A Homebuilders’ Guide to New Home Materials and Why They Matter

A quality home starts with high-quality materials. Without a strong foundation of long-lasting, hard-wearing, energy-efficient, and attractive materials, a house becomes an unpleasant living space. 

A well-built new home uses a wide range of high-quality materials that save the homeowner money on regular maintenance and major repairs, result in lower energy bills, and stay looking nice longer. Because high-quality building materials improve quality of life so much, they also create a major increase in the overall monetary value of the house. 

To help home shoppers understand some of the additional benefits of buying and building a new home, NewHomeSource talked with some of the largest homebuilders in the country about the building materials they use, and how those materials make their homes the best choice. 

Insulation

Home insulation is one of the unsung heroes of a comfortable home. A properly insulated house stays comfortable with less work from the thermostat, saving the environment and your wallet at the same time. 

New homes with insulated attics and floors only lose or gain a few degrees of interior temperature without the thermostat. This can be a major benefit for people living in areas prone to power outages and brownouts, as your home can maintain safe indoor temperatures despite dangerous outdoor temperatures. 

As you shop for a new home, don’t just ask a builder about where they put insulation in their new homes, ask what rated insulation gets used. A home with limited or poorly-rated insulation will cost you a lot of money over the lifetime of your house, and make it a less pleasant living environment. Social media videos of insulation installation might look easy and satisfying, but actually doing the job is expensive, time consuming, and difficult.

For instance, homes by D.R. Horton feature rated spray foam insulation from the roof to the floor, and in all the walls in between. The D.R. Horton insulation standard is R-13 rated insulation in the walls, R-38 insulation blown in the attic, R-19 insulation in the floors.

Start your life in your new home right by working with an experienced builder that can insulate your home properly from the beginning.  

Windows

The kinds of windows your builder installs in your home can impact your quality of life. A high-quality, well-designed window can let in beautiful natural light, reflect harmful UV rays, and resist damage from storms, all while limiting heat transfer into the home. 

D.R. Horton and Beazer are just two of several builders on NewHomeSource that install low emissivity windows in their new homes, perfect for the home shopper that wants to stay comfortable and protect the environment.

Ask potential homebuilders about the quality of the windows they install in their houses. Make sure that they use low-emissivity windows in all window spaces, not just along east/west sides of the house. If you live in an area prone to extreme weather – looking at you, Florida – ask if storm rated windows come standard with the house, or if you need to upgrade to more sturdy window options. 

Doors

Like windows, your exterior doors can add curb appeal, while saving you money and keeping you safe. When you research homebuilders, be sure to ask about what they use to construct exterior doors.

Check for builders that use heavy-duty, environmentally-friendly materials to construct exterior doors. Building a house with wimpy doors means that you spend more money on attempting to keep your house comfortable. 

ThermaTru insulated fiberglass doors from D.R. Horton are the gold standard in exterior doors. These fantastic options serve a barrier to unpleasant weather, and keep your family safe.

Ask about how well the doors fit within door frames and how tight of an envelope you can keep with your new door. A loose fitting door made with low-quality materials can cause your home to leach out warm or cool interior air, while allowing humidity and weather into the house.

Beazer performs a blower door test on every home they build to confirm there are no excessive gaps that allow air to escape or pests to come in.

Lighting

The materials used in your home’s lighting plan impact life in the house in more than one way. The type of bulb used can save your family money, and help set the mood in your home. The light fixture and the bulb that sits in it can elevate your home, and eliminate the need for floor lighting.

The Bulb Itself

Light bulbs can impact life in your new home. Smart builders use smart lighting options to help their homeowners live better. When you build with D.R. Horton, you move into a home with LED lighting throughout the house. With longer lifespans and a drastically reduced energy consumption, LED lightbulbs give new homeowners the ability to save money and go green, without having to go through and switch all the lights while they’re trying to move in. 

Light Fixtures

The light fixtures in your new home are a lot more glamorous than the bulbs that they encase, and have an obvious aesthetic impact on your living space. High-quality light fixtures can act like jewelry for your home, creating the perfect atmosphere for your new life. 

Work with your builder to see how this finishing touch can perfectly accent your dream home. Ask about different lighting styles they offer in standard home packages and with upgrades.

Smart Home Features

Smart home features play a major role in improving quality of life. As more everyday objects become connected to the Internet of Things, homeowners can leverage the power of technology when they build a new home.

Benefits of Smart Homes

• A more convenient lifestyle
• An increasingly energy-efficient home
• A more comfortable living space
• An increased ability for older homeowners to age in place
• Increased safety for family members of all ages
• Automated maintenance for some homesystems

Common smart home features like internet-connected doorbells, keyless locks, and internet-connected safety sensors go beyond trendy and futuristic gadgets, and make the home a safer place to live. Home builders like KB Home offer extensive smart home features in their upgrade packages, so home shoppers can customize their new home to fit their lifestyles.

Exterior Finishes

High-quality exterior finishes do more than look good: they keep your home safe, clean, and long-lasting. Good builders will understand how the exterior details on the homes they build will impact homeowners’ lives, and take care to deliver the highest quality house.

As you shop for a new home, be sure to ask potential home builders about the seemingly small stuff.

Something as minor as using sheer wrap on the entire exterior of the home drastically improves the structural integrity of the dwelling. Building a home with wider exterior walls and drywall reduces wear and tear on the house, and improves the indoor air quality and energy efficiency of the home. Builders like Blue Mountain Builders are transparent about their home building materials, including their exterior features, so home shoppers can easily see that their new home will stand the test of time.

Beazer also offers a complete weatherization system of Dupont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap® around its homes which helps keep them cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and dry all year round.

Upgraded HVAC Systems Equals Healthy Homes

Your HVAC plays a major role in indoor air quality. Your new home’s HVAC system is key to keeping dust, pollen, germs, and other contaminants out of your home.

Because indoor air quality has such a major impact on homeowner health, many new home builders have prioritized upgrading HVAC systems in their homes. Richmond American Homes’ Indoor airPLUS is an industry-leading standard in providing home shoppers with pristine indoor air. This EPA approved system combines ENERGY STAR rated homes with healthy living to create an safe, clean, and energy efficient living space. Home builders like KB Home and Beazer also offer Indoor airPLUS homes, giving home shoppers plenty of builder options.

Healthy homes start with clean air, and to get clean indoor air, you need an upgraded HVAC system. A new home builder’s ability to deliver Indoor airPLUS homes rest on this hardworking system, tucked behind the walls. As you shop for a new home builder, be sure to ask about their commitment to building houses that keep your family healthy.

Water Saving Plumbing

Plumbing is not a sexy home feature. Picking out faucets at the builder design center can be fun, but at the end of the day, nobody really wants to think about pipes and how they affect life in a new home.

Fortunately, KB Home delivers new houses with high quality plumbing, so their homeowners don’t have to worry about water conservation. Building a house that conserves water goes beyond installing certain faucets.

KB Home installs Standard WaterSense® faucets, toilets and showerheads help maximize water efficiency, plus dishwashers that are ENERGY STAR® certified, which use significantly less water than traditional models in all their homes. KB Home also offers further upgrade options that can help you save water at their design center. In addition to conserving water, these plumbing features can save homeowners up to $500 per year on their utility bills.

Knowing what building materials are used in the homebuilding industry can help you be an informed home shopper as you set out to make your dream home a reality. Builders that use the right materials can extend the life of your home, reduce repairs and maintenance needed, keep your home looking beautiful, and make it a more comfortable space for your life. 

As you interview builders for the job of making your dream home a reality, be sure to ask them about the materials they use behind the walls, to ensure you move into a safe, energy efficient home that can stand the test of time.