I'll look around for an engineering section, thanks Dougall.
Dr, I'm 'Smokie' to friends like you. Yes plans come from
Concrete Homes and other sources, but any home plans can easily be revised for ICF by thickening the outer walls out. Only catch is you can't build upper-level ICF walls which are not supported by ICF below.
Concrete in general, and ICF in particular, is a miracle. Nominal wall insulation is R-22, but this doesn't count the thermal mass of 6" of concrete and the fact that the house is practically air-tight. This means an effective insulation value of R-50.
I am moving toward completely fireproof construction, with steel stud interior walls, concrete-fiber exterior siding (50 year warranty), and steel roof trusses with concrete-board sheathing and concrete-fiber shingles.
Insoylation in the rafters, for structural enhancement. Fireproof and seismic-safe... a 'box of rock'. With care, I could qualify them for LEED Platinum, although LEED is just too expensive in Seattle, as I've bitched in other threads, so sticking with Energy-Star and BuiltGreen.
You have to be careful with ICF brands though, as some are cheep. Also some companies make good product, but have poor support, like
Amvic. Good products are
Logix and
Arxx.
ICF is something you can build yourself, so no framers needed. It takes less time than framing for an experienced crew, the finished home costs 5%-8% more to build, and should last from 500 to 700 years. As to disaster-proof,
put this in your pipe and smoke it.
More knowledge at +
ICF Builder+, the
ICF Assoc and
Concrete Thinker.
Also recently solved a technical issue with water, and now have a comprehensive water conservation system plan, but that's a whole 'nother story.
I need the best solution for decks though.