My wife Jenny and I finished construction of our new home in April 2016. It is an ICF house…read moredesigned and built by David F. Maher of Appleton, WI. This is our dream home that is the culmination of years of ideas and lots of questions we each had about what we both ultimately wanted in a house. It's a very unique house that combines the advantages of ICF construction - strength, energy-efficiency, and sound insulation - with many style features of storybook or Tudor-style houses. We have received many compliments from our neighbors and passersby on the "castle-like" appearance of our home, plus we did win the "Wisconsin ICF Home of the Year" award from the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association. This award means a lot to us since it is a validation of all the choices we made, and the time and energy put into the design and construction of our house. To anyone thinking about building their own house we offer two simple pieces of advice: Do your homework and pay attention to details as you will be making many choices. We did some research on ICF construction and decided early on that it was the way that we wanted to proceed. We also decided on hiring David F. Maher since he designed and built ICF homes in Wisconsin; he is both a licensed architect and builder in Wisconsin which offers considerable advantages. David is very professional, honest, and fair as he took our ideas and ultimately put them into reality. Both Jenny and I are in our 50's so we did have our particular opinions and tastes, plus we're very "hands on" and "detail-oriented" individuals. Admittedly, we had some heated conversations with David and between ourselves. However, heated conversations can produce excellent designs and ideas since everyone contributes and compromises. In the end we did get an award-winning house that would make Frank Sinatra proud since "we did it our way." We love our new home and will not sell since its design and construction are an integral part of our lives. Lastly, we would also strongly recommend that anyone interested in going through the house building process watch an old black and white movie titled "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The film shows how building a house can be a rollercoaster ride, and it is something that everyone experiences. The only differences between the movie and current home construction are the construction techniques and current building costs. Expect a lot of ups and downs since we did have our fair share. In retrospect, there are a few things that we would have done differently but you cannot anticipate everything and in the end we do have a beautiful and wonderful home.

In 2000 I hired David Maher, of D.F. Maher Architects-Builders as the architect Construction…read moreManager. He was excellent to work with as we built. I was the main builder and general contractor. I worked alongside of David throughout the project and I found him to be an upstanding man, honest, competent, reliable and professional. He was very detailed about the costs and what was needed to do the project. It turned out excellent and I would hire David again. Since that time, I have flipped houses and I call David periodically with questions and calculations. He is very easy to work with and always clear about what I need to do. He is the best architect and builder I know. I would recommend him to anyone looking to build and ICF house.