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How to cut a new-build budget the smart way — a builder explains
When your new build or remodel is over budget, you’ll be faced with some tough decisions. Ease the pain with this pro’s advice about which components are most necessary to your home’s quality and why.
There are some components of a home that are best to get right the first time around. We’re talking about the components that are difficult (or even impossible) to replace later, especially those that form the home’s building envelope. Investing in this way ensures long-term durability and comfort when resources are limited.
We asked one of our most trusted high-performance builders to explain more. Jake Bruton of Aarow Building in Columbia, Missouri, told us how he talks to his clients about spending the budget. Before we get into his advice, however, it’s helpful to gain a basic understanding of a key building science concept.
(Yes, we said building science. This is a field that applies engineering and physics to make buildings better. And there’s no one better prepared to give a crash course than Bruton who is a leading voice in the industry writing and speaking on the subject — let’s dive in!)
What's a building envelope?
“The No. 1 goal of a building is to create separation between inside and outside,” Bruton said. “We’re trying to keep the air we’ve paid to condition inside and the outside elements outside.” This is how Bruton describes the role of the building envelope or the parts of the building that protect your home from the conditions outside while also helping to preserve the conditions you’ve created indoors.
The main components of a home’s building envelope include:
- Wall assembly: From the structural components to the insulation to the siding and more, this includes everything that makes up the walls.
- Roof assembly: From trusses to shingles and more, this is everything that makes up the roof.
- Windows and doors: In addition to the windows and doors themselves, this includes the materials that connect these elements to the home.
- Foundation: From the walls to the slab to the footings and more, these are the components that make up the system.
All of these foundational elements that make up the building envelope must be properly constructed in order to perform well. This means they help control against water, air, thermal, and vapor. The pros call the barriers that address these four things “control layers.” The control layers help keep the building separated from the environment.
For example, windows help make up the building envelope, which is why their quality is so important. But their installation is also important. This is why we say you can have the best window in the world, but it won’t matter if it’s not installed properly. A properly installed window will connect with all the control layers.
A properly planned building envelope should run the perimeter of all parts of the home you’ll be heating and air conditioning. Going back to the example of windows, which make up significant portions of the wall in any home, you can see why they must connect with the control layers in order to keep the interior of the home separate from the outdoors.
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Is it worth it to buy high-quality windows?
Windows are essentially large openings in your wall assembly, which is why their quality is essential. “The window you can see through is never going to perform as well as a 6- to 8-inch wall,” Bruton said. But none of us want to live in a house without windows either. In fact, more and more people want the most glass possible. So how do you strike a balance when your budget is tight?
