What is the best roof system to put over an ICF home?

Is there a strong roof for high wind areas?

Is there a affordable option also?

Kelly
iGreen Construction

Concrete would be best, Lite-Deck is my favorite, Amvic and Insul-deck have others.

Sips would be second, then steel trusses, but the vast majority are wood trusses and are most affordable. Covered with concrete tiles, terracotta, sheet-metal. Asphalt shingles are my least favorite, even here in MN. In MN tile roofs don't work so well.

If you are looking for good insulation properties, I would agree that SIP's would be a good choice. You could also consider insulated roof sheeting on top of a regular sheeted truss system for excellent insulation and a great price point.

Quad-Deck is our ICF for Floors & Roofs and will likely be the strongest roof compared to SIPs or other roof types. SIPs are probably your next best choice.

Best regards,
Georg Kustermann
www.quadlock.com

Quad,

Your Quad-deck is Insul-Deck, right? Just so as not to confuse things for the homeowner.

Depending how far out your project is there is another alternative: GigaCrete panels. GigaCrete produces a light weight panel sandwiched between steel inserts for structural support. GigaCrete uses 80% recycled material and a homogenous binder other than cement. It's carbon footprint is way less than concrete. So, if LEED points are of importance this is another way to gain these points.

Well for me the best is IRONFOAM, is a product from WRCS Corporation and you can do whatever kind of shape and pitch concrete roof on top of you ICF walls and already include 4.5" of EPS that can vary from 1 to 2 pounds per cubic foot.

Raul Hinojosa
WRCS Corporation

does the SIPS roof cost have a return on the investment?
Is any roof system thowing good money after bad.
Tornado's are the only weather issue.
The highest winds was 70 mph, but very rare.

Vic

If you wanted to go with a wooden roof truss system for the money sakes, I would incorporate a polyurethane spray right into the rafters. Not only will this give you superior insulation value but also add ridgidity to your roof assembly. ANother benefit is that now all for a sudden you have a conditioned attice space, even if it is only via osmosis. Your duct system and air handler will perform much better in this environment. In NC it is not uncommen to find the water heater in the attic. Even though I don't agree with the conventional water heater, this system will perfom much better in a conditioned environment.

Thanks Manfred

The spay foam isn't cheep, any more info to a pay back spay foam.
Does anyone know how long the estimated payback for the different roofs are?

Vic

vic, ok, here it goes: payback for what? your investment? Look at wall street right now, any payback there? Any payback anywhere? But really, man, you gotta ease up a little and look at things more realistically. Not everything mounts to a just "defined" mathematical equation. But here it goes: Sprayfoam will cost 2 x as much as regular pink panther. Is that worth it? I guess, you decide.

"Payback" "pay for itself" things we hear all the time. But if you gave a mortgage on your new place the additional cost is spread out over the term of the mortgage and becomes a monthly cost. The better built home will immediately start to "payback" with cheaper utilities, insurance and even mortgage rates or closing costs.

Then there is things that cannot be translated into $ such as living in a safer, quieter more comfortable home.

I agree with you. I guess i was talking about the spray foam versus sips. Is sips that much better for the cost?

I don't live on the coast, so I don't think a concrete roof would be right for me. I will not skimp on my home.

Vic

kelly, is there any special connection to the ICF wall or is it with traditional means?

Regarding connections of SIP Roofs to Concrete Walls / ICF:
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with support from the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) have released a prescriptive method detailing connection systems between SIP roofs to concrete wall systems, including insulated concrete formed walls. The connection details and engineering provided in the study give builders a reliable and consistent method for connecting the two systems in one- and two-family dwellings. In most cases, the new prescriptive guidelines will reduce the need for additional engineering during the design phase for projects using the two systems. This can often translate to lower costs for both builders and owners.

Download it here or from www.huduser.org

Georg Kustermann

Hopefully, the new "prescriptive method" for attaching SIP roofs to ICF walls will result in increased use of the marriage of these two great building systems. It's sad to see how many great ICF wall installations are being roofed with traditional wood frame, or truss, systems. Do the "blower door" test on homes that are built with this combination of systems, and see where the air goes on the majority of them. Specific cases of this in Truckee, Ca. several years ago. A builder whose objective was to build super energy efficient, sustainable, homes on a spec basis, ended up spending a substantial amount of money sealing leaks in the roofing structures. Now, I'm well aware that this could have been avoided if more care had been taken in the initial construction of these roof structures, cracks, crevices, vent openings, etc, could have been sealed with foam, or Spray foam could have been used as the primary roof/ceiling insulation. However, SIPs are, in most cases, a better solution. This is particularly true in California where much of the state has been designated as "wild fire" areas, and eave vents are no longer allowed. (Sips do not require eave vents) Also, I believe that it can still be shown that a SIP roof will be more energy efficient than a stick framed, or trussed, roof since there are fewer thermal breaks with the SIP application. I also do not believe that the "stick and foam" approach is tnot hat much less expensive, if any, than SIPs.

Concrete roofs? Great concept, if applicable to the project, but aren't they much more expensive? I have no experience in this area.

If a residence is complimented with cathedral roofs I can see why sips would be logical
but other than that don't know if it serves a purpose. One could simply seal and super insulate the ceiling easily and quickly compared to extensive lifting and other rentals $$
Cheers!

You're probably right, thagreen, if you're in a mild climate area, with no cathedral, or vaulted, ceilings, and aren't concerned with how hot, or how cold, it gets in your attic, go as cheap as possible. However, if you have a high pitched roof, SIPs will give you additional conditioned space for a modest additional investment. Also, we're talking about "roofs on ICF walls" so we're not talking about low cost projects, right? Would anyone disagree with the theory that ICF walls are substantially more expensive than "stick framing"?, or for SIPs for that matter?

If one, diy, was to build the outer perimeter out of icf, I sincerely believe that it won't be much more expensive. Think about all the labour intensive layerrs that have to be put on to meet code in conventional and then compare. Don't forget that you get pay back with energy savings . Quick calc. ,a 200 k house at 7 % more is approx 50$ more on your mortgage and comfort comes with it. Where else should you invest your money if not on a dwelling?
Cheers!

No argument with your last post, Thagreen, (As long as the "DIY'r knows what he, or she, is doing) However, I think that it is a universally accepted fact that a well insulated, tightly sealed, roof structure is more important to the energy efficiency of a structure than the walls are. So, again, why skimp on the roof? I made my case for SIP roofs in my previous posts on this thread.