Tim Alsop

I found that my architect had no experience of using ICF and was asking similar questions, but when i gave him answers he was happy with the way forward. I took him to visit my chosen ICF vendor so he could see the product and understand it better.

This is one of the reasons why I decided to use Velox instead of an ICF that uses polystyrene. The Velox product has a hydrophobic acoustic wood/cement composite board that is 35mm thick on inside walls (and also on outside for fixing cladding) and you can fix to this anywhere and no need to worry about fixing points. The Durisol product is similar since it also doesn't use polystyrene, but I preferred Velox due to having continuous concrete layer inside instead of honeycomb like would be the case with Durisol. They are both very good products though.

I talked to 2 builders who specialise in ICF and who have both used many ICF products (including Durisol) but they prefer Velox. I also spoke with a family who has built their house using Velox and their builder wasn't initially familiar with it, so got trained and then said they liked it very much and would consider using it again instead of some other ICF product. This gave me the confidence in the product that I was looking for. No problem with warranty or insurance - it is ETA certified which I understand is EU specific and accepted in UK. BBA is UK specific so product doesn't need to be BBA and ETA approved (at least before Brexit). The product also has LABC and Registered Detail with Local Building Control. Disclaimer: I recently found the thread on here about it not having BBA which concerned me, so I asked Velox to comment, and I have shared what they told me. So, I am not concerned about insurance or warranty. Also, people I have talked with who have a finished house that was using Velox said insurance, mortgage, warranty etc. were not any issue for them.

Yes, the first thing I did when I found this forum was to search for velox so I found that thread and since it was old I decided to start my own thread asking about Velox.

The fact that some builders who use ICF and didn't know about Velox and it's advantages over the other products does concern me especially as I am planning to use it for my build. This is why I wanted to make this post on here to get some real world experiences shared.

You can find my plans on https://publicaccess.hart.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=P3GZVBHZH1Z00

Also, I posted in two places on this forum because I wanted to get some help with using Velox as a build system and thought that starting this thread would be good and also I posted on an ICF comparison thread which I found didn't mention Velox so wondered if the person who created it was aware of Velox. No hidden agenda - sorry for posting twice if that concerns you.

This is most definitely not spam. It is a genuine question since I know the number of builders who know about Velox is limited and I wanted to find those that do know about it and have used it to share their experiences. I might find something I wasn't aware of.

I got planning in July. I am now doing research and making decisions on products/trades to use.

I am in Hampshire and I got planning permission in July this year so now I am doing research to find trades/products to build my house. I know Velox is one of the less known ICF products and I have come across other self builders who didn't know about it when they were choosing a build system. I spent over 12 months looking at different products and I found Velox to be the best for me. I like the fact you have a finished wood internal wall for fixing to, whereas the ICF systems that use polystyrene don't have this ability without special fixing points. I spoke with a fewf builders and they said they prefer Velox to other ICF products. I also like the fact that Velox have their own floor system which can span upto 12m gaps which will be useful for my project.

You should add Velox to this list. It is similar to Durisol in that there is no polystyrene outer and inner wall and has superior acoustic properties. http://www.velox-systems.co.uk/

I am on start of a self-build journey. I have never built a house before and like Velox ICF. Has anybody else used this product ? What do you think of it ?