What's hot and not in materials

This Issue This is a part of the Building materials feature

By - , Build 176

More homeowners are choosing sheet metal roofs, and timber weatherboards have maintained a steady 60% of the market, according to recent data on materials choice for new housing.

Figure 2: Wall claddings market share for new housing.
Figure 1: Roof claddings market share for new housing.
Figure 3: Wall framing market share for new housing.

THE BRANZ New Dwellings Survey is one of the few sources of building material use over time. The survey first started in 1998 and collects a variety of information on materials and characteristics of new housing.

The data collected includes generic types of materials used by building component, as well as design information such as number of storeys, use of prefabrication, energy efficiency measures and other useful information as needed.

Roof cladding

Sheet steel remains the dominant roof cladding material for new houses. Both tiles – metal and concrete – and the ‘Other’ category, saw a loss of market share in 2018, as sheet steel saw a noticeable uptick in share (see Figure 1). ‘Other’ includes claddings like membrane roofing and various shingle options.

Figure 1: Roof claddings market share for new housing.

Wall cladding trends continue

The last year has seen a continuation of the recent trends in the wall cladding market. Finish bricks – clay and concrete – continued their decline in market share, falling below 30% share in 2018.Weatherboards– timber, fibre-cement and uPVC – has seen a flattening out in share after sustained growth from 2009 to 2017 (see Figure 2).

The majority of weatherboards are timber, with 59% share of the weatherboard market. The remainder consists of fibre-cement and uPVC.

The ‘Other’ category largely consists of metal, non-weatherboard fibre-cement, exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) and aerated autoclaved concrete (AAC).

Figure 2: Wall claddings market share for new housing.

Wall framing

Timber wall framing remains the predominant structural material in new housing, with a historical market share of around 90% (see Figure 3). Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) has been rapidly growing in share and now comprises around 10% of timber framing.

Concrete masonry was largely responsible for the upwards trend in the ‘Other’ category between 2013 and 2017, particularly for ground floors.

The majority (92%) of wall framing is precut or prenailed, which has held relatively steady over the past few years.

Figure 3: Wall framing market share for new housing.

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Figure 2: Wall claddings market share for new housing.
Figure 1: Roof claddings market share for new housing.
Figure 3: Wall framing market share for new housing.

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