Ice castle galvanized frame and arctic insulation package

[Hazzard]

Does anyone have the galvanized frame or arctic insulation package on there Ice Castle ? If you do was it worth the extra money?

[bassNspear]

i have the arctic. worth every penny

[BuckSutherland]

Does anyone have the galvanized frame or arctic insulation package on there Ice Castle ? If you do was it worth the extra money?

I am not familiar with anything IC is doing these days, but a couple years ago I decided to build my own. After seeing the way the IC frames would rust within a couple days I decided to do something different. I applied Herculiner bed liner to my entire frame. It works awesome. I wouldnt touch their standard whatever they do cause I think its junk.

The second thing I did was to get my entire house spray foamed. I would guess that is what this Arctic Package is. Spray foam is worth every penny. It will make your house twice as rigid, and you never know what propane will cost in the future. I think if my house ever broke through it would float from the foam. I have 5/8 plywood for my floor, and the foam is just sprayed to the underside of that. Then 2x3 walls and the ceiling. I can run 48-60 hours on one twenty lb tank depending on conditions.

Should help you with resale too.

[Hazzard]

The Actritc package is spray foam walls and floor. They don't recommend having the celing done because it makes the house to tight, is there such a thing as to tight?

[gunner55]

Not a IC either but have used herculiner on the frame of a trailer that had started to rust after a few seasons,haven't had to touch it since(5-10yrs).We're having some work done on our place up at the lake also & there will be an extra vent put in per the general contractors recommendations as he was worried it would be too tight.

[harvey lee]

Duke, yes there is such a thing as too air tight. If you do not include a vapor barrier, you could keep too much moisture in the house and end up with mold or mildew.

[bassNspear]

dont do the roof, just everything else. worth it

[Fishalittle]

Don't have to worry about an ice castle being too tight.....their windows leak like crazy....one major complaint I have with a new arctic insulated 2014 signature. I think they forget to insulate around the window!

[Hawg]

Why would you not want to do the roof? I did and have no regrets.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The Actritc package is spray foam walls and floor. They don't recommend having the celing done because it makes the house to tight, is there such a thing as to tight?

This is nonsense, IMO. Why would you not insulate the area with the greatest heat loss? It would be like not insulating the attic in your house. My second question is how is the house going to "breathe" through a metal roof and siding? It's not.

Closed cell spray foam (over 1" thick) is a vapor barrier, so no need to worry about mold or mildew from condensation.

[Hawg]

yup,100% correct. Also like was stated-you don't have to worry about an Ice Castle being to tight.

[RiverChuckNorris]

Not a IC either but have used herculiner on the frame of a trailer that had started to rust after a few seasons,haven't had to touch it since(5-10yrs).We're having some work done on our place up at the lake also & there will be an extra vent put in per the general contractors recommendations as he was worried it would be too tight.

Where'd you get the herculiner done? My 2011 frame is a rusty trombone

[gunner55]

Sorry,I guess I wasn't clear enough but thus was a small(5X8?) flatbed type trailer.We just used a drill & wire brush to clean it,bought a gallon of herculiner from L&M(on sale 1/yr) & brushed it on.Kind of a pain as it had the screen type floor & took some time to wire brush right.It has held up very well.As far as a wheelhouse I not sure if you could get somebody to media blast it & then spray it or not.I think it's been dicussed here before, hopefully somebody else will chime in.

[highlife4me]

Well now that the option of the arctic insulation package and whether or not to get the ceiling foamed is as clear as mud, does any body have information on IC galvanized frames? Are they made by Berkon too or somebody else? For an extra $1100 I don't know if its worth it or not but I haven't heard too many complaints on IC frames since they started coating them.

[BuckSutherland]

Couple things here.

ABSOLUTELY 100% SPRAY THE ROOF!!!!!

Why the hell would you let all the heat go right out??? Like I said, mine is sprayed from floor to ceiling. Built it in 2009, ZERO problems. Usually you are in and out of the house enough to let fresh air in. Your house should come with a CO2 and propane alarm anyways. If you are at all worried crack the window a little and problem solved. In residential construction they are spray foaming walls and attics, putting 6 mil poly on the interior wall, and tyvek on the exterior wall.

I built my house from the inside out. I did the floor and carpeted right away, then I paneled and assembled the walls, then the roof and had the inside all done, then I took it to get foamed, then I put the roof on, and finished with the siding. No poly, no tyvek, no problems. That is the exact same way IC builds them.

If you dont do the roof and you do the walls you are simply blowing your money. The heat will just escape through the roof that much faster as it will be forced up there. If you ever get a chance to talk with a building science guy do it.

As for the Herculiner. It is a total PIA!

I built my house from scratch and I had it in a shop and I had that thing so clean they could have ate the last supper on it. Then I used a roller to apply it. In some of the high traffic areas like by the wheels I had to do some touch up this year, but it only took a few hours. If you are half ways handy at all, it is an easy DIY project. Just takes time and effort, but you wont regret it.

[BuckSutherland]

Well now that the option of the arctic insulation package and whether or not to get the ceiling foamed is as clear as mud, does any body have information on IC galvanized frames? Are they made by Berkon too or somebody else? For an extra $1100 I don't know if its worth it or not but I haven't heard too many complaints on IC frames since they started coating them.

Regular paint does not last at all.

The whole house is riding on the frame so I didnt want to see my turned to rust. Cost me about $150 and a bunch of time to do my Herculiner.

[JeffB]

My whole house is spray foamed and would definitely do the roof too. If you think its too tight after fishing in it you could always add a small vent or two. My furnace is direct vent so fresh air in exhaust out. I bought the vents but never installed them

[Hazzard]

Thanks for all the great posts!!! Looks like the arctic package + the roof is the way to go. The galvanized hydro frame is made by Valley not Berkon. Anyone have a Valley frame or know anything about them?

[hawkeye43]

A friend's IC they didn't spray foam the whole back wall of his house. The first trip up north they about froze to death, they had the cook stove and a buddy heater going and couldn't get it warm. They got a new house. How in the world does that happen???

[aczr2k]

Valley frames are copies of Berkon and made cheaper from what I understand. Are you positive you can not get a Berkon frame galvanized?

Why not just skip IC and get your whole house done by Berkon? And add their floor heat option too.

[Dozer]

And add their floor heat option too.

Not to hyjack a thread but what is their floor heat option?

[aczr2k]

They have an option for floor heat just like you would have in your house, gas & electric boiler with water tubes. If I could afford a big house, I know I'd have it, about a $2000 option I think?

[BuckSutherland]

They have an option for floor heat just like you would have in your house, gas & electric boiler with water tubes. If I could afford a big house, I know I'd have it, about a $2000 option I think?

This option doesnt seem wise to me at all. I am going to rely on WATER for heat in a fish house. So everytime I go back and forth to the lake I need to put water in my system and when I leave I need to take it out?? Otherwise how do you prevent it from freezing?? Antifreeze? This is just over the top and one more thing that can go wrong.

Like I said, mine is sprayed floor to ceiling. My heater blows out across the floor with two 4" vents and dries everything off, and then I wear a pair of slippers. Usually my feet are so warm in there that I walk around barefoot.

Dont spend $2,000 for something that has the potential to give you a big headache.

[aczr2k]

Yes it is an anti-freeze filled system.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

2 things I can think of off the top of my head which may or may not be valid:

1) You'd either have to keep the heat on 24/7, or have some alternative source of heat. In-floor would take forever to heat the house from -20 to 70.

2) Somehow you'd want to isolate the heat tubes from the metal frame, otherwise your frame tubes will warm up and melt the ice, and potentially freeze in.