In the past, basements were considered little more than glorified cellars: dark, damp areas used primarily for storage and utility purposes. However, with today's innovative construction techniques and rising real estate prices, adding a basement to your new build can significantly increase your home equity and provide additional usable living space.

Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction pairs well with this concept, and creates safe, energy-efficient spaces perfect for media rooms, family playrooms, exercise rooms, and more. In this article, we will explore the benefits of incorporating a full ICF basement into your new build and how it can lead to a substantial return on investment.

The Advantages of Adding a Basement

Adding a basement has significant advantages that can drive not only an attractive return on investment, but can also make your home more enjoyable, and safer, for your family.

Increased Home Equity

One of the primary benefits of adding a basement to your new build is the potential for increased home equity. For example, consider a 1,500 sqft slab-on-grade home with an appraised value of $400,000, amounting to $267 per sq. ft. of living space. By adding a 1,500 sq. ft. basement, the total living space is doubled to 3,000 sq. ft. With the added value of a full ICF basement, it's reasonable to assume that the new appraised value of the home would be significantly higher than the initial cost of constructing the basement.

According to recent evaluations, the home equity improvement can be approximately 40% over the construction costs for a basic full basement and about 50% over the construction costs for a walk-out daylight basement with a bathroom. This means that homeowners can enjoy a considerable return on their investment, while also reaping the benefits of additional living space.

More Usable Living Space

By incorporating a full ICF basement, homeowners can create more functional living spaces without expanding horizontally. The additional space can be utilized for various purposes, such as media rooms, family playrooms, exercise rooms, home offices, or even additional bedrooms. These versatile spaces can be tailored to meet the specific needs and preferences of the homeowner, to further increase the value of the property.

Improved Energy Efficiency

ICF construction, like Fox Blocks, is known for its energy-efficient properties. ICF basements provide excellent insulation, and will keep the space warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

ICF blocks naturally prevent thermal bridging, a phenomenon where fasteners like nails allow heat to move easily through insulation. The prevention of thermal bridging results in substantial improvements to energy efficiency and building longevity. This not only creates a comfortable living environment, but also leads to reduced energy consumption and lower utility bills.

ICF blocks also have a great deal of thermal mass due to the concrete in the walls. The concrete heats and cools slowly, and holds a large amount of energy. Even if the temperature swings wildly outside, the concrete walls dampen the temperature swings to keep the interior at a comfortable condition.

Enhanced Safety

Another advantage of ICF basements is the added safety they provide. With their strong, reinforced concrete walls, ICF basements can double as safe rooms during extreme weather events or other emergencies. This additional layer of protection can be an invaluable asset to homeowners and their families.

ICF Construction: The Best Choice for Basements

Adding a basement to your home is an incredibly smart investment, however it is important that the basement is built right.

Basements have earned a bad reputation for being damp and uncomfortable because of the building techniques used to construct them. Modern techniques and materials like ICF construction help prevent many of the common issues with basements.

ICF blocks are foam blocks constructed of two sheets of insulation that are stacked on site to form the basement walls. Rebar and concrete are then used to fill the hollow space between the sheets of insulation. The resulting structure is then weatherproofed on the outside to form an impenetrable barrier against the elements. The resulting structure is an incredibly tightly sealed, energy-efficient, and strong structure. The ICF construction method prevents the cold, damp basements that many other construction techniques are known for.

Choose Fox Blocks for Your ICF Basement

Adding a full ICF basement to your new build is a smart investment that can significantly increase home equity and provide additional usable living space.

ICF basements can offer homeowners peace of mind that their basement is built from the same materials used to build storm shelters. Fox Blocks ICFs provide energy-efficient, safe, and versatile basement options that benefit homeowners while they live in their home and when they sell it in the future.

To learn more about how Fox Blocks ICFs can transform your new build, contact us today and discover the upside of digging down.