I recently found out about ICF and have been impressed with it. I'm hoping to starting building a house in the next or two and would like to know what sort of questions/things to watch for when talking to a builder. I have little construction (especially concrete based) experience nor have never contracted anything out. I do have the land, no geological surveying has been done yet tho. Do I need to hire an architect and have blue prints drawn before finding a builder? (again forgive my lack knowledge on the matter) Thank you in advance

I think I would start talking to builders before I involved an architect or engineer, unless they are specifically familliar with designing ICF. You can mold or morph ICF to fit about any floor plan, but a knowledge of ICF assembly and construction techniques can make it a little easier to build(less time, less waste) if the design is planned around natural block dimensions.

We designed and are building our own, and are using an ICF/CC contractor for the concrete work only. The way I wanted to do the floor and the seismic area we are in meant that an engineers signoff of the plans would help get them thru building department review a little easier(which it did). The engineer we used was reccomended by the ICF contractor...

You kind of need to talk to both. An architect should be able to read your land and advise orientation of the house, and what challenges might exist. A good ICF builder should know an architect familiar with the product that they work with. Many builders do their own design work, with varying degrees of success. Even architects can be hit-or-miss. The trick is in finding one that understands your wants and needs and doesn't impose their own viewpoint excessively. Early in my design process, I hired a designer/draftsman to help me, but he insisted on changing my design so much that I went in another direction. At least he didn't charge me very much. I ultimately designed my own home, and am very pleased with the results. Our house is very small and simple, though, and there was no engineering (or even drawings!) required.

If you know roughly what you want (size, number of stories, level of finishes) a builder should be able to give you a very rough estimate. Close enough for you to know if it is do-able, or if you need to start over. An example would be '2500 sq ft, one story, 3 bedroom, 3 bath, no basement, hardwood floors, 3 car garage, builder grade siding, windows, and doors, etc. etc.'. Costs can really climb if you want high-end finishes or an unusual design. If he comes back with $500K to 750K, and you only can afford $250K, then you know it's time to make major changes.

I would want an architect with ICF experience; even better if he/she has worked with your builder before. Same goes for the builder- you don't want to train someone who is designing/building your house!

Thank you both for the information. I am planning on a very simple design, basically a rectangle with a two doors and some windows. I am hoping to have the builder more or less build the shell and allow me to do simple things such as drywall, paint, flooring, ect. One other question is how are the sub floors usually done in ICF builds, is it a slab, timbered, something I haven't seen.

Hopefully I can get a hold of the builders soon

You can do a suspended floor system any number of ways. Simpson rimjoist/ledger hangars, Imbeded Jbolts thru a rimjoist, Inward shelf/corbel to support a sill plate, imbeded individual truss hangar pockets. All kinds of ways. Once you have a rimjoist or sill, the floor system goes in just about like any other wood framed structure. We opted for an inward corbel ledge with a sill board and top chord hung open web floor trusses... There may be some added twists to the plan depending on wether you are located in a seismic zone or not...

There are also other suspended concrete options, as well as building slab on grade.

Most all the block manufacturers have a resource section with sample detail drawings. Here is a link to Fox's: http://www.foxblocks.com/resource-center/autocad-2d-details/ It says autocad details, but if you scroll down a little they also have them in .PDF format to view.

After living on a slab for 30+ years, we went with a full basement. Even if we didn't, I would have had a crawl space and a suspended floor. I prefer the feel of a suspended floor, and it's much easier to access plumbing and wiring. In a slab house, under-slab plumbing requires sawing and jackhammer to change it or fix it. We had a leak under the slab once- major hassle. We hung ledgers off of embedded J-bolts.

Straight walls is what I would look for......just sayin...