Im in the process of building a ICF home. Really simple floor plan no crazy angles, pretty straight forward. I have construction background but never worked with ICF. I have studied the ICF for the last two years in my planning and even helped with a couple jobs. However I work full time and really thought about having the ICF hired out due to the time it would take my team. I have a very good group of guys to help who all work in construction but it would be help received when they were off work as well. I received some quotes and the price to have the ICF done was pretty expensive making the cost of the home out of reach. I have done my bids and material cost and can do the ICF for half the cost of the estimates I received. Is this the normal in ICF that its usually double the materials? I think I may have to end up doing the project myself but would have loved the 3 1/2 week timeline I was given with the ICF builders. I just cant seem to justify spending the 30-40K more for the job.

Without seeing your numbers the information you provide does not sound accurate to me. Labor is not twice as much as materials...if you are talking all materials, i.e. ICF, ICF accessories and sundries, rebar, concrete, pump, waterproofing, then labor is about 33% with insurance and workers comp. So $ 1.00 ICF portion equals 66% ALL materials, 33% ALL labor and associated costs.

My turn key ICF quote was at least twice as much as it cost me to do it myself. Doing it myself cost around $6/sq ft of wall area including the ICF, concrete, rebar, window and door bucks, pumper truck, home built wood bracing, and 1 day of labor (3 experienced ICF guys) to do the actual pour.

In the home construction business the GC labor costs are usually double what the raw market costs are. So if parts are $15k, they will charge you $30k. That's just the norm and nothing surprising. If it cost the GC $50 per sqft to build the home, they will charge $100-$150 per sqft when they go to sell it.

When it comes to ICF you are paying for the expertise due to the concrete. ICF is not a DIY job, while some claim it is, one cannot compare it to wood framing a home. It's night and day difference. 90% of the horror stories out there from ICF are due to inexperienced people thinking they can DIY. In Germany one has to go through two years of on the job training with concrete before they can even pour jobs on their own. I don't mind paying an ICF pro the money because I know the walls will be square and done right. With an emphasis on "ICF pro".

I'm not saying it can't be done but it's not as easy as one thinks. Any honest ICF contractor will tell you that it took them numerous jobs to get things right.

Since you have a construction background you are in better standing and if you hire an ICF pro as a consultant, you could probably pull it off on your own with the ICF pro being a consultant.

Chris, Arkie6, lbear thanks for the input. I'll provide my numbers because I dont want to overlook anything. From the lowest price ICF contractor to build my basement and first floor only. Not including hanging the floor but installing the hanging system. 6" walls 18' from footing including forms, rebar, concrete and waterproof membrane and window and door openeings. this is a 64x30 house. 45,000.00 For my crew using Fox Block forms, rebar,hv clips, window bucks, renting bracing, concrete 60 yds, plus shipping 25,000.00 Am I missing something? My form estimations were done from my floorplan from Fox and I even confirmed the estimations myself from the plan. I just want to compare apples to apples.

Posted By cpd159 on 30 Jun 2013 04:46 AM
Chris, Arkie6, lbear thanks for the input. I'll provide my numbers because I dont want to overlook anything. From the lowest price ICF contractor to build my basement and first floor only. Not including hanging the floor but installing the hanging system. 6" walls 18' from footing including forms, rebar, concrete and waterproof membrane and window and door openeings. this is a 64x30 house. 45,000.00 For my crew using Fox Block forms, rebar,hv clips, window bucks, renting bracing, concrete 60 yds, plus shipping 25,000.00 Am I missing something? My form estimations were done from my floorplan from Fox and I even confirmed the estimations myself from the plan. I just want to compare apples to apples.

With what you provided I assume the wall square footage (including window areas) is around 3,500 square feet?

The pricing sounds about right. If it's $25k for parts, I can see another $20k in labor for the $45k total.

Posted By Lbear on 30 Jun 2013 05:44 AM

Posted By cpd159 on 30 Jun 2013 04:46 AM
Chris, Arkie6, lbear thanks for the input. I'll provide my numbers because I dont want to overlook anything. From the lowest price ICF contractor to build my basement and first floor only. Not including hanging the floor but installing the hanging system. 6" walls 18' from footing including forms, rebar, concrete and waterproof membrane and window and door openeings. this is a 64x30 house. 45,000.00 For my crew using Fox Block forms, rebar,hv clips, window bucks, renting bracing, concrete 60 yds, plus shipping 25,000.00 Am I missing something? My form estimations were done from my floorplan from Fox and I even confirmed the estimations myself from the plan. I just want to compare apples to apples.

With what you provided I assume the wall square footage (including window areas) is around 3,500 square feet?

The pricing sounds about right. If it's $25k for parts, I can see another $20k in labor for the $45k total.

OK, thank you. That just seems extremley expensive to me when the basement is dug and the footer is ready to go. Im told 3 days for the basement build then 3 days to do the main level. So 6 days worth of work for 20,000.00? I may need to do this project myself. If it goes well maybe start doing this type of work for hire...

I did not see waterproofing ($2-3 sq.ft.) or ancillary products in your estimation, add 10% for that

I built an ICF house in northeastern Illinois in 2009. My first and only ICF project. I had built two conventional wood frame houses previously.

It's a single story house of 2200 sq. ft. and a full basement. The plan is moderately complex with 14 corners and 4 T intersections. I used TF System vertical ICF forms - 8" for the foundation and 6" for the above ground walls. The gross wall area is 5300 sq. ft. with 12 windows and 3 doors framed with pressure treated lumber.

Material cost:
ICF forms 19,000
Rebar 2,200
Concrete 8,500
Waterproof 600
Lumber 400
Bracing/Scaf 1,300
Pumpers 1,900
-----------------------------
33,900

Labor cost: 20,000
---------------------------------
Total $53,900


That's $10.17/sf. (wall area)

The labor cost of $20K is a quote for the job. Actually, my son and I erected the forms ourselves with the help of an experienced ICF installer and saved $15,700 in labor costs. That reduced my out-of-pocket cost to $7.20/sf.

In-place cost of ICF wall is highly dependent on the complexity of the job, # of stories, and site conditions. However, for a basement or single story residence, the $20/ft2 figure seems quite excessive.

We hear that 6" ICF wall in-place "sells" for $12 to $15/ft2, and contractor cost is about $9 to $11.

As I have said before, consumers need to be wary of paying for a contractor's "learning curve" when adopting ICF technology.
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Posted By Clark on 25 Jul 2013 07:30 AM
I built an ICF house in northeastern Illinois in 2009. My first and only ICF project. I had built two conventional wood frame houses previously.

It's a single story house of 2200 sq. ft. and a full basement. The plan is moderately complex with 14 corners and 4 T intersections. I used TF System vertical ICF forms - 8" for the foundation and 6" for the above ground walls. The gross wall area is 5300 sq. ft. with 12 windows and 3 doors framed with pressure treated lumber.

Material cost:
ICF forms 19,000
Rebar 2,200
Concrete 8,500
Waterproof 600
Lumber 400
Bracing/Scaf 1,300
Pumpers 1,900
-----------------------------
33,900

Labor cost: 20,000
---------------------------------
Total $53,900


That's $10.17/sf. (wall area)

The labor cost of $20K is a quote for the job. Actually, my son and I erected the forms ourselves with the help of an experienced ICF installer and saved $15,700 in labor costs. That reduced my out-of-pocket cost to $7.20/sf.

You only saved $15,700.00 if you value your son's and your own time at slightly less than nothing! If stacking ICF blocks is your idea of entertainment, then you received VERY good value. If you had to take time off your real work, or didn't get to do something else you wanted to do, then not so much.

Posted By FBBP on 26 Jul 2013 10:34 AM

Posted By Clark on 25 Jul 2013 07:30 AM
I built an ICF house in northeastern Illinois in 2009. My first and only ICF project. I had built two conventional wood frame houses previously.

It's a single story house of 2200 sq. ft. and a full basement. The plan is moderately complex with 14 corners and 4 T intersections. I used TF System vertical ICF forms - 8" for the foundation and 6" for the above ground walls. The gross wall area is 5300 sq. ft. with 12 windows and 3 doors framed with pressure treated lumber.

Material cost:
ICF forms 19,000
Rebar 2,200
Concrete 8,500
Waterproof 600
Lumber 400
Bracing/Scaf 1,300
Pumpers 1,900
-----------------------------
33,900

Labor cost: 20,000
---------------------------------
Total $53,900


That's $10.17/sf. (wall area)

The labor cost of $20K is a quote for the job. Actually, my son and I erected the forms ourselves with the help of an experienced ICF installer and saved $15,700 in labor costs. That reduced my out-of-pocket cost to $7.20/sf.

You only saved $15,700.00 if you value your son's and your own time at slightly less than nothing! If stacking ICF blocks is your idea of entertainment, then you received VERY good value. If you had to take time off your real work, or didn't get to do something else you wanted to do, then not so much.

My purpose was to provide insight into the cost of ICF installation.   When you factor in the intangibles, the decision to hire out the work or DIY will vary depending on individual circumstances.   But from a purely economic standpoint, I, personally, view saving money as the equivalent of earning money tax free.  If I had elected to hire out the labor portion of the ICF installation,  my labor cost would have been $20,900, because that's how much extra gross income I would have had to earn at a marginal tax rate of 25%.  Add state income tax and the cost is higher still.  There were other tasks that I subcontracted -- excavation, masonry, EIFS, roofing -- which required special equipment, expertise and high risk.  Constructing ICF forms with the help of an experienced consultant was relatively easy, required no unusual tools, and minimal risk of injury.  My son and I devoted approximately 280 man-hours to erect the ICFs which works out to $75 an hour earnings equivalent.  Not bad.

These numbers would be more useful if there was a comparison of what the quote would be to do a standard basement foundation, formed and poured by a crew (not ICF). What was the comparable cost NOT doing ICF?

My bid for ICF basement so far from Nudura is $16.6k: 205LF wall, 1845SF, blocks $8,200, alignment $1k, waterproofing $1k, tax $1k, Steel $1.1k, shipping $700, concrete $4k. This does not include labor at all. I am considering switching to a standard formed basement with foam board on the exterior. With labor this will be $25k just for the basement using ICF!

Surfsup. You have to also take into consideration that ICF is insulation and framing all in one. With poured concrete walls, you will still have to insulate it and frame the interior walls unless you want the exposed concrete look in your basement. ICF has the studs already in the forms, and you get better insulation. Just something to think about. Oh, it also take care of 3 steps by one contractor, which will save you time and money.

Most ICF costs are stable, concrete and block do not fluctuate throughout the year, rebar has been stable for a while now, lumber on the other hand goes up and down with the season, the weather, hell it's moving up and down more then fuel. I've done ICF cheaper then lumber walls before and been told by others I am double...meanwhile back at the ranch my pricing structure hasn't changed.

With labor this will be $25k just for the basement using ICF!

That's a remarkably good quote to get an ICF basement.

Don't know much in particular about Nudura, but what is "alignment"? Is that what we are now calling installation? Can't wait to see if the turf installer will give me a bid today for turf with an "alignment" charge. ;-)

Posted By ICFHybrid on 20 Aug 2013 10:22 AM

With labor this will be $25k just for the basement using ICF!

That's a remarkably good quote to get an ICF basement.

Don't know much in particular about Nudura, but what is "alignment"? Is that what we are now calling installation? Can't wait to see if the turf installer will give me a bid today for turf with an "alignment" charge. ;-)

My assumption is that 'alignment' is bracing rental.

I built a full ICF house, first one I built. Have framed about a dozen other houses. Is it DIY? Yes, but you need to do the research. This forum was great to learn install tricks from, but the rep was also great and right there at the pour to assist. All people at my pour have never done it before either. No problems, so it would not fall under that mythical "90%" issue category.

Here are some various numbers from my project. Take it for what its worth, but hopefully its helpful.

Approximately 1700 sqft of wall for the basement. Numbers are rounded off.

8" standard concrete, uninsulated wall. Including footings and spray on waterproofing: $24,000
ICF contractor bid for basement walls, including concrete, forms and labor, footing and waterproofing: $36,000
Cost for full home, ICF: $73,000.
Superior Wall basement Xi wall: includes walls and setting precast walls: $23,000


My ICF Numbers:
Forms for entire house: $17,900
Concrete: 52 yards @ 100= $5200
Rebar (includes footings): $2000
Form-a-Drain forms: $450
footing concrete: 6 yards= $600
bracing: $0. Constructed myself out of wood and reused the wood in the framing of the house
Bucks: $200 treated wood
steel for lintels: $650

total ICF cost for entire home: $27,000

Comparable wood framing numbers for double stud and blown insulation, ICF foundation: $22,000.

oops, waterproofing (sheet and dimple) was about $900. so total cost was $28k

Posted By lzerarc on 28 Aug 2013 04:57 PM
I built a full ICF house, first one I built. Have framed about a dozen other houses. Is it DIY? Yes, but you need to do the research. This forum was great to learn install tricks from, but the rep was also great and right there at the pour to assist. All people at my pour have never done it before either. No problems, so it would not fall under that mythical "90%" issue category.

Here are some various numbers from my project. Take it for what its worth, but hopefully its helpful.

Approximately 1700 sqft of wall for the basement. Numbers are rounded off.

8" standard concrete, uninsulated wall. Including footings and spray on waterproofing: $24,000
ICF contractor bid for basement walls, including concrete, forms and labor, footing and waterproofing: $36,000
Cost for full home, ICF: $73,000.
Superior Wall basement Xi wall: includes walls and setting precast walls: $23,000


My ICF Numbers:
Forms for entire house: $17,900
Concrete: 52 yards @ 100= $5200
Rebar (includes footings): $2000
Form-a-Drain forms: $450
footing concrete: 6 yards= $600
bracing: $0. Constructed myself out of wood and reused the wood in the framing of the house
Bucks: $200 treated wood
steel for lintels: $650

total ICF cost for entire home: $27,000

Comparable wood framing numbers for double stud and blown insulation, ICF foundation: $22,000.

i think i am confused with my calculations.  Did you use 8" cores or 6" cores?  With 8" cores, I get (1700 * .67)/27 = 42 cubic yards.  If I use 6" cores, I get (1700 * 0.5)/27 = 31.5.  I presume the first floor had the same footprint.  Did you go to 4" cores for the first floor?  Based on my quote of $5.25 sq ft of foam, you had about 3400 sq ft of wall?  I guess that actually works out 6" basement and 4" first floor is 52 yards. 

I guess I assumed you used 8" cores.

In northern california, we are getting quotes of about $16-$18 above ground.  Whereas your basement quote is about $21?  Did that include excavation and footings?  My $16-$18/sq ft is only for the ICF portion.  I was quoted about the same for Amdeck.  Excavation cost in the bay area will kill you.  I have been quoted around $500/truck load to remove dirt.  A truck being around 9 yards.  Unfortunately, they told me the soil expands quite a bit when dug up, so don't just think the amount of dirt that will be removed is your basement size + a few feet.  Also, in california, they have a rule that you are only allowed a 5 ft cut, so you have to slope up, which of course, is more dirt removal.  i had to eliminate the basement from my house, because it was getting to be so expensive.  Just dirt removal was estimated to be close to $100,000.