Any input on getting insurance quotes for ICF/energy efficient homes in SW Florida? The last agent had no clue or did not have the options on here computer program..so the estimate was coming was out of proportion compared to a like priced block home.

When you say "out of proportion", what does that mean? Did you expect insurance to be more or less for a "block" (CMU?) home?

Do energy-efficient homes yield lower insurance premiums?

I expected insurance to be less for an ICF home than a block home in Florida. Do it's more robust construction and better wind damage resistance.

Did you have some ready data showing that ICF resists wind damage better than CMU?

My sense right off is that any improvement in the wind resistance area would be offset by the higher cost of rebuilding ICF as opposed to simple CMU.

ICF,

I do have proof. There are multiple Miami-Dade and other website articles showing ICF homes still standing after a hurricane..versus conventional block homes. The cost of ICF homes are not that much more than block homes now. Look at the article written in ICF magazine by TexasICF.

Army Chief,

Call USAA. Great company who knows what an ICF is and what the insurance benefits are.............

Lots of positive information over there at ICF Builder Magazine, but difficult to find much that qualifies as 'data', much less, "proof". The insurance actuaries need proof that damage to and repair of ICF is going to cost them less than CMU in the long run. And, are we talking bad CMU, good CMU, or what?  Can you pinpoint your "proof" any better for us?

Most insurance companies still do not even have an "ICF" classification in their systems. At best you can probably get a "masonry" discount and claim the structure is concrete/masonry and not wood frame.

I have a fire sprinkler system in my home and it barely took off $150 a year in my homeowners insurance policy. It's a fact that interior fire sprinklers are by-far the best way to stop an interior fire. Fire sprinkler systems are mandatory in commercial buildings but they are starting to become more popular in residential.

Where one might see better ICF discounts is in places like Florida where ICF has certain hurricane classifications.

Fire sprinklers are mandatory in residential buildings, too, but most states have opted out for now.

As for CMU- I have seen many pictures of an out-of-control car crashing through a CMU house. Try that with ICF- ouch!

Posted By jdebree on 24 Oct 2012 06:32 AM

As for CMU- I have seen many pictures of an out-of-control car crashing through a CMU house. Try that with ICF- ouch!

CMU's don't have the same strength as a monolithic 6" or thicker ICF wall. CMU's are sometimes hollow or they fill every other row, either way I've never seen them vibrate the pour in residential CMU applications and most pours cannot exceed 4 feet in height. You end up with quite a few cold joints. ICF's provide the ideal curing environment for concrete. The concrete is protected from wind and extreme heat and cold. Wind wicks away moisture and a CMU walls strength during curing can be affected by high winds, heat and cold.

CMU's have their place but ICF has a lot going for it that CMU's don't. The market is slow to change and you will have masons that will fight you tooth and nail about ICF. Others simply refuse to adapt to new technology.

Here in AZ, cars crash through CMU walls all the time, the entire wall assembly falls even at slow speeds. The walls are mostly hollow, with little to no concrete inside. I ripped into a CMU wall in a home here in AZ (built in the 1980s) and the CMUs were hollow with occassional concrete fills here and there but even then there were A LOT of voids.

I just poured a concrete column using the cardboard tubes. I used 5,000 psi mix with the ideal concrete to water ratio as stated by the manufacturer. After filling the tube to the rim I used a rod to remove any air pockets in the column and the concrete dropped about 8". Think about that. A 48" tall by 10" wide column had 8" of trapped air inside of it.



The concrete is NOT wet, it is shown here after 72 hours of curing and after the tube was removed. I wet down the column to help with curing it but it is 72 hours cured and at 2,000 psi at this point. 

The NFPA sprinkler code is meant to save lives rather than property. For example, you aren't required to install sprinklers in a garage or basement, even though the accelerants often stored there could fuel a blaze capable of outlasting the code's required 10 minutes of fire suppression. As a result, the national code mandate may be on indefinite hold. State laws vary, of course, but Pa builders defeated two of three codes enacted by Pa municipalites under a law requiring an economic justification for new regulations. The survivor, my borough, argued that mountain roads impaired the fire dept's ability to respond. In the other two cases, proponents could not make a case that sprinklers offered enough improvement over smoke alarms to justify the cost.

In Calif and elsewhere, cmu walls must be filled completely. In those states, the relative vehicle resistance would come down to how much steel is used in either wall. Unless Lbear is running the mixer.