Materials found in a home

Have you ever wondered about the performance and longevity differences between vinyl vs wood siding, what about steel vs wood framing, Or a concrete vs asphalt driveway? Well you certainly wouldn’t be alone. Across the world, materials that go in to building homes vary drastically by location, some of this has to do with cost, local availability, or building conditions and requirements. Understanding some of the basic differences between common building materials is a valuable topic that most will benefit from, whether you are planning an upcoming project or just want a better understanding of the materials in your home. This will contain a brief overview of materials while further posts go into greater detail on individual materials.

Wood is one of, if not the most common building materials, and can be used in a variety of projects big and small. Framing, or the bones of a house are often built out of wood, as are decks and other similar structures. Wood used for building usually comes in nominal sizes, while all sorts of shapes and sizes can be ordered for special projects. Numerous coatings and treatments exist for wood to achieve varying levels of weather resistance or appearance.

Concrete is another material found in every home, typically in the foundation. Concrete comes in a semi liquid form and hardens into the form it is poured, this makes it customizable to serve all sizes of project. Concrete is very strong in compression, allowing it to support heavy loads, but is very weak in tension, making preparation, reinforcement, and design extremely important when working with concrete. Concrete will also not rot like wood, but that does not mean it is necessarily waterproof.

Plastic or composite represent a growing segment in building materials which can be used for a variety of applications. Vinyl siding has become a very popular choice for the exterior of many homes because it is cheap and relatively weather resistant. In more recent years composite decking has become very popular, even though it is often a higher priced product than standard wood decks. Composite products are available to mimic the appearance of materials like brick, wood and nearly everything in between allowing you alter the look of your home without the considerations of using traditional materials.

These are just a few of the basic different materials that are likely in your home. In the following blogs we will go into more detail on these and other materials allowing you to better understand your home to protect and maintain it.