As energy codes have become much more stringent on building airtightness, builders and building products manufacturers have scrambled to develop and incorporate new systems and methods to meet the needs. Three years ago, Home Innovation Research Labs introduced the Annual Builder Practices Report for Air Sealing to keep track of what builders were doing in the quickly evolving area. As part of the data-gathering for this report, we’ve asked builders this question in our annual survey.
I’m often asked why offsite home construction practices, which have been available for half a century or longer, should be expected to gain traction now. Granted, offsite solutions are not right for every project or every builder, but the industry environment seems to be evolving to favor many of these — primarily in light of the current labor and materials supply issues. Additionally, the predominant Millennial homebuying market attaches less negative stigma to factory-built or engineered housing solutions. In fact, Millennials tend to see factory-produced housing as “smarter” and more technologically advanced than traditional methods. So what’s continuing to keep builders from adopting offsite practices?
In late July 2021, Home Innovation conducted a survey of 348 home builders, repeating a question on offsite housing that we asked in similar surveys in August 2019 and September 2020.
The debate has continued for years. Gas or Electric? For a new home, the answer often centers on the tradeoffs between short-term affordability vs. long-term operating cost.
Earlier this month, Ed Hudson, Home Innovation’s Director of Marketing Research, presented “Changing Preferences for Building Products in a Post-COVID Market” at NAHB’s Leading Suppliers Council Connections meeting. He covered a wide range of findings and trends based on his analysis of long-term building products trend data, and the findings of recent national studies on buying habits of builders and households.
There has been a lot of attention devoted to off-site construction technologies over the past decade. Many builders share the opinion that off-site construction is the way homes should be built, but not as many are willing to adopt the practices themselves. Over that same time, our Builder Practices Survey shows that little growth has occurred in the use of these off-site practices listed, with the exception of wall panelization, which has seen growth in multifamily construction.
Earlier this week, Ed Hudson, Home Innovation’s Director of Marketing Research, presented “Trends and Opportunities for PVC Materials in Home Construction and Remodeling” at the PVC Formulations Virtual Summit, sponsored by AMI. The primary audience for the presentation was manufacturers of PVC materials seeking opportunities to develop new PVC-based building materials.
The year 2020 was characterized by price instability, supply disruptions and shortages, and even mandated business closures in some areas. We also saw an unexpected boost in new housing construction that started early in the year and continued. Considering these factors, we anticipated some changes in building materials purchasing patterns; only some of that anticipation played out.
Not all building materials purchase outlets did equally well during the pandemic. As the responses from our latest Consumer Practices Survey came in, we were able to examine who did well, and in which product categories. With this rich data, Home Innovation is introducing the “Purchase Location for Home Remodeling Projects” report to provide market insight for retailers and suppliers of building materials.
The biggest trademark of 2020? Change! This was true in nearly everything that affects how we live in our homes and how we interact with others. Many in the building industry found these changes to be an opportunity; others found it to be a significant threat.
With new remodeling market data available, it’s time to recalibrate building product marketing strategies for a new remodeling market trajectory.
Marketers of building materials for the remodeling industry faced early 2020 as an enigma. There were no reference manuals on how the remodeling market behaves during a pandemic. With households required to stay-at-home, and many both working and schooling their children from their homes, it forced homeowners into a lifestyle that may have proven their current homes inadequate. There were open questions that could re-define the home remodeling market.
Over the past couple decades, Home Innovation Research Labs has been tracking the popularity of new home exteriors through our Annual Builder Practices Survey. Based on the 2020 survey, we reported that brick, after a gradual long-term decline in share of new home exterior wall materials, saw back-to-back years of rebound in U.S. single-family detached homes.
In December 2020, Home Innovation conducted a survey of more than 200 builders on behalf of the Brick Industry Association to learn what they and their homebuyers value in clay brick. The findings point to a strong perception of beauty, quality, and safety for brick exteriors among builders, and an indication that their future use of clay brick is likely to remain strong with continued homebuyer demand and popularity of architectural styles they see as a “good fit” with brick.
For many, 2020 was the year that COVID-19 disrupted their lives in every conceivable way. From the perspective of homeownership, 2020 was the year we improved our outdoor living spaces; caught up on needed home repairs and improvements; organized our stuff; and made our homes more comfortable and functional places to spend time – at least that’s what the findings of our 2021 Consumer Practices Survey suggest. More than 110,000 U.S. and Canadian households participated in the Consumer Practices Survey, which was completed in December 2020, supplying us deep detail on their home and property improvement and repairs projects.
The pandemic has created a renewed demand for outdoor living projects--with people spending more time at home, and seeking to make their at-home experience a little more pleasant. As consumers have scaled back spending on travel, dining, and entertainment, they have directed some of those additional resources to outdoor living projects.
With lumber prices soaring in the past several months, home builders are scrambling for ways to keep the cost of construction in check, fueling a renewed interest in alternative materials. While they may still not be cheaper than lumber, the spike in lumber prices is causing many builders to rethink the cost/benefit tradeoffs of traditional alternatives to lumber — steel, concrete, and plastics.
During NAHB’s Building Systems Week in late September, I presented “Builder Attitudes Towards Systems-Built Construction,” which summarized the findings of three different recent studies related to builder views and usage of offsite construction methods and factory-built components. Overall, the market is bullish toward use of offsite methods, and some sectors—such as multifamily—have been much quicker to adopt these into housing production.
With COVID-19 dramatically changing attitudes on how people view housing, there is a strong renewed interest in healthy indoor environmental quality. This is not only due to a desire to keep homes “virus free,” but also because people are spending more time in their homes, so a comfortable and healthy home environment is playing a bigger role in their lives. Findings from our latest Builder Practices Survey, which we fielded among home builders in early 2020, serve as a benchmark for industry practices at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moving forward, we expect that building practices regarding indoor health and comfort will continue to follow the major change in consumer attitudes about this topic.
Ahead of tabulating and announcing the 2020 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS) findings, Home Innovation is releasing some analysis of remodeling activities from our 2019 survey as a baseline for the new data.
A decade ago, most predicted that rising energy costs and more stringent energy efficiency regulations would spell the doom of all-electric heating systems while sparking the market for natural gas and geothermal heating systems. Things haven’t gone as predicted. Why? First, modest energy prices have prevailed, and heating loads for homes has declined dramatically due to improved efficiency of the building envelope. Second, single-family homes are actually getting smaller and they’re more likely to be one-level than two or more. Third, there’s been a surge in “exurb” development, neighborhoods being built outlying large metropolitan areas, away from the city and often without access to piped gas.
During a presentation at NAHB’s 2019 Building Systems Housing Summit in October, Ed Hudson, Home Innovation Research Labs Director, Market Research, provided insight as to when and where he believes offsite construction technologies are likely to have an impact in the coming years. The data presented were from a survey of home builders Home Innovation conducted in August 2019.
Earlier this week, Ed Hudson, Director of Market Research for Home Innovation Research Labs, presented at the Society of Plastics Engineers’ 2019 Vinyltec® “Megatrends in Vinyl” Conference in Akron, Ohio. He began with a discussion of several of the major forces driving the home construction and remodeling industries and how these create opportunities and threats, specifically for construction products made of vinyl. Among trends discussed were our changing labor force and demographics; higher costs for materials and lot development; growing demand for increased energy efficiency; and new technology developments.
For the last two years in our Consumer Practices Survey, Home Innovation has asked a detailed set of questions about garage and closet storage purchases. About 2,300 U.S. households reported. Comparing purchase patterns between 2018 and 2019, interesting trends are starting to emerge.
Each year, about 2.3 million U.S. households purchase closet storage systems, including those in bedrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchen pantries. The 2019 study found that about 108 million linear feet of closet and garage storage were installed in U.S. homes. And, while the storage system market is largely a do-it-yourself market currently, we expect professionally installed closet and garage systems to continue to grow in popularity.
A quick web search on current trends in lighting will score a lot of hits and a lot of descriptors – “modern,” “metallic,” “industrial,” “eco-friendly,” “natural,” and others. A quick look into Home Innovation’s Annual Builder Practices Report reveals some deeper dimension of lighting trends. For example, there are far more lighting fixtures being installed on new homes now compared to a decade ago, both interior and exterior. Some configurations have seen more growth than others.
In a 2016 Trend post, we reported a brisk change underway in the home re-piping market. At that time, CPVC occupied the dominant position, and PEX was in third and gaining ground rapidly; this mirrored the rapid ascent of PEX in the new home piping market from a decade earlier. With the 2019 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS) now complete, we have seen that market continues to evolve in favor of PEX. But there’s also a new material in the mix — PE-RT, or raised-temperature polyethylene, is beginning to make a measurable impact.
Home Innovation’s 2019 Annual Builder Practices Survey of home builders had more than 1,600 participants this year, completing the detailed questionnaire on the homes they built in 2018. This study helps us track – and predict – trends in the popularity of home styles, features and materials used.
Presenting earlier this week at AMI’s 2019 Profiles Conference in Pittsburgh, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson spoke about some of the big changes happening in the home construction and remodeling industries as they relate to plastics. Specifically, he covered trends happening in Windows & Patio Doors, Roofing, Siding & Exterior Finishes, Exterior Trim & Fascia, Decks & Railing Systems, and Fences & Privacy Walls. Ed’s insights are based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys, as well as his own decades-long analysis of industry trends.
Home Innovation’s recent 2019 Builder Practices Survey of 1,500+ U.S. home builders confirms what the U.S. Census has been reporting in recent months—the average new home size is declining. For the second time in a decade, the average home size paused its upward climb for at least a couple years of descent.
It seems logical to assume that older houses—with more wear and tear, longer exposure to weather, and functionally obsolete features—are more likely to be remodeled or upgraded than newer homes. So, following that logic, owners of “elderly” homes should be better targets for selling home improvement products and upgrades, right? Not necessarily. Applying this age-old assumption blindly across all product categories can lead to lost opportunities for selling remodeling products and services to owners of newer homes.
With the 2019 NFL draft underway, your favorite college football players are not the only ones “going pro” this year. Based on this year’s 2019 Consumer Practices Survey data, it appears fewer home remodeling projects are do-it-yourself, and more are being done by professionals. For example, nearly 90% of roofing installed on existing residential properties is now done by a professional; just five years ago that number was less than 80%.
The U.S. home re-roofing market is a behemoth—covering about 13 billion square feet of residential roof area each year. An above-average 2018 storm season in the United States ensured an above-average number of roofing replacements based on the initial findings from the 2019 Consumer Practices Survey.
Presenting this week at the Society of Plastics Engineers’ 2019 ANTEC Conference in Detroit, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson spoke about opportunities for building materials manufacturers, particularly focused on plastics materials, based on major changes happening in the residential construction industry. Ed’s insights are based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys, as well as his own decades-long analysis of industry trends.
A couple weeks ago, we first posted the findings of a December survey of 300 builders regarding their attitudes towards numerous off-site housing technologies. Specifically, we asked if they plan to increase their use of any of these systems within the coming year and anticipate increasing their use in the coming 5 years. The findings helped us gauge the rate at which builders intend to pursue various off-site alternatives. For industry suppliers, knowing your potential markets is crucial for developing successful market entry and expansion strategies.
Off-site construction. We’ve all heard the buzz about builders moving to this “new” way of building, especially in light of the current skilled trade deficit in our industry. But what are home builders actually planning to do about it this year? Or even in the next five years? There are a lot of contenders in the off-site space, but where is the market actually headed?
Updating kitchens and bathrooms is a sure-fire way to signal that an existing home has been kept current and is market ready — but simply installing new fixtures will not necessarily do the trick. Just because something is readily available to purchase, does not mean that it is in style or on trend. Having access to data on long-term and recent usage patterns is the best way to understand current trends and forecast future ones.
Speaking at the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association’s (NLBMDA’s) ProDealer Industry Summit in Chicago earlier this month, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson presented analysis on the market for materials used in the construction of new homes and remodeling.
Speaking at the Composite Lumber Manufacturers Association meeting earlier this month, Ed Hudson, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research, shared his expertise on the market for outdoor structure materials used for building decks, railing, and fences based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys.
It’s no secret that wood flooring has become very popular in new homes and can be found in nearly every room in the house, particularly in the main living and entertaining areas of homes. Current interior design trends lean toward cost-effective products with a more luxurious, furnished appearance in these areas, and wood or wood look-alikes readily fit the bill. Over the past several years, new technologies have made many wood and wood look-alikes less expensive, more resistant to scratching and impact, able to withstand wet environments, easy-to-install, and very attractive. Engineered wood flooring has now surpassed solid wood flooring in new homes, and the new LVT category continues to push the wood look into moisture-sensitive and higher functioning areas of the home. LVT flooring products can enhance a home’s interior with the warmth, richness, and texture of more expensive, luxurious hardwood flooring. Since laminate has made only small inroads into new homes, LVT has already garnered nearly 4% of total new home flooring installations.
The U.S. residential roofing is big. Based on Home Innovation’s Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Reports, about 17.5 billion square feet of it was installed on homes last year. The reports also concluded that nearly 85% of total residential roofing volume is installed on existing homes as either a full or partial replacement of existing material. On average, the age of the existing roofing in full replacement was slightly more than 19 years. About one-third replaced their roof because of leaking; one third because of storm damage; and, one quarter anticipated roof failure in the near future due to a deteriorating roof. Only 3 percent stated they wanted to improve the appearance of their house, and 2 percent claimed a pre-mature failure.
What constitutes a trend in building products? Is something “on trend” because an interior designer says it is? Or because it’s all the rage at a kitchen and bath trade show? Or because it makes an episode of a home improvement TV program? Not necessarily. While those things may deem a product to be “trendy,” they do not truly constitute a trend. I’ve seen several home remodeling “design trend” articles recently that were very interesting and enlightening, but also contradictory in describing what’s becoming more popular in the market according to our data. The biggest disconnect I’ve seen seems to be in the discussion of faucet finishes. If you just looked at just a handful of those articles, you’d swear that all new faucets were bronze, and that neither chrome nor stainless steel finished faucets exists anymore.
Since the introduction of our NGBS Green Certification program in 2009, close to 150,000 homes and apartments have become certified. As of August 2018, there were an additional 120,000 homes in-process for certification. The program has shown steady growth year after year; based on strong growth for the first half of 2018, the program is once again on target to see an increase in the annual number of units certified.
According to data from Home Innovation’s 2018 Annual Builder Practices Survey, more new homes are getting side & rear porches and decks than in past years, but fewer are getting on-grade patios. The inclusion of front porches and stoops on new homes, however, has fairly stable over the past decade.
Concrete homes are not new, and in a lot of places throughout the world they wouldn’t be described as particularly “fashionable” or trendy. There is concrete in nearly every home in the United States, particularly at the ground level and below, while above-grade portions of most residential structures are built primarily with structural wood framing. Less than 10% of new U.S. homes are constructed with above-ground concrete walls, and that hasn’t changed much over the past few decades though there has been a bit of ebb and flow.
Speaking at the WDMA Technical & Manufacturing Conference in Minneapolis last week, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson shared his expertise on the market for fenestration products, based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys.
Speaking at AMI’s Profiles 2018 conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson shared his expert opinions on all things plastic and home building-related, based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys. Below is a link to his full presentation on how to capitalize on developments on profiles for window, door, decking, fencing, and siding applications.
Home Innovation’s 2018 Builder Practices Survey continues to reveal many new trends (and trend reversals). We touched on the interesting changes underway in the housing mix in the last Trends post. Our ongoing dive into the Annual Builder Practices Survey data has pointed to other fascinating market shifts, as well.
The turmoil of the mid-2000’s housing market bust and Great Recession set major changes in motion for the new home market. In fact, even now we’re still trying to sort out whether it will return to its old, familiar pattern or if we’re seeing the “new normal.”
Now that spring is officially in the air – along with plenty of pollen – it’s time to share some of the findings from our 2018 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS) on outdoor living.
The CPS is a survey of 110,000 U.S. and Canadian households that tracks hundreds of remodeling activities and materials purchases. The results of this year’s survey are now being tabulated, allowing us to see how trends in repair and remodeling purchases and activities are unfolding.
The “skill” in the construction industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage is driving market change, favoring skills-reducing and efficiency-improving innovations. More and more, this is not just a matter of simply moving the work from the jobsite to the factory. Rather, many opportunities for manufacturers seem to lie in creating technologies that can maximize efficiencies for both skilled and unskilled laborers on site, while not eliminating either role.
There is an adage that says in any household, the things you have tend to accumulate to fill the space available for its storage. This certainly holds true in most American households. Though there are many who would say they don’t fit the stereotype, materialism and excess are often considered very “American” traits. And along with all the stuff we accumulate, comes the need to store it. Despite having the biggest homes in the world, more closets on average than any other country, as well as the most garages, somehow, we still never seem to have enough space to put everything.
The home re-roofing market is massive — about 16 billion square feet of existing residential roof was re-covered last year – and the majority of re-covers get at least one layer of roofing underlayment. An additional 3 billion square feet of new roofing underlayment was installed on new U.S. homes in 2017. As a roofing material, asphalt shingles have been dominant for decades, and there’s very little threatening that lead position. However, underneath those shingles and other roofing materials, there is a lot of change underway.
There’s no doubt that Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) is a rapidly-growing option in home re-flooring. According to Home Innovation’s 2018 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS), it now represents more than 6% of this 14 billion square-foot-per-year market just a few years after its introduction. Why this rapid success? Well, according to its manufacturers, LVT is durable. It’s easy to maintain. It’s beautiful. It’s easy to install. And it’s more comfortable underfoot that some other flooring products. But knowing which rooms consumers are installing it in gives us insight into the key drivers of this burgeoning trend.
The trend toward building more green homes and apartments continues unabated, and with it comes a growing desire by builders to have their homes certified green. The majority of both single- and multifamily builders cite the availability of green products as the single biggest driver for future green home construction. Builders want to build green homes, but they know that the ability to find and afford green building products is critical to their success. Check out what we found in a recent survey when builders were asked about awareness of green certification programs and their effect on building products purchases.
In our January 2018 Omnibus Survey, the 300 home builder respondents told us if they do or do not use integrated construction management software for their businesses. In a previous post, I discussed which software products respondents indicated they’re using and why. Here, I’ll go into a bit more detail on what functions are being used most by those who use integrated software solutions, as well as what keeps others from using it at all.
Home Innovation recently prepared and included some questions on integrated construction management software usage among builders in an Omnibus Survey. The results are interesting. Find out more about who is using this software most and why.
It’s well-known that the home building industry is slow to change, but some important building product changes have managed to take hold. How do you know whether your product will be a success or failure? There’s no simple answer to that, but Ed Hudson's recent presentation from the 2018 International Builders' Show sheds some light on the topic by summarizing industry trends over the past decade. With those trends comes some insight into things building product manufacturers should—and, perhaps more importantly, should not – do in their new product introductions.
Over the past several years, there has been rapid evolution in home design in the kitchen. For kitchen floors, first ceramic tile took the place of vinyl, then hardwood took the place of ceramic tile. For countertops, granite soared to the lead, replacing solid surfacing and laminate, and now quartz is making big inroads into the granite market.
The most recent acceleration in this evolution is in cabinet styles and finishes. Flat panel doors, while long considered a low-cost option compared to raised panel doors, have now gained greater acceptance and represent more than a third of new single-family home installations and a large majority of multifamily installations.
Each year, Home Innovation Research Labs surveys more than 100,000 U.S. and Canadian households and get very detailed information on their home remodeling, repairs, and upgrades. You may assume that most remodeling or home improvement activities are conducted primarily by those who’ve either been in their house a long time and are looking for/need a change, or those who recently bought an existing home and want to do things to make it more “their own.” Our robust consumer data challenges that assumption.
There’s a mystery surrounding wood floor joists in new homes that keeps getting deeper—literally! In 2004, more than half of wood floor joists in new homes were 10 inches or less deep. Now, more than 60 percent are 12 inches or deeper.
The housing rebound continues, but its effect hasn’t been evenly distributed across the spectrum of housing types and price-points. In 2006, Multifamily represented only 16% of residential starts but surged to 35% of starts in 2015, bringing a new character to the market for home building materials. In 2016, however, while we saw a modest return to pre-2006 markets when Move-up and Starter homes ruled, Multifamily began inching its way back down from its peak the year before.
Like most data points in the building industry, insulation material usage varies widely by geographic area, the size and type of builder, and types of homes. The national survey of builders we conducted in February, 2017 sheds further light on usage patterns—confirming some stereotypes about insulation usage in new homes, but it also seems to refute others, lending insight into the market for insulation materials and systems.
The results of Home Innovation’s annual survey of 110,000 U.S. households are in. Helped by declining prices in recent years (and the fact that Mother Nature knows how to produce some beautiful countertop material), granite is still the best-selling kitchen countertop by a sizeable margin – accounting for about 40% of home countertop replacements in 2016.
Recently, I shared results from our builder survey on foam wall sheathing and how its use varied by builder type, price point and type of home, and geographic areas. Now I’d like to share a few things we learned about usage patterns in thickness of foam sheathing in the same survey.
Over the past few years, a lot has been said and written about continuous foam insulation in new homes, including the writing of the new building code requirements.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance says solar will be the cheapest source of energy in the 2020s. Why wait to experience the benefits of solar?
While we're all happy to see the rebound of the housing market underway, smart companies aren't just watching the volume of housing starts, but also the mix of home types built. In many ways, the mix can have a bigger impact on building materials purchased than does the total number of new homes.
Over the past 12 years, Home Innovation has been closely tracking the many changes in the popularity of flooring types in new homes. The biggest winners have been Solid Hardwood and Engineered Hardwood. While carpeting still remains the leader, it has fallen from 60% to 40% overall share. Vinyl flooring has also lost much of its former market share—primarily sheet vinyl—but vinyl has received a boost from the growing popularity of the luxury vinyl tile market. The market for ceramic tile in new homes has increased modestly over the past decade.
While we're all happy to see the rebound of the housing market underway, smart companies aren't just watching the volume of housing starts, but also the mix of home types built. In many ways, the mix can have a bigger impact on building materials purchased than does the total number of new homes.
Keeping up-to-date is critical in order to capitalize on trends and avoid being stung when your product category takes an unexpected dive. Data from our 2016 Builder Practices Reports shows some changes underway that you need to know.
Keeping up-to-date is critical in order to capitalize on trends and avoid being stung when your product category takes an unexpected dive. Data from our 2016 Consumer Practices Survey shows some unexpected changes underway that you need to know.
For the first time since 2013, Home Innovation Research Labs is conducting the Canadian Builder Practices Survey, a study that quantifies home builder purchases of building materials. With the Canadian new home market shifting strongly from single- to multifamily, it's more important than ever to keep up on building products purchases there.
According to Home Innovation Research Labs' Annual Builder Practices Survey, a shift in homebuyer demographics and builder buying and building habits has created a significant shift away from spray foam insulation across the board — in walls, floors, and roofs and in each of the four Census Regions. While a one-year shift in building product usage data does not constitute a real trend, this may be signaling a change in the home insulation landscape.
The overall residential construction market is heating up, and experts forecast expanded activity in the green housing industry. McGraw-Hill's recent green home SmartMarket report can help builders and building product manufacturers refine their business and marketing plans to remain competitive in the changing market.
North Carolina is a national leader in green housing, and the numbers prove it! The North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance (NCEEA) has released data detailing the market penetration of voluntary, third-party certified green and energy efficient homes statewide.
When it comes to green building, consumers care about and are willing to pay for more than just energy efficiency. Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their understanding of a comprehensive approach to green construction, and they are rewarding builders who can respond to more than just energy efficiency.
Despite having tens of thousands of green home certifications under out belt, the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) and Home Innovation's NGBS Certification Program are still not as well-known as LEED. Find out why NGBS is still the best choice.
When it comes to green building, consumers care about and are willing to pay for more than just energy efficiency. Consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their understanding of a comprehensive approach to green construction, and they are rewarding builders who can respond to more than just energy efficiency.
Fear of the unknown may discourage you from trying a new or innovative product, but the reward may far outweigh the risk. Find out the key questions you should ask to try to minimize the risk you are taking, and weigh the costs versus the benefits of making a product switch.
After a two-year field investigation, the NAHB Research has identified some optimal building practices for preventing excessive moisture content in wood framing members and structural sheathing.
With ever-increasing energy costs, homeowners are worried about their skyrocketing utility bills and looking for ways to save energy and money. With all of the talk about "going green" and energy efficiency, people are paying more attention to environmental concerns such as global warming and smart growth. As a result, solar energy is fast becoming an option to which consumers are paying close attention. It is one of those renewable sources of energy that is viable in most parts of the country, limited only by clouds.
Consumers’ expectations of energy performance have changed. They are demanding a higher level of energy performance than ever before. To maintain a competitive edge, there’s no better time than now to figure out how your current cadre of home designs stacks up for future needs.
Creating a tight building envelope is only one part of the equation in creating a high-performing, energy-efficient house. If the strategies for creating a tight building envelope are not coupled with strategies for letting accumulated moisture out of wall cavities, it can be a recipe for disaster.
Today’s homebuyers want energy-efficient, low-maintenance, well-insulated and well-sealed homes. Data has shown that consumers are willing to pay a premium for these types of homes and that they are typically more satisfied with them than with their previous, less efficient homes.
The key to an energy-efficient home is largely in how the building envelope is designed. Find out some best practices identified through Home Innovation Labs work as a Building America team.
Green building, once widely perceived to be a “luxury” approach to home building, can be a viable solution for both builders and consumers in the affordable market.
Five common roofing “hot spots” are identified as well as common sense solutions to implement with roofing trades.