Insulated Concrete Forms

Just a note about our foundation. As you can see from the plan for the house, the foundation is kind of an "s": the three walls of the house (the fourth wall is panelized in the factory) and two retaining walls for the parking pad. We explored using an ICF like Superior Walls, which seem to have some pretty good upsides, but because they can't be used as retaining walls we still would have had to pour concrete (or come up with another option like Allen Block). So it didn't make sense for us. (A cost comparison is difficult - the ICFs cost a little more, but they give you better insulation and often come studded and ready for drywall.) But you can read more about why it might be a good choice at GreenOptions (with some different opinions down at the bottom).