Awareness of residential concrete options on increase

According to the Portland Concrete Association's newsletter, homeowners are more aware than ever of the availability of concrete home-building systems.

PCA Market Research's 2000 Homeowner Report states that awareness is at 55 percent, up slightly from 52 percent in 1998.

The report is based on a survey of homeowners across the United States. The response rate was 61 percent, or 1,830 homeowners. The average homeowner has a household income of $53,830, lives in a home valued at less than $125,000, with less than 2,500 square feet, and has no plans to move.

According to the report, the three most important variables for homeowners when selecting a new home are durability, energy efficiency and insect resistance, followed by indoor air quality, material availability, and low initial cost.

Homeowners responded that they would most likely use wood (49 percent), followed by insulating concrete forms (30 percent), and concrete block (28 percent) in a future home, according to the PCA newsletter.

In the survey, the majority of homeowners indicated that they think concrete is superior to wood in durability (59 percent), insect resistance (61 percent), and disaster resistance (59 percent).

Also, more than 30 percent think concrete is superior for energy efficiency (32 percent) and noise reduction (44 percent). Wood was ranked higher only in the area of design flexibility (51 percent).

For more information, see www.concretehomes.com.