The residence at 511 Craigmohr in West Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is an excellent example of ICF and timber frame hybrid construction.

Gregg Yanke, owner of Nothing But Concrete, Ltd., served as general contractor, ICF installer, and architect. He says, “This is a high-end home which is both efficient and airtight. It’s clean, healthy, quiet, comfortable and very sustainable, and has been marketed as such.”

Breathtaking views of downtown Vancouver are visible form the back deck.

He continues, “The relevance of the project to the neighborhood is, we showed that one can build a concrete home which is a beautiful home and not a concrete box. Nobody can tell it’s made from concrete just by looking at it.”

The owners were already familiar with ICFs when they approached Yanke with this project. They had used a different brand of ICF on a previous project, but chose to use Fox Blocks on this one, due to the superior sales and technical support and reduced waste because of the reversible interlock.

Yanke designed a ICF/timber-frame hybrid with classic Craftsman-style lines. From the front, it appears to be a single-story bungalow with a finished attic—deceiving for a home that actually has just less than 5,200 sq. ft. The lot is situated on the side of a mountain with more than 50 feet of elevation change from the front of the home to the back property line. The rear view of the house reveals a three-level home, with a patio off the walk-out basement, a deck and outdoor pool off the main level, and a large balcony off the third story. All three stories have large windows to take in the spectacular view over English Bay and downtown Vancouver. The deck railings are made of tempered glass so they don’t interfere with the view.

The secret to the large windows is a series of interior lateral sheer walls for stability.

Building such a home obviously presented challenges. Yanke says, “The home is built on a large rock on the side of a mountain. There are nine different floor levels, each with its own radiant hydronic heat zone.” The floors are a mix of wooden Truss Joists and suspended slabs. The timber-frame roof has a six point intersecting roof line. Some areas have hipped roofs, otherwise, ICFs were used to form the 35 degree gable ends. ICF walls support a number of classic Craftsman-style architectural flourishes, such as concrete lintels, benches, and granite caps suspended from the core of the ICF wall.

The home also features state-of-the art energy conservation measures. In addition to ICF and hydronic heat, it uses a Unico high velocity HVAC with an HRV system. EPS thermal barriers were installed below grade to reduce heat loss, and ICF travels behind all rim boards to reduced thermal conductivity.

To ensure the deep foundation walls stay dry, the home uses a combination of Kryton’s KIM crystalline concrete waterproofing admixture, Rub-R-Wall spray-applied membrane, and Cosella’s Delta MS dimple sheet for drainage.

While the home is protected from Vancouver’s wet climate, the builders were not. Yanke describes it as “Brutal weather. Rain, rain and more rain.” During the month-long ICF install, the area received 11 inches of rain.

The finished home is remarkably affordable—Yanke calls it “a concrete dream home on a wood-frame budget,”—coming in at just over $200/sq. ft.

The owners are ecstatic, as the cost was within budget, maintenance and utility costs are minimal, and they’ve found the home extremely comfortable. The ICF walls will stand up to the harsher elements for generations, which traditional construction cannot do.