Material Choices: When Building a Home

When building a home, there are many choices to be made, from selecting your builder and architectural team to deciding what style of home you want. Once you have all this behind you, your project is in gear and you realize your choices have only just begun.

Researching and selecting materials are an important part of building a home. Material choices, whether compiled by your architect, designer or yourself, are crucial to a successful project.

Building materials can be divided into categories. Working from the outside in, primary materials such as roofing, gutters, windows, doors, and exterior siding are all subject to choices that will define the overall look, quality and function of your home.

Establishing the integrity of the home is the intent behind these choices. Simply put, when selecting these primary materials, functionality, longevity and durability are the ruling characteristics.

The style of your home has already been defined and cost allowances have been established, but when you get down to specifying materials, there are a myriad of products and costs to be considered.

So how do you choose?

Cost may or may not be your primary concern, but it is still an important factor. Where do you cut corners? Our practice at GDC Construction is NOT to cut corners when selecting these primary materials. Quality products that button up the home and will stand the test of time are a priority.

Interior components including flooring, walls, and counter tops include a vast assortment of materials such as tile, stone, wood, metal, and composites. Architectural trim, cabinetry, hardware, fixtures and appliances are integral to the quality and style of the home but are not critical to the integrity of the structure.

Interior materials do however reflect your choices more overtly, and they visibly define your relationship to your home. This personal selection process makes for huge quality and cost fluctuations and should be carefully considered in the initial budgeting phase of your project.

In our next column, we will talk about the criteria for selecting interior materials, sources for finding top quality materials at the best price, and purchasing practices, which will enhance the value of your property.

For any questions or comments regarding your new build or any construction project, please contact us at www.gdcconstruction.com, or come see us at GDC Construction, 1031 Silverado Street, La Jolla, CA 92037 858-551-5222.