Best Building Materials for Your House

Summary

 – Building a house in wood: a trendy material

 – Building a stone house

 – Building material: cellular concrete

 – Building a brick house

 – Building a concrete house

 – Buying your building materials

 – Comparison of building materials for houses

Building your own home is an undertaking that requires meticulous planning. Before you begin actual construction, you must first choose the property; then the type of construction, the style of the house, the building materials for the house, and finally, the design of the plans.
On this foundation, you will be able to identify the proper partners (architect, builder) and initiate the necessary actions (guarantee subscription, building permission) to complete your project.
The choice of materials to build a house is essential, as they contribute significantly to the construction’s cost and quality.

Building a wooden house: a prevalent material

Wood is a material that is experiencing a revival in construction. Its natural insulating capacity (350 times greater than steel and 10 times greater than concrete) is one of its benefits since it avoids thermal bridges and thus saves energy.

The elements are prefabricated in the factory or the workshop and can be assembled quickly (3 to 6 weeks) and cleanly.

This restorative material ensures good living comfort without humidity. Moreover, it presents an excellent resistance to fire and seduces by its authentic charm.

Building a house in stone

Stone is a material less frequently used today than in the past. More expensive than concrete or brick, it is less easy to install but is more durable.

Very aesthetic, stone has the advantage of being a natural material whose extraction requires little energy. Therefore, it is part of the HQE (high environmental quality) approach, based on energy savings and waste recycling.

The stone is available today in many thicknesses, from 5 cm. It can be used to build walls or simply as a covering.

Building material: cellular concrete

Cellular concrete, also called thermostone, is frequently used in construction. It is assembled, thanks to mortar glue.

Formed from a mixture of sand, lime, air, and water, aerated concrete has the strength of stone and is resistant to fire and humidity (hygrometric regulator). It is also a good insulator, which can be used alone.

This mineral material is solid and light and can be used throughout the building site, from the foundations to the roof.

Building a house with brick

Clay brick is a traditional building material, like stone.

A new ecological material, the Monomer brick, is increasingly being used on building sites. This honeycomb brick has solid insulating power, and it makes it possible to construct a load-bearing wall without additional insulation.

Non-combustible, Monomur brick acts as a thermal regulator throughout the year: it retains heat in winter and stays cool in summer, saving energy.

Concrete house construction

Concrete is an efficient building material. Made of natural materials (gravel, sand, clay, and water), it has an outstanding grey energy balance, as there are many production sites worldwide, which significantly reduces transportation. This makes it an interesting material from an environmental point of view.

Concrete is very fire-resistant, very robust, and has a good price/performance ratio.

Buy your building materials.

It is possible to buy the materials needed to build the house yourself and then let a professional build the building.

 – The advantage is that you have better control over the quality of the materials you buy. This aspect can become decisive if you are demanding respect for the environment.

 – Disadvantage: the task can be long and tedious if you try to make your purchases in several DIY stores. In addition, if you are inexperienced, you may buy unsuitable materials, which will cause problems for the building professionals who will have to use them later.

It is more common to let the architect or company buy from its suppliers, as they usually obtain preferential rates. Moreover, the construction contract fixes the global cost of the work. All in all, this option represents a straightforward and comfortable approach for the buyer.

Comparison of house building materials

To choose the best material for your house, we offer you a comparative table of the house construction elements taking into account different aspects :

 – the thermal capacity ;

Good to know: the calculation is done thanks to the thermal conductivity coefficient, which describes the material’s ability to conduct or not the heat.

 – the robustness;

 – the respect of the environment;

Good to know: the calculation will be done by analyzing the grey energy, that is to say, the power that it is necessary to spend to manufacture, distribute, extract the raw materials, eliminate or recycle the product at the end of life.

The table below gives you the comparative elements of building materials such as price, durability, robustness, and insulation, to help you make your choice:

 

Comparative elements of building materials

	Robustness	Insulation	Environmental Respect	Price
Wood	+	+++	+++	+
Stone	+++	++	+++	+++
Cellular concrete	+++	+++	++	++
Classic brick	++	++	++	++
Concrete	++	++	++	++

+ = low; ++ = medium; +++ = high