Homecrete Homes featured in Stuart News/TC Palm/Vero Beach Article
Builders, owners rethink how to make homes stronger
Aug 20, 2006
By GRETEL SARMIENTOgretel.sarmiento@scripps.com
August 20, 2006
PORT ST. LUCIE — When Thomas Kergaravat started searching for a new home, he was willing to pay a little bit more for peace of mind.
"You can hear the wind outside, but you have a safe feeling because you know the building was designed to take that," said Kergaravat. "You don't have to worry as much."
Kergaravat, who purchased his home for $170,800 in 2003, joins a growing segment of Treasure Coast residents who are buying structurally reinforced homes that are built above and beyond Florida building codes.
Even if it means spending more money for the home, buyers say it's worth the initial investment.
"Who in Florida doesn't want the most resistant home?" said Marcos Bracero, who choose to buy a $280,000 home in Port St. Lucie from Stuart-based Homecrete Homes Inc.
Bracero said he choose Homecrete because the company builds walls with insulated concrete forms. The 8-inch thick walls are reinforced with steel bars and are expected to withstand 250 mph winds. Florida residential building codes require homes to withstand 150 mph winds.
"Most people that are looking for safety are willing to pay the money," said Don Santos, former president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association and president of Santos Construction.
Homecrete is working on a second-story model which, unlike standard houses with a wood-framed second floor, would be made with insulated concrete form walls. Eventually, Homecrete hopes to modify the technology of the walls to construct roofs. Homecrete's roofs currently are made with shingles and wood trusses. For now, most buyers upgrade to a cement tile roof, which costs about $10,000 more than a standard roof.
"We felt more secure with concrete," said Bracero who lives with his wife and 9-month-old baby in the new home.
Jeff Alexander, CEO of ICF Solutions Inc., parent company of Homecrete, said in addition to being fire-resistant, his homes reduce exterior noise and the insulated material cuts heating and cooling bills.
Other homeowners say along with safety, they see other benefits to a home built with insulated concrete forms.
John Fritz, a Homecrete homeowner in Stuart, has not seen his first utility bill. But he already can feel the benefits of a new addition to his house, a $16,000 two-story garage with insulated concrete form walls.
"Now, in the heat we can work upstairs without having the A.C. on," Fritz said. "We don't even sweat."
