I was curious at what are the best low cost options for sidings for ICF Homes.  I was leaning toward Fiber Cement Siding as that seems to be the lowest cost per square for about $2.00 a sq ft. I wanted to do some stone veneer also but it costs more than I want to spend $11 a sq ft.  Has anyone had any experience with the thin stone veneer or Tru exterior siding  from Boral www.boralamerica.com.

We are working on a church right now that is utilizing thin brick. Very nice material but usually about the same cost as real brick in my experience. Regards.

I find it hard to believe that fiber cement is the 'cheapest' option. The material is fairly inexpensive, but it's labor-intensive to install, especially if it's done right, over a drainage plane. it's considered a premium material around here. The cheapest is probably vinyl, and you wouldn't need the insulated kind. On our house, I used traditional stucco on the exposed basement portion, and fiber cement on the rest. The stucco was pretty cheap, and I got the fiber cement for 25 cents on the dollar during the building slump.

I would think vinyl and synthetic stucco are lowest cost options - and that including labor and ease of installation.

You may want to consider adding stone/brick only on certain areas - like the front of the house or for accents in order to keep the cost of the more expensive finishing to a minimum and still achieve a pleasant visual aspect.

Fiber Cement type sidings aren't cheap to buy around here. The labor isn't cheap either. I will never forget the first "bunk" I moved with the firklift years ago. I stuck the forks under it , revved the lift, hit the lever and the rear of the machine came off the ground. It is heavy and heavy equals more $$ in labor as well.