My wife and I want to build an ICF house in the Florida Keys. We have a lot in Marathon Florida. I am looking for designers and contractors in the middle Keys who have experience with ICF construction. How do we know what ICF company to go with? Is there a way to rate the quality, availability and cost effectiveness of the different companies? See our blog www.ourhouseinthekeys.com

Thanks

ICF is a GOOD choice for the keys. Contact the nearest ICF dealer and get recommendations for a builder.

Building Our House in the Florida Keys – New Blog Posts

I am adding more blog posts to “Building Our House in the Florida Keys”. This series covers the problem of our wish list verses budget considerations.
As there is additional interest in hurricane resistance homes in coastal areas, I am covering wonky topics such as; site work, structural concrete, structural floors and concrete sub-floors.
If you are just starting to follow along the first blog posts are archived.
To follow along go to: www.ourhouseinthekeys.com
If you know of someone who is interested in construction, coastal construction, the Florida Keys, etc please forward this information.

Thanks for the details. I noticed on your blog you had questions about rebar in the salt environment. You might want to check out Helix Steel micro rebar to add to the concrete mix instead of rebar for the main wall areas. Rebar would probably still be needed over windows and doors but would reduce the amount.

Okay I'm a bit stupid and completely missed the unlinked URL in the body of your first message.


http://ourhouseinthekeys.com     <----

So I don't miss it again, hitting this thread later.

Are you looking for the URL of the steel additive? It is www.helixsteel.com. I don't know if anyone in the Florida Keys has heard of it.

Marty......glad you survived the hurricane. Much damage to your house? I hope not. I saw horrible pics of the Keys.

Thanks for the concern. We are just in the design phase now. Construction is a ways off.

Most blocks on the market are molded in Orlando so pick a manufacturer get a distributor for that block and he should be able to hook you up with a builder. A little reverse engineering.

Most blocks on the market are molded in Orlando so pick a manufacturer get a distributor for that block and he should be able to hook you up with a builder. A little reverse engineering. Also there is a person or company in the Keys selling some bracing for a really cheap price. It's on Craigslist. Contact them and find out if they are in the business. I'd buy the braces if your sure your going to build either way.

I'll leave equipment to the professionals. Some of the people in the Keys use Fox Blocks and they do have manufacturing in Orlando. Thanks for the tip.

Building Our House in the Florida Keys – New Blog Post 12-2017 I am adding more blog posts to “Building Our House in the Florida Keys”. This series covers more mundane construction issues about construction in a coastal climate. As there is additional interest in hurricane resistance homes in coastal areas, I am covering wonky topics such as; electrical work and HVAC, plumbing, electrical work within ICF walls, and fasteners. If you are just starting to follow along the first blog posts are archived.
To follow along go to: www.ourhouseinthekeys.com

If you know of someone who is interested in construction, coastal construction, the Florida Keys, etc please forward this information.

Nice blog! I wish I had done one with our DIY ICF home in SC. Our house is 1400 sq ft, with an additional 1400 sq ft in the basement. We use Mitsubishi mini-splits for HVAC, and in our climate, they are very economical to run. Summer A/C only adds about $20/month over our non-HVAC power bill. Thanks to our mild climate and the buffering effect of the ICF walls, we go months at a stretch with no HVAC use. The Mits units are virtually silent, indoors and out. Our total cooling load at 90 F is only 9K BTU, and the heating load is only 11K at 20 F. We have a 'hot' vented attic, with R60 cellulose on the ceiling. Raised heel trusses allowed the insulation to go all the way to the edges. Our windows are Marvin Integrity, mostly casement. We have a lot of big windows, but the house is carefully oriented to prevent high solar gain, and we are surrounded by large deciduous trees which block summer sun, but allow winter sun after the leaves fall (Not an option in the Keys). We have vacationed a lot in Marathon, boating and diving Sombrero Reef. I'll be watching your blog- Good luck! If you have any specific questions, fire away. Since I built the house myself, I know every inch of it.

Thank you for the help, I added some questions for you after "Q.", any help is appreciated! Our house is 1400 sq ft, with an additional 1400 sq ft in the basement.
Q. We are proposing a 2000sf ICF concrete house with concrete roof. The layout would be a reverse floor plan with the great room/kitchen on the upper level (~1000sf) and bedrooms and utility room on the lower floor (~1000sf).
We use Mitsubishi mini-splits for HVAC, and in our climate, they are very economical to run. Summer A/C only adds about $20/month over our non-HVAC power bill. Thanks to our mild climate and the buffering effect of the ICF walls, we go months at a stretch with no HVAC use. The Mits units are virtually silent, indoors and out. Our total cooling load at 90 F is only 9K BTU, and the heating load is only 11K at 20 F.
Q. These mini splits seem to be the way to go, based on use, but what about a comparable installed price for them vs. a big multi-ton unit? Do we use the mini-splits on the lower bedroom area and the big unit for the upper level? Mini splits everywhere? How do the external compressor boxes look outside and where do you need to place them? Our ground floor carport is about 5 feet above the existing grade. Are they in banks at the required grade behind the house? Raised at the level of each floor?
We have a 'hot' vented attic, with R60 cellulose on the ceiling. Raised heel trusses allowed the insulation to go all the way to the edges.
Q. As the roof is to be ICF/concrete I am unsure how much additional insulation we will need nor what type we should use. I think closed cell spray foam is good but I heard horror stories, do you use the organic kind rather than the chemical kind? Do the pipes need additional insulation from heat?
Our windows are Marvin Integrity, mostly casement. We have a lot of big windows, but the house is carefully oriented to prevent high solar gain, and we are surrounded by large deciduous trees which block summer sun, but allow winter sun after the leaves fall (Not an option in the Keys).
Q. We heard in Florida and the Keys people use PGT hurricane windows. The price is lower than the big brands but are used a lot in the keys. But there are complaints that their hardware sucks. We used cheaper windows in our current home and when one failed the installer said that the company goes bankrupt every few years to void their warrantees. We need good quality windows for the Keys. Most of the big windows face northwards, the rest are smaller and limited.

Thank you for the help and I hope to use use as mu sensei! Martin

Okay, this is just me. Others with more experience might tell me I'm being stupid (and if so, I'll cop to it).

But on your first question, I'd be inclined to keep the mechanical room on the upper level.
Keep the equipment from being flooded out.

Might make the difference between losing power to just your lower floors and losing power completely.

Again, contact the nearest ICF dealer and get recommendations on contractors. They would know who is in your area.

I paid $3400 for the two mini-split systems, including wall brackets and refrigeration tubing. I was quoted $7,000 for the identical equipment, installed. I installed it myself, and had a licensed contractor do the final commissioning for a few hundred bucks. Our house and load is too low for central system, plus the added hassle of designing and installing duct work. Our old house in FL had the duct work in the 140 degree attic- don't do this! Make sure that someone with ICF experience does a comprehensive analysis of your heating and cooling loads. I had a local contractor insist that I needed 2-1/2 tons- over the phone, without even seeing the house. That would have ben WAY too big, and thus would have done a poor job, and been very inefficient. I did my own Manual J with a $50 program, and it has proven to be spot-on with what we've seen over 3 years of use. I'm no expert, but I think most central systems would be too big for your house, even in FL. No one can truly say, though, without a thorough and honest Manual J analysis. Our old house in ST Pete was 1500 sq ft, and a 3 ton unit struggled to keep up. But- no wall insulation, little attic insulation, leaky single pane windows, old-school A/C system, and duct work in the hot attic.

I mounted the outdoor units on the wall, about 3' off of the ground to keep them out of the leaves and snow. It also makes them easier to charge and service. There's no reason why they couldn't be much higher up to keep them safe from rising water. They ony weigh about 80 lbs., so it's not a big deal.

Again- not a pro, but I believe that attic insulation is vitally important in hot climates. That hot sun is relentless. I wouldn't go less than R-38 in any climate. I don't know what your planned roof section works out to. As for windows, hurricane resistance is critical in the Keys. It's not 'if', but 'when'. You'd still want some kind of shutter system or plywood covers, IMHO.