ICF or Durisol for large garage?

[Pabbles]

Hi everyone.

 

I'm getting ready to build a 12m x 9m garage.

 

It will have two roller shutter doors, one personnel door and one window. The roof will be steel, vaulted beams with insulated corrugated sheet on top. So, nothing fancy - but quite large.

 

I have been getting portal steel (insulated) building prices and they are very high. I'm about to employ a draftsperson to make some drawings so that I can get a rendered block-built quote (single skin with piers), which would be my preference over steel, but I know I will need to insulate it internally for both temperature and for noise (power tools).

 

I thought I had a healthy budget, with a bit of careful management, at £30k. But the steel building prices have blown that budget out of the water and I suspect block built through a builder will be equally high.

 

I would describe myself as being very handy. I build cars and fabricate as a hobby, I have renovated two houses in the past 5 years and have done the majority of work myself - but know my weaknesses: plastering, electrical work (legally) and neat joinery (while I fit my own kitchens, I prefer to have a joiner do my skirtings and doors). I have never laid blocks or bricks and wouldn't try it.

 

So, I'm tentatively interested in ICF buildings. My understanding is that paying a builder to use block or ICF makes very little difference. But given the eave height of my new garage is only 2.5m and 4m peak at the gables - I keep coming back to the idea that doing the ICF walls myself might not be a daft idea.

 

It would save me significant hassle in terms of building labour and high labour costs and I'd only need to use zip up scaffolding for the gable peaks. It also would be better insulated than a single skin wall. If the hype is true then laying the blocks between concrete pumps and curing times (depending on brand) could be a matter of days of relatively pain-free work.

 

ICF has always struck me as a great idea that failed to take off, but now I'm rethinking.

 

Am I mad?

 

If not, is there a company that is more highly recommended than others these days? Durisol seem to have pros (good prices, training available and less rebar needed, if I've understood correctly) and cons (they were previously in administration and customer services seems iffy) but I haven't got much much further with other brands.

 

My ideal would be a firm that could look at my block drawings and advise the products and processes needed to replicate this in ICF as well as being good value block-for-block/requiring sensible amounts of reinforcement. I'd be rendering it anyway, even if it is in block.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Pabbles

[Pabbles]

I think I can close this now.

 

We have looked at all options - initially decided on steel, got six quotes which were all incredibly high - block was higher still and have eventually settled on a beautiful 4-bay oak framed building which is actually cheaper than either solution. The drawings are being finalised now.