I've been planning a house build in Western New York for many years on some property I own. I have done a lot of work on the land, and am probably ready to actually build soon. I'm a Mechanical Design Engineer by trade, and have racked my brain on an ever changing home design over the years, finally settling on a ~1500 sqft custom design. The design is for a stick frame build, however my interest has been piqued by the ICF option, therefore I got a hold of a sample of AMVIC 3.30 Plus. This winter I plan to convert my stick frame design into an ICF design using AutoDesk CAD software such as AutoCAD and Inventor (3D Modeling). While I am working on my design, I'd like to research this type of home, and where I would like to start is finding GC's in my area who have ICF expertise. I am very much a DIY'er, however, for the actual build of the house, I'd like to hire a GC to build from foundation excavation to the "dry-in" stage, then take it from there. I would certainly put in as much labor time the GC would allow. So, after all that, I guess my question is, does anyone know of ICF capable GC's in the WNY area, or, how would I go about finding this out, and how do I determineof a GC has the correct level of ICF expertise?

Reverse engineering. You have a block . Go to the block distributor and they can put you on to a contractor. I wouldn't stop with one block. Amvic is a good block and since it;s made in Canada near Toronto, then the shipping should be good. Also the Loonie is 75% to the dollar . I would also look at Hobbs. They have a distributor in Buffalo and the system kicks block in the ass as far as construction time and finished r-value.

research the leaders in the industry not garage sale varieties: www.icf-ma.org the manufacturers association was formed to provide the owner, architect, engineer and contractor with a vetted resource of information. the companies investing have a code of ethics and commitment to the industry success.
Also I would investigate the law of diminishing return on rvalue - YOU WANT AN R 20 ROUGHLY IN YOUR AREA!

research the leaders in the industry not garage sale varieties: www.icf-ma.org the manufacturers association was formed to provide the owner, architect, engineer and contractor with a vetted resource of information. the companies investing have a code of ethics and commitment to the industry success.
Also I would investigate the law of diminishing return on rvalue - YOU WANT AN R 20 ROUGHLY IN YOUR AREA!

You can also get someone to work with you and provide expertise for your build, and then do it yourself. Lot less expensive to pay a technical guy to be on site while you build then an ICF install crew. Most GCs do not have in house ICF capabilities.

Find your ICF contractor or GC first, go with the ICF they are working with.

ditto what sw said. They can recommend the local ICF contractors.

I'm putting out feelers for local ICF GC's but not having much luck. It seems a few GC's in the area have done a few ICF jobs but it seems like they don't want to do them again. That's not a good sign. I'm really looking for an expert.

I'm putting out feelers for local ICF GC's but not having much luck. It seems a few GC's in the area have done a few ICF jobs but it seems like they don't want to do them again. That's not a good sign. I'm really looking for an expert.

The dealers that sell the dif. blocks in your area 'can't' put in you in touch with a GC for ICF?

Posted By robinnc on 30 Aug 2018 05:27 AM
The dealers that sell the dif. blocks in your area 'can't' put in you in touch with a GC for ICF?

The most responsive dealer is across the border in Canada, and there is no way I'm hiring a Canadian GC, or any GC who uses Canadian workers. I say this due to US customs BS. It looks like the closest ICF rep to me is a Fox Block rep. How does Fox Block compare to Amvic?

Hi etd66ss,
I'm homeowner builder currently building my own house using FoxBlocks in CT. I have nearly completed all my ICF work and this week I will be doing last pour for my second floor walls. I'm doing all ICF work myself so I have first hand experience.
FoxBlock is very good form if not the best on the market. I only became found of FoxBlock after working with it. It just happens that Rep I found in my area was working with FoxBlocks and this is how I end up using it.
While stacking forms for my house I could not think of anything to make it better and while pouring concrete I'm impressed how strong Styrofoam form can be.
I have seen Nudura and BuildBlock and these look like very good forms too. I think most forms today are very good.
After last economic downturn ICF industry has matured and consolidated as result seems like only best companies survived.
FoxBlocks around sametime has used their past knowledge and experience and redesign their form to make it stronger and better.
However I suggest focus on getting good rep and GC and let them use form that they like. If the have past ICF experience I can assure you they don't want to work with crappy product.

Good luck and lots of patience!

Hi etd66ss,
I'm homeowner builder currently building my own house using FoxBlocks in CT. I have nearly completed all my ICF work and this week I will be doing last pour for my second floor walls. I'm doing all ICF work myself so I have first hand experience.
FoxBlock is very good form if not the best on the market. I only became found of FoxBlock after working with it. It just happens that Rep I found in my area was working with FoxBlocks and this is how I end up using it.
While stacking forms for my house I could not think of anything to make it better and while pouring concrete I'm impressed how strong Styrofoam form can be.
I have seen Nudura and BuildBlock and these look like very good forms too. I think most forms today are very good.
After last economic downturn ICF industry has matured and consolidated as result seems like only best companies survived.
FoxBlocks around sametime has used their past knowledge and experience and redesign their form to make it stronger and better.
However I suggest focus on getting good rep and GC and let them use form that they like. If the have past ICF experience I can assure you they don't want to work with crappy product.

Good luck and lots of patience!

Jerry, how is your project going? Did you rent, make or buy all the bracing required for the concrete pours? Did you hire a GC or do everything yourself even the concrete? I think if/when I do the pours, I'd want a GC on site with ICF experience...

I don’t think you need a GC with ICF experience? You need a good ICF subcontractor that you or your GC hire. Alternatively, get the training (usually about 8 hours) offered by most ICF companies to place/pour the ICF yourself. If you do this, I would still recommend hiring a subcontractor to do the actual pour as you need multiple and preferably experienced hands on deck to accomplish this. If you buy (and then resell) or rent braces and you know how to use a level, square and string to create plumb, square and straight walls, you can certainly successfully DIY ICF and save much expense doing so.

Does anyone here know of an ICF specific forums, where I can talk to subcontractors who use these products on a daily basis?


I'm looking at Fox Blocks, I have downloaded all the design/engineering resources they have on their website and I am attempting to convert my custom stick frame design to ICF https://imgur.com/I3BsQdK

I'm having trouble already figuring out how to do a correct brick ledge in conjunction with T-Wall utilizing the availble "LEGO BRICKS"

Would be good to talk to others who have used the same product etc.

Well, this forum for one... Lots of ICF builders participate here. We have used BuildBlock, Nurdura and TF Systems. Nearly all ICF these days is great. What we use is mostly about local availability and the price we can obtain it.

You might also find ICF Magazine and their annual ICF Comparison Chart useful:

ICF Comparison Chart

Thanks for the chart, I will use these forums for all my questions, we'll see how it goes. First question is, how did you post that link? URL BBCode?

Directions for posting links can be found in the “Rules, Instructions and Announcements” section and “Posting Links/URLs” thread. I specifically used the second option.

Hi,

Did you have any luck finding a GC or a good sub? We are looking for a ICF builder in Western NY as well. Williamsville/Buffalo, but we have just started.