A waste of space

[mbbailey]

I would have to disagree on the design flexibility of ICFs. Our company designs solely for ICFs, and nothing more.

Matt

Matt,

My comments about ICFs were not meant to imply that complicated designs were not buildable. My concern was that they take more time and money to build than stick framing with the same design and the more complicated the wall design, the larger the difference in cost.

Along these same lines and to bring us back to the basic topic, I designed a house in Chico, California using ICFs and incorporated a concrete ceiling/roof with parapet railings around the top. The roof was going to be used for outdoor activities in the evening in place of a patio. Access was to be provided from the second story game room over the garage. The interior and exterior walls were quite able to support the roof and this design allowed more green space around the house. My understanding is that this technique is used in larger buildings in places like New York, but I have not seen it used much in residential design. It fits pretty well with mission style and the cost is not that much more than a pitched roof. When you add the cost of a traditional roof and patio you may break even. This idea would be a big plus if your property costs are real high.

[browndrafting]

Absolutely.

We are doing more and more concrete walkouts on coastal houses here.

It's still more expensive up front, but the maintanence costs, longterm, are far less.

Matt