Everything people ask us before they build.

ICF construction, short for Insulated Concrete Form construction, is a building method in which hollow foam blocks are stacked into the shape of a home’s walls, reinforced with steel rebar, and filled with poured concrete. The foam stays in place permanently as insulation on both sides of the concrete core. Visten Construction Group builds ICF custom homes throughout North Texas and southern Oklahoma because the result is a wall that is simultaneously structural, insulated, air-sealed, fire resistant and storm resistant.

ICF homes are among the most tornado-resistant residential structures you can build, and properly engineered ICF walls are tested to withstand sustained winds in excess of 200 mph and debris impacts that destroy conventional stick-framed walls. In tornado-alley North Texas and southern Oklahoma, Visten Construction Group builds continuous ICF walls from footing to roofline with anchored roof connections, so the home has an unbroken load path rather than a bolted-on safe room.

An ICF home in North Texas or southern Oklahoma typically costs about 3% to 8% more than a comparable stick-built home at the time of construction, which on a 2,500 square foot Wichita Falls build usually works out to roughly $12,000 to $30,000 in additional shell cost. Industry testing and manufacturer data put the ongoing savings at 30% to 50% of heating and cooling energy, alongside potential insurance savings and a wall assembly that will not need to be replaced in your lifetime.

Yes, ICF homes cost modestly more to build up front than stick-framed homes, because the wall assembly includes concrete, steel and foam instead of lumber alone. The honest number in the Wichita Falls market is a 3% to 8% premium on total build cost, and Visten Construction Group shows clients exactly where that money goes line by line under its cost-plus model rather than burying it in a lump-sum bid.

ICF homes typically use 30% to 50% less energy for heating and cooling than a comparable stick-framed home, because the continuous concrete-and-foam wall delivers high effective R-value, thermal mass and very low air leakage all at once. Energy efficiency has been the focus of Duane Holloway’s building work for decades, and in a climate that runs above 100 degrees for weeks at a stretch, the wall assembly is the single biggest lever on a utility bill.

Many North Texas and Oklahoma insurers offer reduced premiums for homes with reinforced concrete wall systems, fire-resistant construction and impact-rated openings, all of which an ICF home from Visten Construction Group provides. Discounts vary by carrier, so Visten supplies clients with wall assembly documentation and engineering details they can hand directly to their agent.

An ICF home in North Texas or southern Oklahoma typically costs about 3% to 8% more than a comparable stick-built home at the time of construction, which on a 2,500 square foot Wichita Falls build usually works out to roughly $12,000 to $30,000 in additional shell cost. Industry testing and manufacturer data put the ongoing savings at 30% to 50% of heating and cooling energy, alongside potential insurance savings and a wall assembly that will not need to be replaced in your lifetime.

Yes, ICF homes cost modestly more to build up front than stick-framed homes, because the wall assembly includes concrete, steel and foam instead of lumber alone. The honest number in the Wichita Falls market is a 3% to 8% premium on total build cost, and Visten Construction Group shows clients exactly where that money goes line by line under its cost-plus model rather than burying it in a lump-sum bid.

Cost-plus pricing means the homeowner pays the true documented cost of their build — every subcontractor invoice, every material receipt, every permit fee — plus one agreed builder fee that is disclosed before construction starts. At Visten Construction Group, clients across North Texas and southern Oklahoma see every invoice and receipt as it is paid, so the builder has no financial incentive to cheapen materials or pad allowances.

Most Visten Construction Group custom homes start around $350,000 and move up from there based on square footage, site work and finish level. Because Visten builds on a cost-plus basis across North Texas and southern Oklahoma, the budget is built from real supplier numbers for your actual plan rather than a marketing price per square foot, and Duane will talk through your budget honestly before you spend anything on design.

Many North Texas and Oklahoma insurers offer reduced premiums for homes with reinforced concrete wall systems, fire-resistant construction and impact-rated openings, all of which an ICF home from Visten Construction Group provides. Discounts vary by carrier, so Visten supplies clients with wall assembly documentation and engineering details they can hand directly to their agent.

A custom home in Wichita Falls typically takes 9 to 14 months from groundbreaking to move-in, with design and permitting adding roughly 2 to 4 months before that. Visten Construction Group deliberately takes a small number of projects at a time so each build keeps a consistent crew on site, and ICF walls often shorten the weather-sensitive part of the schedule because a poured wall is not delayed by wet lumber or high winds the way framing is.

Yes. Visten Construction Group builds on rural acreage across Wichita County, Archer County and Clay County in Texas, and across Comanche, Stephens, Jefferson, Cotton, Carter and Grady counties in southern Oklahoma, and handles the full site package including water well coordination, aerobic septic systems, caliche drives, utility runs and county permitting. If you own land near Archer City, Henrietta, Electra, Lawton, Duncan or Ardmore, Visten will walk the property with you before you commit to a plan.

Visten Construction Group focuses primarily on new custom homes, and also takes on a limited number of substantial remodels and additions — typically whole-home renovations, structural additions and shop or guest-house builds. Small handyman-scale repair work is outside what Visten does.

Yes. Seeing an ICF wall going up tells you more in ten minutes than any brochure can. We currently have work in progress in North Texas and southern Oklahoma, and we are glad to arrange a visit when a site is at a stage worth seeing. Because these are active construction sites, visits are scheduled in advance rather than open to drop-ins, and we will let you know what to wear and where to park.

The wall stage. Once the ICF forms are stacked and before the concrete pour, you can see the reinforcing steel, the form ties and how the openings are framed. After the pour, the next most useful stage is when the structural steel goes in, because that is where you see how the roof spans are carried. Once drywall is on, the parts that make an ICF home different are hidden behind the finishes.

Call 817-623-5686 or send us a message through the contact form and tell us roughly where you are and what you are planning to build. We will let you know which sites are at a useful stage and set a time. If nothing is at the right stage when you ask, we will tell you that rather than walk you around a slab.

Visten Construction Group serves two regions: North Texas and southern Oklahoma. In North Texas it builds custom homes in Wichita Falls, Iowa Park, Burkburnett, Archer City, Henrietta, Electra, Holliday, Bowie, Nocona, Vernon, Jacksboro, Olney, Seymour, Graham, Decatur and Bridgeport, and throughout Wichita, Archer and Clay counties. In southern Oklahoma it builds in Lawton, Duncan, Ardmore, Marlow, Waurika, Comanche, Walters, Temple, Ryan, Healdton, Wilson, Madill, Ada, Chickasha, Elgin, Cache, Fletcher, Sterling, Rush Springs and the Lake Texoma area. The same cost-plus pricing and the same process apply on either side of the Red River. The company is based in Wichita Falls, Texas, and keeps a tight, local service area defined by those towns and counties so that Duane Holloway can be on every jobsite in person.

Yes. Visten Construction Group builds on rural acreage across Wichita County, Archer County and Clay County in Texas, and across Comanche, Stephens, Jefferson, Cotton, Carter and Grady counties in southern Oklahoma, and handles the full site package including water well coordination, aerobic septic systems, caliche drives, utility runs and county permitting. If you own land near Archer City, Henrietta, Electra, Lawton, Duncan or Ardmore, Visten will walk the property with you before you commit to a plan.