Green DIY construction in Indiana

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Permalink Reply by John Hillenburg on February 25, 2008 at 6:01pm

I have experience with ICF home construction. I have been a concrete foundation and above grade concrete contractor since 1993. ICF construction is marketed as a "user friendly" approach to building your own home, because of the lightweight foam forms. The complicated part of the ICF building process is the placement of the concrete into the forms, this is definately not an area for novices. The bracing and shoring required for actual concrete placement into ICF's is substantial to obtain optimal results. Concrete blowouts in corners and unbraced areas is common. The ICF concept has been accepted in the Norhtern states where R26 insulation in walls is useful. The main problem with ICF's are that by the time you buy the forms and pay a professional to install and fill them, the cost can be 40-50% higher than a conventional concrete wall provided by a poured wall contractor, without the insulation. What we are doing, is using conventional pour-in-place aluminum concrete forms to form the walls, and incorporating 2" thick extruded styrofoam on the inside and outside of the concrete center, the foam is attached permanently to the concrete with special fasteners. The exterior is ready for vinyl siding, brick or stucco, or waterproofing and backfilling if below grade. The interior is ready for drywall, after using a hotknife to groove out your paths for electrical wiring and plumbing.. The reason this is more effective for us, is because we do not need to buy the expensive forms, that you use only once, and we obtain the same R value , at a lower cost to the homeowner. The main reason this is cheaper, is because we can pass the cost savings of reusing the forms on to the end customer. I am going to be starting an all concrete above grade home this spring, with an R26 outside wall rating, that is 150-200mph wind rated and a 4 hour burn rating (these homes heat for 70-80% less than conventional construction with a high efficiency heat pump. If you add a geo-thermal system, the cost per month is minimal at best. I will keep everyone posted with pictures on how it goes up. These 2000 sq ft homes wll heat and cool for practically nothing. I am considering using radiant heat in the concrete floors as well, via pex lines.

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Permalink Reply by Ron James on February 28, 2008 at 10:26am

I built my PAHS north of Fort Wayne in 1993. DIY may be ok but do have your plans checked by a good engineer to layout the structure (rebar, etc). It seems odd that you're going to the trouble of PAHS, even adding a sand pit for mass, yet are cutting off your principal (and free) mass of your concrete & surrounding back fill by insulating your walls. Of course, if you're only referring to your southern exposure, insulated pillars (John H's technique would work there) leave more room for windows & later renovations or additions. Take care, too, as the original PAHS were put out west in dry country - pay a lot of attention to drainage, drainable material in your backfill & mass, and your installed drains.
I had my concrete done by Davis Caves out of Armington, Illinois. They have an "earth fair" (essentially 'open house' at several of their homes plus other Earth Day-type vendors and kid's activities) every spring for a quick day intro into earth sheltered home construction in the midwest. Check their website. Check out my photos and I'll post up a shot or two of my PAHS.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Wilcher on February 28, 2008 at 3:42pm

I have been reading everything green lately over the net and found this development currently underway downtown. http://www.ecosource-inc.com/documents/cvpressreleasejuly2007.pdf. Joe Shoemaker has a ning site titled indygreen.ning.com. Another green house that fits in the category of extreme green would be the giant in pendleton. http://www.giantearthship.com/thegiant.htm

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Permalink Reply by Ron James on February 29, 2008 at 10:37am

The "Giant" appears truly amazing, if extreme. Not sure what I'd do with a house over 200' long but for such a structure his cost of operation is admirably low.

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