICF section of this forum (and yes I realize that "Superior Walls" are an ICF in some world), often postions taken on the "Superior" aspects of superior walls over traditional ICF walls will get a rather negative response.

Again, you are new to the forum and welcome, but you may want to do a little research before taking such a strong position (especially on such an old post). Best of luck with the house in Ottawa.

renangle

Hi,

I'm also considering building an ICF home on the outskirts of ottawa. I would be grateful for some advice from those who have done it beforen (e.g. any contractors I should contact?)

thank you

Abu Yusuf, where is your project specifically ? We are south of Ottawa but cover a 50 mile radius ~
Eric Monkman

Abu,
I'm also in the Ottawa region and have built in the past years.
Here are some names of contractors which I had to price out the blocks and install.

Robro Construction, Upper Canada Building Services.

I'll try and dig out their contact info. I do beleive they'll take on the whole project or can take care of the structural only. I found pricing was competetive.
Send a private message if your interested.

Eric, we are at the preliminary stage trying to estimate the cost of building. If we go ahead, it will most likely be located west south-west of ottawa. We are currently considering a lot that is located south west of Stittsville.

Hi,

I would be interested for sure, I got Robro construction contact information from the EMM. How did your construction go? Would you do it again? One thing (well, there're more than one) that's not clear to me, is with no studs, how do you hang stuff on the walls? Any suggestions with how to proceed with ICF construction are much appreciated.

thanks,

Went very well. I'd do it again anytime(if she lets me). There are studs present from top to bottom which can be found with a stud finder with depth adjustment (ones with no depth still find it with multiple pass and sometimes just one). Just build it and enjoy the benefits aftewards!
Good luck and let me know how the process is going.
Cheers!!

Abu, found the info for UCBS which are in your area.
Here it is 613 223 2894, 613 537 8782.
Let me know if contact info don't work.
Cheers!