I have been reading your blog with great excitement and I am just so happy that you are doing what you dreamed of!!! My husband are in the "search for house year". We had no idea how difficult finding land in the middle of the city (Memphis) would be. Everywhere we turn there are historical zones and wildly expensive prices!!! We are getting close on two lots....

I love you boxy design!!! What will the outside skin be? Can you tell me more about your decision to use ICF? Would you recommend it? I think a few houses have used this method here in Memphis, but we will be once again entering into "unknown" territory. We are interested in using in slab heating also but are not sure how practical this is for Memphis with our short winters. Will your interior walls be concrete or sheetrock? Do you mind posting some of your costs/costs per square footage on the blog- it helps in trying to decipher this maddness! Is your upper floor to be poured concrete also?

Please keep us posted on your blog!!! You are achieving something we still dream of ....hopefully to fulfill in the near future....

Thanks! Good luck with your land search. We got extremely lucky with that aspect of the process.

I'm working on detailing the exterior right now. I'm planning on a combination of cement board with exposed fasteners and some type of corrugated metal.

Check this post for more details about our decison to go with ICF http://www.livemodern.com/Members/splatgirl/blog/ICF Honestly, I think it remains to be seen whether I would "recommend" ICF or not, but certainly the unique circumstances of every project would be need to be considered. I do believe we'll be thrilled with the end result. Both stories will be ICF.

The closer we get to occupancy, the better idea we'll have of an acutal cost per square foot. I can say that we're on target for slightly less than $100/sqft at present but I consider the house my interior design laboratory so what we move in with will likely be a very blank canvas in terms of finishes and details...perfect, IMO :)

I would encourage you to devote as much energy to educating yourself on the appropriateness and rationale of various construction options as you do to the search for land or any other component of the homebuilding process. I believe this is the only way we'll ever get the homebuilding industry to wake up and join the 21st century.

Good luck!