I think ICF is one of the best ways to build home but I'm having hard time finding professionals with experience in ICF in my area CT. That starts with architects and contractors. I contacted ICF manufactures to see if they can recommend anyone which they did but these people are out of state. Anyone close enough to do business seems to know about ICF very little or may have not the best recommendations. This will be my life lasting project and I don't feel like giving in but sometimes we need to do what is wiser. Sorry to blab about this here but I feel like I need to share this with someone that understands. Jerry

Leigh Overland, Architect, 235 Main Street, Suite 104, Danbury, Connecticut 06810
He's a great ICF architect and will hook you up with contractors and installers.

Icf Building Co. West Hartford, Conn. Can't post the number here

I had the same problem. Tried everything. I ended up going to the distributor and asking the guys in the yard "Who takes more block out of here than anyone else?" They told me. No one had given me his name to date and that's the guy I ended up using. He was excellent.

Jerry17,
I hear you and understand your frustration. I just would like to say that you are not alone with this problem. I hope you will not throw the towel on ICF. We are Owner Builders and finished ICF stem walls and ICF walls last month on our home. I found only 3 ICF builders in our area. We chose the one that we thought would be the best for us. Agree, it was more expensive than we thought it would be. But if this is the home where you want to live for a long time, you might never regret it. We have lots of visitors from our area coming to the construction and asking about it and liking it. ICF and European windows were our motivation to build ourselves instead of buying a new home, knowing that we have a very energy efficient home with less maintenance throughout the next years. The architect we chose was not ICF experienced, however he said it's not a big deal to make it ICF. After all we can say that it is better to have an ICF experienced architect. Some things we learned could have been done differently. But not all architects are the same, and our ICF builder had some negative comments to say even about ICF experienced architects. So it's all about picking the right architect and ICF installer. Hope for you that you will find the right guys soon. Don't give up. If you'd like to hear more about our experience from choosing the architect to building the walls, I would be more than happy to share.

I would echo ICFHybrid’s recommendations. Namely, call up some big name ICF companies (they are big name because they have high quality ICF products) and have them tell you who installs most of their product in your area. Hiring a company who is very experienced with the actual ICF product being installed is far more important than the actual ICF product.  Getting bids from companies who install a lot of high quality ICF products in your area will also likely get you the most competitive price and best results too.

Maybe one more thought.... ICF Hybrid did the right thing... we didn't go to the yard although it is a very good idea - we just called various distributors and asked for ICF builders buying from them. After my experience now, this is my recommendation: Contact various ICF distributors in your area (for example Nudura, ARXX, Fox Blocks, whomever you can find). Ask each of them for their best client. Most of them would be able to work with different ICF brands if you have a certain brand on your mind. Then when you are in contact with ICF installers, ask them whether they were especially happy with a certain architect from previous clients. ICF installers are actually those guys who will be able to tell you whether the architect and his design made sense or not, how much trouble it was with the design etc.. Something else.... It turned out that our architect couldn't deliver sufficient electric, HVAC, plumbing and floor heating designs for the permit that the City required from us. We ended up hiring various engineers to satisfy the City. It delayed our project for couple more months and affected our budget. My recommendation is to find out at your City whether they require these designs from licensed engineers or if they accept designs from the architect. If you are building within an area where you deal with HOA, you want to make sure that you are hiring an architect who is familiar with the requirements of this HOA and successfully gets HOA approvals within short timeframes.

Very good points Rafi. The architect and the construction drawings need to properly address electric, plumbing, and HVAC requirements. For example, you don’t want to end up with a situation that places plumbing in the exterior walls.

I used Polysteel Northeast which is out of Willington XXX XXX-XXXX (Phone numbers and email addresses are not allowed in forum posts).

They are distributors and builders. I know they are not using polysteel blocks anymore, but kept the old name. I ran into them at a trade show this spring, so I know they are still in business.
I can tell you this much. I used them to build a icf foundation for my own home ie footings, concrete basement floor, and ICFwalls. When they were done with the wall, I broke out the rotating laser level and pulled tape to see how square the foundation was and what I had to do to get level sil plates. The entire foundation was plumb, level and square within 1/8” I needed zero shimming under the sil plates. In 5 years, I have never had a single drop of water in the basement. I would hire them again in a heartbeat.
Before I used them, I toured a house they had done the shell for. The GC raved about them (in a good way) .
I assume they have an architect or two that they can refer you to.

Cheers,
Eric

Thank you. I really appreciate every single response, this has given me additional motivation, ideas and potential contacts. I could not have ask for more. I think one issue that I'm dealing with that may not have been an issue just year ago is the consolidation of the industry. There is no longer PolySteel or ARXX or some other companies these have been bought out by other ICF manufactures.

Eric A. would you recommend your GC and if yes would you PM me his number?

Rafi, if you don't mind I would like to PM you for you first hand experience as Owner Builder.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.
Jerry

Jerry17, yes please PM me. I've tried to PM you and others before, but the system still gives me error messages only. For some reason I can't PM anybody, but I can receive your PM. Please leave me your email address and I will reply to that one asap.

pm sent.