Location: Diver Lake, Nanaimo BC
Size: 5800 sq. ft.
Bedroom #: 6
Bathroom #: 6
Start date: October, 2012
Completed date: July, 2013
Q: What were the particular challenges in building a concrete home?
A: Surprisingly, finding builders and contractors that were willing to try new ideas was a challenge. Also the planning was essential,as it is very difficult to make changes after the concrete has been poured.
Q: How many cubic yards of concrete did it take?
A: Well it took 320 in footings and walls and 270 in the roof (590 in total) That a is whole lot of concrete!
Q: Cost wise, do you think it was more or less expensive to build with concrete opposed to a frame based structure?
A: It was more expensive for sure. About 15%, but with Nanaimo’s new building codes it should be less than 5% more expensive moving forward.
Q: What kind of systems did you include in the home?
A: We put in a geothermal system to do our heating and cooling as well as 2 HRV’s to keep the air clean. We heat through radiant pipes in the concrete floor and we use cold water over air handlers which cool the house in the warmer months.
Q: What are the heating costs like?
A: Our cost for Hydro was just over $1000.00 for the year to heat and cool our house, including the 3 car garage. That’s less than $100 a month for over 6000 square feet of space.
Q: How comfortable is it?
A: VERY! Each room has the ability to heat and cool independently, and we are able to maintain the ambient temperature with little to no effort at all. One of the other things we have unexpectedly found is that the house is very quiet, we do not hear any of the outside noises at all. If you are a lite sleeper this is awesome, nothing to wake you up! We have also noticed that we have had no drywall cracks or screw pops because the house does not move or shrink like a house built with a traditional wood frame.
Q: Given the chance, would you build another concrete house?
A: Absolutely, without a doubt! Overall, we are extremely happy with the decision to build a concrete home. The ROI will take a while to accumulate with the saving on our hydro, but the maintenance costs will be next to nothing moving forward as there is nothing to rot or reseal. This house even keeps out the bugs that inevitably find paths into a regular house.
For more information on building with concrete check out these resources:
Residential Construction Association: http://www.cement.ca/en/Residential-Construction.html
The Concrete Network : http://www.concretenetwork.com/
The Concrete Choice: http://www.readymixconcretesuppliers.ca/residential-concrete-information.html