Looking to build American style homes back in Switzerland

Welcome and Introductions
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I hear you man, I came to the US with bugger all in 2000, nearly got killed in the twin towers and had a different attitude going forward, we do really well now and it's time for my kids to spend more time with Uma & Opa. Building is my passion and they say if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life. Good luck mate

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They calculate building cost by m3 here and not m2

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Hi Kiwijay, Just wondering if you have you worked out the costs for including this technology with the Minergie standard homes currently being built here? Is there any cost advantage to using the Insulated Concrete Forms in this type of construction? Are the architects you know here using the ICF's and getting Minergie certified?

There does seem to be some advantages to to having the house certified with the Minergie standards established here. Whether you call it Minergie, Passive house or R-values I think it they are quite similar, just depends on the building codes of the area/country. The objective being energy efficiency and making sure one has good quality of air exchange.

I'm also interested to learn more about the stucco you use particularly because of the burn and water resistance. Is it more expensive than typical stucco?

We are still in the initial phase, considering the various solutions so don't have plans to share just yet but will note your email address.

Don't take any of the negative comments here to heart. Many here don't plan to stay long term so building a house doesn't make sense and or seems out of reach because building cost are very expensive compared to other countries. We plan to retire here so it works into our long term plans well.

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Might not turn out to be that lucrative:

http://www.thelocal.ch/20130820/mark…turns-downward

KiwiJay, have you checked that the stucco and other stuff you plan to use is allowed over here? Make sure they’re not prohibited in any way.

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Now I know why building cost are expensive you guys charge for air also LOL