Alta. builder says his ICF foundations have coped well with floods

Last week, we had a post from contractor Bill McCance, Mayne Island, BC, urging more contractors to switch to ICFs over wood-frame construction. He said that he hoped there were lots of ICF builds in the Fort McMurray reconstruction. High River, Alta. contractor Jeff Rempel posted the following response to Bill, this week…

“Excellent points about ICFs. I hope builders in Fort Mac heed this wisdom.

As a builder in High River, Alberta, where floods devastated several thousand homes in 2013, I can say with absolute certainty that ICF is a standout product. We have built with ICF foundations exclusively for over a decade. Every one of the over 50 flooded ICF foundations passed engineering after the flood, and over half of those were under water for three weeks or more. We ‘gutted’ and remediated dozens of basements, both ICF and conventional concrete and frame. ICF were faster and more efficient to clean out and rebuild. Perhaps most importantly, they statistically outperformed conventional basements in terms of indoor air quality after being professionally remediated. Conventional homes often needed to be cleaned multiple times over months as the mold kept coming back if it wasn’t done thoroughly the first time.

We’ve been cost-neutral building with ICF for several years now, providing a significantly better product for the same price as our competitors. Good for builders, good for clients, good for communities.

I definitely sleep better at night because of it. Though that may just be the rest that comes from such incredible comfort and low utility bills that an ICF basement provide. Thanks for spreading the word.”

Jeff Rempel