AAC, ICF, or SIP?

[mahfuz]

I am planning to build a house in East Texas (Tyler) area. Any one have any advice, experience with AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks, ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) blocs, and or SIP (Structural Insulated Panel)?
I am interested in strength, energy efficiency, termite proofing, cost, and of course availability of dealer/builder in the near vicinity.

So far what I have found is
1. AAC: Solid yet very light concrete blocks. Termite proof, fire proof, strong, does not need extra insulation. Outside can be stucco, inside painted or dry walled. No luck finding any local dealer/builder
2. ICF: Foam blocks with hollow middle to pour concrete in. Have to put protective finishes on both inside and outside. Found few dealers nearby.
3. SIP: A ridigid foam core sandwiched between two hard sides, usually made from OSB or fiber cement board. For Texas area I would have to put brick or other strong siding to make it strong enough for tornados. Found local builder/dealer.

All of them have very good insulation property, design flexibility for any kind of house, etc.

Also any one had any experience with concrete roof tiles? supposedly with 100 years warranty.

I would appreciate any inputs.

[siliconbauhaus]

I'd go with SIP's or ICF mate. Either way you'd want to put a finish on both sides.

With the correct anchors installed SIPS should be much more resistant to tornado's than a stick frame. ICF's would be pretty much bulletproof.

If I was choosing between the 2 I'd opt for SIPS

[linear]

We designed an ICF house, which we then subsequently built with 2x6 framing instead. The high points of that experience:

* There are design limitations with ICF--you can't have exterior walls unsupported on a second story, for example. That drives some design considerations, so not just any plan can be built in ICF.

* The exterior wall thickness drives up the cost of the entire project in ways we didn't foresee. For example, the plumber bid $1.85/sq ft. (gross) to do the job, but the extra-thick exterior walls put a penalty on any trade that bids this way instead of doing a takeoff.

* Availability of contractors is an issue as you've identified. You should talk to the distributors for the system you want to use to get names of guys using that, then go look at their projects.

On the other building tech questions, as a general matter, I found builders to be very unwilling to try anything new. If they are willing, they want to cover their own butts extensively. The guy knows exactly how many callbacks he gets on whatever water heater he usually puts in, so he won't entertain the notion of putting in the cool hi-tech one you saw on teevee, even if you are willing to pay for it.

We wound up backing away from almost every innovative technology thing we designed into our house. If being innovative is critical to you, you need to find a cooperative contractor, and be prepared to spend more than a typical amount per square foot to get your project done.

[siliconbauhaus]

Are you planning the whole house in ICF or the basment? ICF is usually used as a basement method.

I think with SIPS you'll have a lot less aggro. Usually the mfr has their own instalation crew so you can bypass the CG for that part. If its designed correctly with everything thought out (as it should be) you should have too much of an issue with plumbing/electrical.

I totally agree with the comment that CG's hate anything new. Thats why houses these days still have the same crappy designs as 100 years ago. If it's not on the shelf at teh local store they dont want to know.

[DUD]

I don't know about concrete roof tiles, but red clay tiles last a very long time. My Brother has them on His home and they have lasted over 100 years. Bill