Katherine Salant : Construction 101

Building a House that Makes Sense for You

Most people find it easy to focus on floor tiles and paint colors. Zeroing in on the framing, wiring, heating and cooling, and all the other systems is harder. But one way or another, they all relate to your personal comfort and ultimately to how well you will enjoy your new house. If the air conditioning doesn't work you'll be miserable. If your utility bills are high you'll be kicking yourself, especially since this could have been avoided if energy efficiency had been a higher priority when you were planning your house.

You don't need to become a construction expert, but you do need to know enough about the various systems to make good choices. And some knowledge of construction will make your frequent site visit to watch your house go up a lot more interesting.

Durability Is a Big Deal

In every housing market in the country, the houses with the most cachet, that command the highest resale prices, are invariably the ones that were built with quality materials and a fanatical attention to building details to keep water out of the structure.

Going With the Faux in Building Materials

Fifty years age, look-alike materials looked fake and cheap. Today, they look like the genuine article. More importantly, they require little or no maintenance, and most homeowners couldn’t be happier. The material that is most often substituted is wood because it suffers the most from weathering. Most wood siding and trim on new houses now is “faux.”



	© 2003-2008 Katherine Salant