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I attached a few pics of our house as it was being built. All the outside walls from top to bottom are what you see. You can google eco blocks and read a little more if you wish. This makes your whole home much safer and your electric bills much lower.

They stack the blocks together and lay rebar vertically and horizontally and fill them with concrete. The builder I used does all of his foundations using the eco blocks even when building a typical wood framed home. He used typical cinder blocks for the porch.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Josh

If I ever build, that is what I am going to do right there.
I have heard that you can get a R22 rating in the walls with that stuff.
And, a direct hit by a tornado will only take the roof off (granted, that still sucks, just sucks less).

Thats cool. Josh, will you be able to tell from the outside or inside that it's not traditional frame construction?

Are they running studs to the interior of those walls for wires, ducts, etc. So, basically you have a double wall?

The house was finished last fall. You cannot tell from the outside or inside that it's any different. The walls are several inches thicker than a traditional built home. The thickness is noticeable at the windows and doors.

I try to tell everyone that's thinking about building a house at some point to really consider building this way...and I don't have any stock in the compay

I'd be glad to send pics of inside or outside if you would like to see.

My uncle in Gulfport has a house like this. Super quiet and well insulated. Oh and he lives off Cowan Laraine and stayed during the storm. Tore the roof up, but thats it. Everything else just hosed off. I was worried about it sinking after the surge more than anything else. If I build and the $sq/ft allows, I will do it. With a saferoom/gun room built in.

Josh Bright wrote:The house was finished last fall. You cannot tell from the outside or inside that it's any different. The walls are several inches thicker than a traditional built home. The thickness is noticeable at the windows and doors.

So what does it look like around the doors/windows? Wonder what you do if you're building 1.5 stories with dormers, guess the upstairs just gets blown away like a frame structure?

farmerc83 wrote:

Josh Bright wrote:The house was finished last fall. You cannot tell from the outside or inside that it's any different. The walls are several inches thicker than a traditional built home. The thickness is noticeable at the windows and doors.

So what does it look like around the doors/windows? Wonder what you do if you're building 1.5 stories with dormers, guess the upstairs just gets blown away like a frame structure?

When we go down to the river house I'll show you my uncles. It has the first floor and then steal plates seperating the first two floors and the second floor is built on top of it. Dormers are on the roof and get blown away. Exterior walls are the same and built straight up with all the other the complete height of the structure. Alot of the interior walls are built straight up for both floors to reduce engineering another wall that is just on the second floor.

I put a safe room/gun/hunting junk room in a house we built last year, cost me about $3,500. Got block walls and a 4" slab roof all tied to slab with rebar. Air duct and lights on cieling and sheet rock walls on inside. its about a 12' x 8' and still could be bigger. Custom made the door with steel bars and expanded metal. Put a regular closet door infont of steel door. I would recomend it to anyone just for the peace of mind during bad weather.

BIDDY wrote:I put a safe room/gun/hunting junk room in a house we built last year, cost me about $3,500. Got block walls and a 4" slab roof all tied to slab with rebar. Air duct and lights on cieling and sheet rock walls on inside. its about a 12' x 8' and still could be bigger. Custom made the door with steel bars and expanded metal. Put a regular closet door infont of steel door. I would recomend it to anyone just for the peace of mind during bad weather.

I think this is along the lines of what i would like to do. Was the $3500 total cost or your cost after gov't rebates?

farmerc83 wrote:

Josh Bright wrote:The house was finished last fall. You cannot tell from the outside or inside that it's any different. The walls are several inches thicker than a traditional built home. The thickness is noticeable at the windows and doors.

So what does it look like around the doors/windows? Wonder what you do if you're building 1.5 stories with dormers, guess the upstairs just gets blown away like a frame structure?

Looks the same as any other house. I was just saying you can tell at the windows and doors the walls are much thicker than normal.

ICF's are the way to go, and my house will be built with them. We have built about 20 houses and several small commercial projects using them and are currently being used on my sister's house.....no brainer if you are looking for durability and efficiency. There is no equal that I have ever seen. Most have a 200mph wind rating and I can't exacly remember the R-rating, but it is far superior to anything else out there. They make the most sense in a house that you plan to be in for a while. This gives you a little time to recover the extra cost.

I dont want to speak on Biddy's behalf but he told me the other day he didn't get any gov't rebate.

country_20boy wrote:

BIDDY wrote:I put a safe room/gun/hunting junk room in a house we built last year, cost me about $3,500. Got block walls and a 4" slab roof all tied to slab with rebar. Air duct and lights on cieling and sheet rock walls on inside. its about a 12' x 8' and still could be bigger. Custom made the door with steel bars and expanded metal. Put a regular closet door infont of steel door. I would recomend it to anyone just for the peace of mind during bad weather.

I think this is along the lines of what i would like to do. Was the $3500 total cost or your cost after gov't rebates?