Architect advice

[Leef]

Hello all,

I've been learning so much about the process of home building following this forum. My wife and I were prepared to start construction two years ago but got diverted by several circumstances as follows:

1. could we be our own general contractor?

2. the local contractors' bids seemed high because they weren't familiar with insulated concrete forms ( ICF ).

3. the plans we had drawn by a draghtsman ( good quality but he was not an architect ) were inaccurate on the cross sections where the ICF had a brickledge on the inside for floor trusses to sit on. He had never drawn for an entire house made with ICF.

4. We had our third child in less than five years the summer we would have broken ground [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] .

For these reasons, we shopped around and found a house five minutes away from our acreage and we're content. However, as material prices seem to be increasing and interest rates will likely soon climb I'm feeling compelled to get busy trying to get our home built out in the country where we want the kids to grow up.

We've pulled out the old plans and now we've changed our minds about some pretty big parts of the plan (ie more bedrooms, a walkout basement, and move the garage from the north side to the east side ) which were drawn inaccurately anyway [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] .

So we're back to the drawing board - literally. Because of our experience and questions so far, I've decided we should start with an architect who's familiar with home building and ICF. I've asked everyone I know who has built a home, but none have used an architect; they've either bought plans out of a book or the general contractor has done the drawings themselves. I have several good GC to choose from, but none have built with ICF ( and don't seem too excited to vary from their standard practice ) and my wife and I haven't found anything even close to what we want for out acreage on the internet or in a book.

I'm 90% sure which ICF I'll use, but haven't approached them yet because I don't even have a drawing to show them.

I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and time is ticking away. Tomorrow I'm going to just open the phone book and start making some calls. Many on the this forum have built custom homes with ICF : How do you get started? Any advice on choosing an architect for a 2500 sq ft ranch with a walkout basement? Does anybody know of a good architect in the Des Moines Iowa area [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] ?

Thanks in advance

Leef

[GaryM]

My wife and I are just moving into our new place.

Built with ICFs and SIPs for the exterior walls. It will save you time and money if you can get someone experienced with ICFs. The ICF manufacturers all can provide training, but training plus experience is better.

Could you contact the ICF manufacturers and see if they have a list of those in your area who've built with their product?

Re: the brick ledge. We have brick ledge supporting the basement floor, concrete, but the floor trusses hang over the top of the ICF wall and rest on a sill plate. The trusses are held to the sill plate with brackets made by Simpson. Here's a photo http://www.w0gom.net/photo51.htm

[JazzDad]

Hey, Leef. We looked at plans for about 2 years. Books, internet and the stuff builders had. We finally took the elements we wanted from various plans and drew up a rough sketch. We then took this to the designer our builder works with. Although not perfect, it was very good. And now, as the trades are doing their thing in the actual house, a few minor details are changing. But we've come to understand that these folks do their thing every day. They know better than our guess of what would be best. I've had my mind changed a number of times, when they explain why they do something a particular way. So, Gary's suggestion is good: ask the manufacturer to give you some names. And the people who can do the ICFs may give you a good name or two for the CG.
The small number of things we are trying to do, along with the stuff we have to do (like picking out colors, fixtures, etc.) AND working full time is not easy. I could not imagine trying to GC it myself.

[Leef]

JazzDad,

That sounds kinda like our situation; some various ideas but no overall plan. However, it sounds like you had a builder in mind to go straight to - to bring it all together. I'm hoping to develop a plan which I can put out to various builders for competetive bids.

Gary, I didn't think of contacting the manufactures. I have spoken with a few contractors who are contracted to different ICF makers, but I don't want to mislead any of them by implying a promise to use their forms especially if I ask them to develop my floor plan and plans.

That's kinda the crux of my situation: Are the ICf contractors considered the General contractor or are they considered a Sub contractor? If they are the GC, then I'm keeping my distance so I can shop around (but I don't have any plans to shop around with ). If they are a subcontractor, then they need some drawings to analyze and use to make a bid. Which still leaves me looking for a GC to bring it all together. The problem here is that most GC I've met locally seem to discourage ICF use [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] .

So I think I'm going to look for an architect who can make the floor plan and drawings based on our requests - which are drawn generically for ICF construction. With these in hand, I can interview multiple ICF and General contractors to make the best decision and hopefully get the best prices.

Are there any downsides to using an architect beside the upfront cost?

Leef

[GaryM]

My GC did the ICF work himself. We used Arxx and he attended their training class before starting.

It went smoothly, but slower than I'd have liked because he was working mostly by himself. An extra two persons would have been better.

I was there when we did the pour. Let me tell you that standing at the bottom of a 10' styrofoam wall as they're pumping in concrete makes you start looking for a place to run if it starts to blow out. But we had no problems. 48 cu yds of concrete in the walls.

[Leef]

Gary,

It's amazing that styrofoam ( nay polystyrene ) can support that much pressure. Was your GC working alone the day of the pour? A blow out sounds like a nightmare, but I know the manufactures give advice re: how to manage this too.

I'm not familiar with Arxx, but I'm still shopping so I'll look into it. I should look at your website; I've read about it several times. Who did your drawings? Did you get bids?

Around here, standard construction builds homes for $115 - $140 per square foot. How much did ICF add to your building cost if I may ask?

Leef

[GaryM]

We bought an energy efficnt house package from "Stitt Energy Systems" out of Rogers AK. There's a link on my website.

They will do your plans, based on your ideas or an existing set you wish to modify. Then they supply the energy shell.

That includes the following:
ICFs
SIP (Structural Insulated Panels)
Floor and roof trusses
Subfloor and roof decking
All material for interior wall structures, studs and headers
Ceiling insulation
Vented soffet material
Roof ridge vents
Exterior siding, currently Certainteed Weather boards
Composit trim material, currently Miratech
Windows and exterior doors, but not garage doors
Decking material, Geodeck, if in the design

If part of your plan, they supply:

a Metland "on demand" hot water system
Solar water heater for domestic hot water
An energy recovery ventilator
High efficency wood burning stove or fireplace

You supply a GC and subs for assembly, excavation, plumbing, HVAC, drywall, paint, electrical, etc.

You can see my project at www.w0gom.net

I'll be glad to answer any questions.

[JazzDad]

Re: The problem here is that most GC I've met locally seem to discourage ICF use.

This would only be natural. If they haven't worked with ICFs before, they would not want to take on the potential liability. You will want someone experienced, and if you can't find that, get someone who has the same enthusiasm as you. But make sure they get trained, and are insured.

[Pat]

Hey Leef!

www.concretehomesmagazine.com

The classified adds in the back are worth the price of a subscription. You can take a look at some of the articles on-line and you'll see you want this. There is an on-line interactive builder directory on their home page to help you find builders who cover your area.

I also recommend the "Home Energy" magazine.

"Home Energy magazine’s mission is to disseminate objective and practical information on residential energy efficiency, performance, comfort, and affordability. It is the only magazine that thoroughly covers residential comfort issues from the only approach that really works, systems engineering."

http://www.homeenergy.org/

or email contact@homeenergy.org

Home Energy magazine is published in six bimonthly issues per year by Energy Auditor & Retrofitter, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

The concept of applying SYSTEMS ENGINEERING to home building and performance is THE WAY TO GO but doesn't happen very well very often if there isn't an informed passionate advocate in a decision making role in the homebuilding process.

Good luck, hope some of this helps. Please please issue status reports so your friends here can vicariously experience your process and kibitz along the way.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]