Retirees Don and Nancy Herhold lead an active lifestyle at their home near Spring City, Tenn., but they’re already thinking ahead to a time when their ability to maneuver around their two-acre compound in Apollo Shores may not be so easy.

Their home on the Tennessee River, completed 15 months ago, is totally ADA accessible and built to withstand the elements.

The couple relocated to Spring City from Lake Zurich, Mich., where Mr. Herhold, 64, was a systems analyst for Siemens Medical Solutions, and Mrs. Herhold, 57, was a systems analyst for Allstate.

Their dream of relocating to the South began 10 years back. They were familiar with the area from numerous trips from Michigan to Florida to help Mrs. Herhold’s parents with their annual migration south for the winter. The Herholds grew to love the milder climate, mountains and lakes.

“This was our stopping-off point,” Mrs. Herhold said.

A decade ago, they were told that nice lakefront property was still available at a good price. So they contacted a Realtor, drove down from Michigan and began the hunt. After several promising leads that turned out to be less than desirable, they landed upon a winner, an acre of property on the water.

“One look and I said ‘That’s it,’” Mr. Herhold said. Over the next few years, they bought property next door, had the house moved and began learning all they could about ICF (insulated concrete forms) construction and finding a contractor who could do the work.

Form and function

ICF construction involves building walls made from 6-inch-thick concrete forms surrounded by 3 inches of insulated foam on each side.

“This house is the most secure in the neighborhood against high winds, and it’s extremely energy-efficient,” Mr. Herhold said.

Finding the architect was easy, he added. Finding the contractor was not.

“We went through five contractors before we met Jeremy,” Mr. Herhold said. “He was the only one to give us a detailed contract, and we were able to work with him throughout the construction process. He also knew about ICF construction.”

Jeremy Toliver, owner of Toliver Construction Enterprises, has been in the business for eight years, but this was the first ICF home he’d built.

“It went fairly smoothly,” he said. “There’s definitely a learning curve involved, but I know we’ll be doing more of them. There’s a demand for it. ICF is becoming more mainstream. And as people become even more educated about it, it will become even more so.”

The price for ICF construction is 40 percent to 60 percent higher than conventional wood framing, so it’s not the kind of material you’d use for a spec house or one you plan to live in short term, Mr. Toliver said.

“It’s for a home you plan to spend 20 years in,” he said. “That’s when it will start paying you back.”

Mr. Toliver said more young people, as well as baby boomers, are thinking about the future in their homes. Young people in their 30s and 40s may want to have a parent move in with them and need to make their home ADA compliant. Or they may see that their parents are having difficulty getting around their homes and realizing that as they age, they will need wider hallways and doorways and one-level living. And many baby boomers are already there.

“It doesn’t cost much more at all,” Mr. Toliver said. “If you’re going to spend $200,000 to build a house, it may cost just a couple thousand more to make it ADA accessible.”

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