Borawski Real Estate
Kathy Borawski, Borawski Real EstatePhone: (413) 539-4878
Email: [email protected]

New Building Materials for Today's Homes

by Kathy Borawski 12/28/2020

Photo by Peter Boccia on Unsplash

Tired of the same old hardwood floors and vinyl siding? So are the designers of America's building materials. New, improved materials are becoming readily available every day. They're more sustainable and they last longer than materials of old. Not surprisingly, they look nice, too. Three of the best we've found so far include roofing made from porcelain tiles, cork flooring that comes on a roll, and a new style of brick that looks anything but. 

Perennial Roofing

What's resistant to frost and fire and withstands wind gusts of up to 110 mph? If you choose wisely, it could be your new roof. One of the newest building materials on the market is Perennial Porcelain Roofing by Daltile, made from the same type of porcelain that's been protecting kitchen floors for decades.  Perennial roofing has a lot going for it, including:

  • It's manufactured in the USA.
  • It's impervious to water.
  • It's surprisingly lightweight.
  • It features high resistance to breakage.
  • It can last up to 75 years. 
  • When you opt for a porcelain-tile roof, it may very well be the last one you ever need. 

    Corkoleum

    Is it cork? Is it linoleum? When you install new Corkoleum flooring, you'll get the best of both materials. Corkoleum comes on a roll, just like linoleum, but it looks like cork. Various textures are available, and you can have your Corkoleum flooring dyed to fit any decor. Corkoleum has great advantages over other forms of flooring, such as:

  • Corkoleum is soft to walk on and superior at muffling noise. 
  • It's highly sustainable, making it an ecological choice for green construction. 
  • It's easily installed and maintained. 
  • When coated with a waterproof finish, Corkoleum becomes just as durable as linoleum. 
  • If you're looking for something new and comfortable in residential or commercial flooring, consider the many advantages of Corkoleum. 

    Old Brick House 

    Old Brick House is a new style of brick that's been specially manufactured and tumbled to look like the hand-hewn bricks our ancestors once used. Created by Pine Hall Brick, Old Brick House features “intentional imperfections” and color variations to give every home a unique, artisan appeal. There are currently four styles of Old Brick House and each is named after -- you guessed it -- an old brick house:

  • Kennon House
  • Barker House
  • Tufts House
  • Weeks House
  • Each house is a real, colonial structure that still stands in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Virginia today. And now your new home can mimic that same, heirloom appeal when you build it using a style of Old Brick House. 

    If you're in the market for a new construction that you can design from the floor joists up, you're going to love all the modern options in innovative building materials available. Tomorrow's building materials are out there right now, just waiting to change the way you think about home design. 

    About the Author
    Author

    Kathy Borawski

     Kathy Borawski is a Northampton native who started in the Real Estate Industry in1985. She is a product of the Northampton public schools and a Northampton taxpayer, landlord, and co-founder of HARP, The Hampshire Association of Rental Properties, and a 3rd generation real estate broker, having learned the business from her father.