I am contemplating my second ICF project.  The first turned out great, however, we are relocating.  Needless to say, with the economy the way it is we ARE NOT seeing any type of return on our investment.  In fact we are seeing about a 25% loss in investment.  None the less my family has experienced the benefits of an ICF.  I would like to do it again, however, the location we are building in requires an all brick or stucco exterior.  Does anyone have any experience with the thin brick products over ICF and a cost ?  What about full Stucco Pricing ?  The first contractor I spoke with quoted full masonry veneer and came in with a cost of over $70k just for the veneer.  Since this is an ICF I really don't need the brick, it's just for looks.

My last project used a stone & stucco front with vinyl siding on the rest of the house.

This project is a 2500 sq foot exposed basement ranch.

Thanks in advance.

Brian

In my area of Michigan, veneer is always more expensive. Typically much more expensive! I guess there are certain applications where one would have to use veneer, but other than that I would prefer real brick anyways. I can have a quality brick job done for $350/1000 brick (labor only). There are many details that can be done with real brick that cannot be achieved with veneer (quoins, rowlock, corbels, etc).

 

 

I put brick veneer and EIFS/TAFS on the front of my ICF house and Hardiboard siding on the back and sides. The brick veneer was about $14/sf. The EIFS/TAFS (Dryvit) was about $8/sf. TAFS (Textured Acrylic Finish System) works well over ICF.

We have installed full and thin brick on the exterior of ICF systems with little or no problem. Full size required tie backs into the concrete and thin break required a leveling coat over the ICF. Brick units are expensive and we have used artificial stone for the last two years. About $6.50 per square foot installed with local product.

As far as stucco is concerned we learned long ago that cement based is almost required every where due to the wood peckers / flickers that love the synthetic products and cause long term problems.

Have you considered a brick stencil with acrylic cement?  Please refer to the website www.mcii.info that shows how this looks on a flat slab.  The same look can be achieved on a vertical slab.  The total thickness is approximately 1/4inch.