Hi I am looking to build a 1600 sq ft basement in Colorado and looking at ICF vs a poured foundation as well as cost comparisons. I want a 9' tall ceiling height in the basement and probably 2" foam underneath a 4" slab as I plan to park my truck there. With ICF all I have to do is finish the inside and outside walls- probably stucco on the outside and sheetrock or OSB on the inside. If I go with a poured wall I could have the exterior foam added to the foundation but I would have to build a framed wall on the inside and then insulate that. Any comments on pricing between the two and which is the best? Thanks

ICF should cost less. But for 1,440 sqft of wall, the total $'s difference will not amount to much. Something of that size, the decision should be driven by convenience. Why not do the whole house with ICF?

Posted By BrucePolycrete on 16 Jan 2019 05:29 PM
ICF should cost less. But for 1,440 sqft of wall, the total $'s difference will not amount to much. Something of that size, the decision should be driven by convenience. Why not do the whole house with ICF?

Probably going with a log home but want the ICF basement so I won't have to worry about the plumbing in the basement freezing

Tell your log home builder that you want an ICF basement and see what he says. If you plan to do it your self, go for the ICF as it will be easier with fewer tasks.

I agree, if you are going ICF then go all the way to the roof. You have to cover the walls with some sort of fire block. OSB won't work for inspection. Drywall is the cheapest.

What is the cost ps/f for the ICF?

I was hoping someone could tell me

Thing is, ICF isn't really factored on "square footage" of the floorplan.
But on square footage of the wall structure itself. Height x Total Length of the wall with a non-specific increase for blocks yielding a concrete wall (without insulation) of more than six inches...
This is price of blocks, plus concrete costs to fill total cubic footage.

What would be the cost for this?

'Thing is, ICF isn't really factored on "square footage" of the floorplan'. Who said that?????  People 'aren't' asking about the sf of the house. What is the cost for the 'exterior' sf wall????? Why is everybody here avoiding that??? Is this more marketing BS???

Budget $17,000. If you want a hard price, send a set of plans to a contractor and ask for a bid.

Posted By robinnc on 25 Jan 2019 07:10 AM
'Thing is, ICF isn't really factored on "square footage" of the floorplan'. Who said that?????  People 'aren't' asking about the sf of the house. What is the cost for the 'exterior' sf wall????? Why is everybody here avoiding that??? Is this more marketing BS???

Did you actually read the rest of the post?
Or did you just read the first sentence and then blow up?

I said something fairly specific.

And you're having a conniption over one portion, while ignoring what was said in the rest of the post.

The overall-whole-system cost of ICF isn't simply factored by floorplan.
Things like wall height, wall thickness, insulation thickness, number of corners/rounds, type of concrete and additives, rebar schedule, etc can cause the price to vary wildly.

So please calm down.  Your attitude is unproductive.

1: Send plans to an ICF vendor and have them quote you for the exact type of block you're looking for (core width, insulation width, etc)
2: Figure out your rough cubic yardage. Then round UP to the nearest multiple of 8 cubic yards (a standard concrete mixer truck's size).
3: Take that to a concrete contractor, along with the type of concrete your engineer is telling you that you want and have them quote you for the concrete, the trucks and manpower to haul it, a pump truck and the crew to run it. Keep in mind this does NOT include a concrete foundation or concrete slab. Those are a separate cost, will need to be delivered at a different time and will also need to have mixers and a pump truck paid for.
4: If you're going for extra additives (like fiberglass filaments or Helix steel), factor THOSE in too.
5: Calculate out your rebar costs plus labor to cut, bend, place and tie. Factor this BEFORE deciding you're going to "just do it yourself", because that's a LOT of labor.
6: Factor in the cost of the bracing (if buying it all yourself). Or obtain a quote from an ICF installer for a crew.
7: Do a generous "back of the napkin" budget for screws, 1-by stock and plywood to reinforce the ICFs during the pour to prevent blowouts.
8: Obtain a quote for door and window bucks of the proper size. Talk with an ICF contractor about simply going with permanent steel bucks that are placed during assembly.

That's just PART of the process.
Hence the reason nobody is going to just spit out a quote for $X based on the small amount of info given.
Hence why people are being directed to speak to the experts in their area and provide them with the necessary information.

Because why would you go through the whole process on a random forum with an ICF contractor in FLORIDA if you're going to be building in COLORADO?
Are you going to fly said contractor and crew out and put them up in hotels for MONTHS? While they're ignoring their market back home?

dil and dm......I understand business. I have 3 degrees in business. But the OP is asking for a average cost of either 4" core or 6" core in Col. Several years ago people on here would actually answer this question but they don't seem to do that these days. Usually people here that ask questions can get the 'real' answers in their area of the country. To keep from getting ripped off.  IMO.....it sounds like the ICF are trying to rip people off. If I'm wrong....prove it. Marketing is taking over 'everything'......it's sickening!!!!!
OP.....contact the local ICF supplier in your area(not GC) and get their opinion.

Your three business degrees don't really mean much in the trades.
They're basically pieces of paper stating you know, in general, how do keep the books for any given business and structure the paperwork side of things.

The problem is, how many of us KNOW the average cost of ICF in the Colorado market?
How many of us know the cost of concrete in the Colorado market?
How many of us know the shipping costs and schedules in the Colorado market?

We have people who're down in Florida, up in the New England area, I'm in Chicago, and a couple people out on the West Coast (just pulling this off the top of my head).

Now, if we actually have someone in the Colorado area who's got the local info, GREAT!
If we don't, we're likely to advise you to talk to multiple ICF vendors and contractors in your area.
And if there are no ICF vendors in your immediate area, SHIPPING becomes a significant expense. Sure, the primo ICF product you WANT may be cost-competitive with a cheaper, but more basic product. But if the primo product is shipping from Georgia, and the basic product is shipping out of Indiana, you could see SIGNIFICANT cost variances.

It's not because people are trying to rip anyone off. It's because there are too many variables. And cost calculation IS NOT "marketing BS".

And, you realize that you just asked people here to prove a negative right?

Now, you evidently have a chip on your shoulder against ICF and "marketing".
Why? Nobody knows.
But nobody actually cares either.

Again, the way you approach this is needlessly aggro and unproductive.

Again, if you want general advice about HOW to go about getting pricing here, we can do that.
If you want someone to quote you a dollar amount out front? Forget it. Simply because the process is never that straightforward. And nobody here in the industry is going to be held up to ANYTHING but an EXTREMELY high-ball quote because of the general lack of information (Didn't do your homework and can't supply the info? Up goes the price. Because they have to account for the uncertainty factor.)

Finally, I will ask you once more to calm down. You're helping nothing with your attitude.

Dil, I understand business and building a house. I had just finished building a spec house, Frank Betz (The Middleton) when the great recession hit. I had planned on going into the business of building houses. I understand what you are saying. IMO....99% of people have no clue on ICF and there is verrrrrrrrrrrrry little competition to keep the prices 'competitive'. IMO, I think the GC's are taking advantage of this. The GC's need to add up what a customer could save going with ICF in building costs, lower HVAC(lower tonnage) installed price, includes insulation..lumber savings, and many more items.
I'm ALL for ICF for our next house.

Foxblocks has distrubutors all over Colorado. Buildblock has a pricing and estimating section on their website. Nudura has the same type of resource. I'd suggest getting in contact with any one of those companies and let them give you an esitmate since they are going to be the most familiar with the costs for material and shipping to your site and the general cost of concrete and how much you'll need. Once you get that cost go to a GC and get an estimate for labor unless you want to do it yourself.

dm......you're right. I just REALLY like ICF and don't want GC's to rip people off. GC's make verrrrrrrrry good profit(I have no problem with that......that's business) (They lie thru thru their teeth and shouldn't open their &^$%##%%# mouths about profit when all they do is lie, without ripping people off. IMO....when people ask the stupid question on how much they make they should keep their &*&^%^$% mouths shut!!!!!  In the last 40 yrs I have had hundreds of GC's lie thru their teeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!