re: Lumber prices anyone building new Const

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Is ICF a big departure from traditional stick-built framing for a competent home builder?

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I don’t think so. There was a guy in our area that built ICF. The builder we liked didn’t, so he basically subbed it out to a company that we bought the forms from recommended. Some builders were terrified of it.

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If ICF is slightly more expensive in a normal market, would it be on par or less expensive in the current inflated lumber market?

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Ours was not that much more. About 20k for us, But my house was 600k so it’s a small amount overall. The contractor who did the walls had an experienced crew and “framed” or formed the blocks, ran rebar and cleaned the channels in one day, poured concrete the next. Took a total of 2 days.

A lot of our costs was having to pay a structural engineer to calculate foundation needs. Plus, our foundation used a lot of concrete. To support those walls post tension slab that goes down 5 ft along the perimeter.

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Also, are there framing contractors who use ICF in south Louisiana?

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Sorry man I really don’t know.

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I’m surprised it’s not more common with all the benefits, like fire and termite resistance.

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It’s gotten really popular in tornado alley. Google pics of an ICF house after a tornado, hurricane, etc, vs rest of a neighborhood. We pay 600 a year for insurance (agent gave us an ICF discount). My utility bills are really low for my size house. It’s usually mid July before our AC starts running more due to thermal mass of the walls. So it may take a long time but we will get that money back eventually. If we added solar I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t even have an electric bill.

It’s extremely quiet. When Laura came through (was only cat 1 when it got to us) I thought it had changed course because I didn’t even know it was bad outside until I got up and looked outside to find my fence down, outdoor furniture turned over, etc. You will never have cold or hot spots or drafty rooms.