Ideas Anyone - About ready to give up!

I haven't read all the posts, but I would contacted the ICF manufacturer and see if they have an recommendations on a builder. Our neighbor just put one up, I can't wait until it is finished so I can see what it looks like when its finished.

Exactly what I would suggest. Contact as many ICF form manufacturers as you can find and they will be able to refer you to someone in your area who has built with their product before.

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The other thing you need to know about Cherokee Village is that it's .... upscale. At least the part I'm familiar with is. Her plans are going to have to fit the local ambiance.

Have you tried the Chamber of Commerce?
http://www.2chambers.com/hardy,_arkansas.htm

Here's a directory of SIP construction folks:
http://www.offsite-built.com/searchr...g==/NzE5MjM=/6

The type of home you are building is going up in southern Missouri. If you can wait till I get back North in the spring, I can do some on-site recon for you. If you can't wait, I'll do some by phone.

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Found some in Arkansas:
http://www.smartstructuresdist.com/

http://www.concretewallsystems.com/

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http://armourh.com/

Take a look at this site -- poured concrete homes.

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Hi Christy;
I have been down that same path. My dh and I plan to start building next year. We plan to build a chalet style home. I have done a lot of research and for me I'm going to order the shell online through thermobuilt. The chalet (they sell shells by floorplan and home owner submitted plans). The walls and ceilings will have high r values. The high r values might be overkill.
The cost of the shell does NOT include foundation. For specifics you can check them out at http://www.thermobuilt.com .

Also, there is enertiahouse.com and they sell super energy efficient house kits. However, I live in a VERY humid climate , (1/2 mile from the Atlantic) so their yellow pine log homes ARE not suited for the high humidity. The man who designs earthships ( his name escapes at the moment ) wrote an article questioning their durability and low energy usage in a warm humid climate. Enertiahouse is a North carolina company (my state) , I think their homes would do well in a colder, drier environment.
I wanted an earthship but again living at sealevel (approximately 100 ft. above) with the high humidity and where we batlte mold and fungal growth on exterior surfaces, an earthship is NOT practical.

I wanted a dry block concrete home, they have higher thermal mass (supposedly) than poured concrete and filled block, but are not suitable for hot humid conditions. (Thermal mass is defined , as it relates to structures, "the ability to absorb solar gain during the day and release the heat as the space cools in the evening." The air space between the blocks gives a dry block wall a higher thermal mass where as filled blocks has much less.
I am looking for a zero net energy home or as close to it as possible, although air conditioning remains a problem. Solar air conditioning is out there but the last unit I priced was $12,0000. I still am not sure how to overcome this. An Evaporative cooler might work where you live. They do NOT work in regions with hot humid conditions. Then there is the whole issue of passive solar design with direct gain and indirect gain systems. I mention all of this because we too plan to build our last "retirement" home next year. All these things must be considered before designing and building. So much depends on where you live, the temp and humidity level and your objective.

http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/For...4/Default.aspx

This forum is the place to go. Lot's of info. loys of contractors that can point you in the right direction.

I'll add my vote for ICF's. As for concrete being cold and damp... if it is done correctly, it can be great. Insulation goes on the OUTSIDE of the concrete. The floor gets at least 2" of foam insulation under it as well. If you have a basement, it needs excellent drainage and good sealing all around. If you do this, you have a lot of thermal mass in the house. Add radiant heating to the concrete floor, and they are nice and toasty on the feet.

An ICF building with cementitious siding and a metal roof should be fairly maintenance free. If the area gets a lot of hail, the roof needs to be put in with an under layer of sheathing to prevent denting.

I wonder if the really good lumber is getting expensive, or if the cheap stuff stays the same price or gets cheaper. You could always go with engineered lumber or steel studs for a traditional home.

Michael

Christy I'm sorry you're feeling overwhelmed - it's certainly understandable with a project of this magnitude. Been there, done that.

We live in a berm home that's stress-concrete on a concrete slab. It has skylights - 6 large ones in the LR and 2 small ones in the kitchen, providing a lot of natural lighting and solar heat in the winter. The builder/previous owner made the doorways to the other rooms plenty wide to provide for better lighting, heating and cooling thruout the house.

The north end of the house is underground except for the last foot or so, with the south end completely exposed. The house is carpeted, except for the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen floor was just replaced with tile, which we love and really don't have a problem with it being too cold.

I was going to suggest you contact the commercial builders you mentioned to see if they know of anyone they could recommend to do a smaller job. Also consider placing an ad in the shoppers or small newspaper(s) in the area. Talk to the older, more established families in the area, the farmers, etc. You'd be surprised what a wealth of knowledge these people can be if they see you are sincerely interested in befriending them and learning from them.

Keep us posted.

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A neighbor build a concrete block house on a poured slab after their home burned. They wanted the security that concrete would bring.

They hated the results. Floors were rough on their feet and legs. The older they got the worse it was.

During the summer, the blocks absorbed heat. The result was exactly opposite of what they wanted. Late afternoon, the walls on the west side of the house were hot to the touch. All that heat radiated into the rooms. With NC's high humidity during the summer, it was like a sauna in their home.

Opposite in the winter. The exterior walls were COLD.

Then, there were smaller types of problems. Ever try to hang a picture on a concrete wall? Or, run another electrical circuit, when needed? Their floors were slippery when wet. If it was glass and it was dropped, it broke. Period. Shattered glass was routine. I've dropped many things, over the years, and most of the time, glass has survived the fall.

That couple would tell you, if they could, to stay away from a concrete block home as you can get. The ease of maintenance does not offset all the disadvantages they encountered in their home.

Please look into other options before making your final decision. Our home has aluminum siding. We've been in it since 1984. There's very little up keep. The main thing is renewing caulking around windows and such, as needed. You'll have to do the same thing in a concrete home. As far as I know, all caulking has to be renewed or touched up from time to time.

Just my 2-cents. I'm sure that some construction methods have changed since that couple built their home, so things may not be as bad today. I'd try to talk to people who actually live in them in your chosen area to try to get their honest opinions, pro and con.

Lee

Cold floors can be rectified with PEX piping laid down before the pour, hooked to a boiler. Works like a charm and many homes and garages have infloor heat here in Alaska.

If the structure is either hot or cold to the touch inside, depending on season, it was not properly insulated-including moisture barrier. Insulation on the outside of the concrete below ground level, and insulation either inside on the wall or contained within the blocks/walls above the ground. In areas with high heat, don't overlook simple solutions like cooling towers. Most concrete is sealed to prevent molds in living spaces these days, too. Being able to move air inside is important, so you may need to look at a passive way to do that, using the "heat rises and cold sinks" as a guide. I am sure there are tons of ways to do this (online) that you can research.

You can fir the inside walls with 2x whatever lumber and then drywall finish so that running electrical and hanging artwork is a breeze.

Any commercial builder that does specialized concrete should be able to do the structure for you, and may be able to recommend someone else to do the finish work. That is all the rough out plumbing, electrical, etc and then finish including trim and paint.

I can't stress how critical site prep is to concrete-your footprint needs to be absolutely correct and compacted properly.

Just my two cents' worth.

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Christy we lived in central Germany- colder and not too humid. The house was concrete forms I presume from seeing other homes built. We bought a special schlagborer (masonry drill) for putting up our pictures and stuff and never worried about that again (oh and put dubels- plastic/rubber receivers into the holes to expand and better hold the nails/screws- I've seen them here). It was not at all too cold- somehow properly built and insulated for that climate. We had rouladen- not the meat dish but rolling shutters- which helped keep the windows from bleeding heat winter nights. Haven't seen any in US.

So it has been done well, at least in Europe. If you end up making it up yourself (not finding a builder who has routinely done what you want) look to Europe for info as well as FL.

But I like you- why not retire in SE AL if family doesn't tie you to AR? Closer to FL and a retiring Navy CPT? Admiral? should be able to become my neighbor on more land than in AR... not that there are any properly built homes for sale but there's land!

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Don't know if this will help or not: http://www.cement.org/homes/ I tried the Ark map but it wouldn't come up for me

Heat or cold can be controlled with insulation so that shouldn't be a factor.

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Hi Christy
When we bought our homestead land, what the previous owner left for us was a half-way finished shell of a building with a concrete floor, 4 walls, but no roof.

Our first major homestead project was getting a roof on this building and converting it into our homestead cabin. I decided on a Cape-Cod style one and a half story cabin with a rafter roof.

I believe this is something along the lines of what you are talking about.

Pretty much everything people are saying about concrete is correct. Doing anything to the structure is a pain because of the problems working with concrete. Try to install a bathroom ABOVE a concrete floor. Oh Boy! Want to add a window for more light? That's on my list of things to do, but it's a MAJOR structural change!

The good news is that the building will be VERY fire resistant, especially with a metal roof, and I don't have to ever worry about termites, but concrete is just so hard to deal with. If you really want to be a DIY'er, then staying with "stick built" might be the way to go.

I didn't throughly read all of the posts, so forgive me if I am repeating. Don't through away a traditional framed building. The reason they don't last long is due to the builders cheap materials. If you get a builder that will let you pick your materials, then the house could last 100 years. Get concrete siding, lasts 100 years, and doesn't necessarly need painted. Metal roof, quality insulation, good fixtures, the list goes on and on. Most houses are cookie cutters, the builders get a discount on the cheep masonite siding, and the consumer doesn't know any better, so the buyer accepts it, and it needs a paint job in five years, and replaced in 10. Not to mention, everything needs maintained, even concrete. Most houses die due to lack of maintenance, and people not knowing better.

You might talk to these guys in Rogers, Ark. They do all kinds of energy efficient houses, including ICF.

http://www.stittenergy.com/

I'd second stitt energy in Rogers, AR. I bought my ICFs from them, and they were very helpful. The build homes and sell ICFs to others.

I have a friend who built 2 ICF houses here in GA. Let me make sure it is ok with him to give out the number and if he oks it, I will pm you with it. I insured both of these houses and would have lived in either one. The first one had 2 seperate living areas since he had one and his parents had a complete in law suite-with kitchen and all. Total incl. garage was around 4500 sq feet. His average power bill? $125

Aren't you pretty close to a fault line there for an area expecting a big one in the next 100 years? How far are you from memphis?