We are going to be building garage/workshop, with an apartment, and want to use ICFs.  My husband is a builder and has gathered info from several manufacturers.  I would love to hear from others, which ones they think are the best.  We live in the San Francisco Bay area, and I know shipping costs are a consideration.  What else should be a factor in determiningg the best product to use?

Also, some of the literature I have been reading suggests that we use a structural engineer who is familiar with a particular manufacturer.  Why would this be important?

Thank you

I had similar questions some time ago. You might check out a thread I started about which blocks are the best. Many pros contributed and explained why they use the brands they use. I hope this link works, thread is titled "which ICF blocks are the best?"

http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/view/topic/forumid/4/postid/28811/Default.aspx

And maybe some others who haven't chimed in yet would like to. This place is full of knowledgeable professionals.

Hi Constance and congratulations on your building project.

When looking at ICFs I would look at a couple of things. First I would look at the big manufactures, which in my humble opinion are Amvic, Reward, Nudura, Quad-lock, Logix, Building Block and of course those that advertise on this website or are mentioned often. Then I would look at which ones are active in your area, as support from them (or their distributor) is important. When you find one, find out if they have access to bracing (this is pretty important) and how much that will cost. Ask where they ship their product from and get a fieight estimate.

Finally, here is a pdf file from ICF Builder Magazine that you can cut and paste to get a full comparison of the blocks current being manufactured. On the top of the chart are criteria (form specs, tie spacing, etc.) that should be reviewed in your investigation.

http://www.icfmag.com/documents/ICF_COMP_CHART/08_ind_comp_chart.pdf

Once you have made your final decision, post what you've decided to do and what the distributor is bringing to the table and request feedback.

Best of luck,

renangle

If you ask 10 different people which ICF is the best you will usually get 10 different responses. All block has its pro's and con's.
I install Block A 90% of the time simply because of the service I get from my distributor. If I need block on Monday it is usually dropped off on Sunday. You just can't beat that!!
If you are going to install yourself you need to buy from whoever can service you the best, Tech. Support, bracing, will be 2 major things that you will need. Which of the manufacturers you have looked at are close by with all the 'tools' needed for you to do the job. Don't always look at price to be the determining factor. Ask them for names of other DIY'ers whose jobs they have been involved in and them ask those people how the service was.
Personally, I stay away from blocks that have to be put together 'on site' (ones that have individual panels and a box of webs).
Logix, Nudura, Amvic, Build Block, Arxx, to name a few are all good blocks, and at the end of the day whichever one you use will give you the same result, an ICF home, workshop etc, it's getting to the end that matters.

Paul

Chris Johnson is an installer in the area and I am sure he wouldn't mind if you gave him a call, he should know all the local guys and will give you some ideas.
I imagine he will post soon enough any way.
You can reach him at [email protected]

Thanks for the introduction Paul (insert golf clap here)

Hi Constance, I do live in the Napa Valley, assuming you are a Napa/Sonoma/Lodi vineyard I can hand deliver some literature to you as well as recommend an engineer or two to do your project

If you are in another wine area let me know and I can send you some info.

Paul was nice enough to post my email, my cell # is 925-260-6080

Thanks

Chris

    Thank you all for responding.  Great suggestions to start my research.  If customer support is nonexistent, we move on quickly.  From there, we can look at strengths and weaknesses, based on our project requirements.  Looking at a previous post, I very much appreciate the recommendations people made base not solely on the product itself, but also on the least amount of waste generated.

Great forum and outstanding info.

Constance,
I'd look at BuildBlock, they're opening a manufacturing facility outside of Bakersfield in May or June this year. I'm currently building a two storey plus basement ICF house in North Berkeley and would be happy to have you and your husband stop by and ask questions.


[email protected]

I'm an ICF distributer north of you and I did a lot of research before I chose an ICF for the house I'm building.  The best advice I got was that with a few exceptions regardless of the product you choose the final structure will have all the features that make ICF's the great building material that they are.  The road to the finished product is the real test and is greatly enhanced by the quality of the ICF, the local distributer, the manufacturer and the training you get since you'll be doing the work yourself.  Obviously the different blocks have different features but the ones that affect the speed and ease of construction will be most noticed.  As for choosing an engineer that is experienced in ICF's I'd agree, I've had contractors tell me of engineers using too much rebar in the ICF wall making construction more time consuming and expensive, maybe the situations really needed the extra rebar, I haven't looked into them specifically.

If I can answer any questions for you I'd be glad to, you can reach me at [email protected].

Greg