SALES COACH

Construction 101
Uncover Homes' Hidden Selling Points

Educate yourself about a home’s construction features to establish your credibility and improve your new-home sales.

BY MICHAEL DICKENS

If you’ve just started selling new construction or are interested in getting into this area, learning basic construction knowledge can add to your credibility and make you more confident in presenting your product. Being able to do more with a new home than point to the kitchen counters and the pretty paint color also will help you give your clients and customers more confidence about making this major purchase. In addition, while this article focuses primarily on new construction, the same knowledge also will help you identify potential problems with existing construction. If you do suspect such problems, however, be sure that you advise buyers to hire an expert rather than giving them your own opinions on possible construction defects.

A few of the major factors to consider in a home’s construction are:

A water management strategy that prevents moisture entering the home through the foundation.

One of the most common and troubling problems any homeowner faces is a wet basement or crawlspace. Dampness can ruin stored items, create a musty odor, and possibly lead to mold growth. Unfortunately, even the best foundations aren't waterproof. Moisture can enter through the concrete, which is actually porous, or through cracks. However, careful construction can help minimize the likelihood of water problems.

When water pools around a foundation, pressure can build up and push moisture through the smallest of cracks. Every lot should be graded properly, at least 6 inches in 10 feet (a 5 percent slope), to direct rainwater and snow melt away from the house.


On the left, the grade is sloped toward the home, guiding water toward the home, including the
foundation walls. On the right, the grade is sloped away from the home, allowing surface water
to drain away from the home.

The foundation drainage system controls rising water by collecting water moving down the foundation walls and draining it away from the home. The system is made up of the perimeter drain, the filter system and granular fill, and the discharge and bleeder pipes. Often, the perimeter drain is in the wrong location—on top rather than along the side of the footings (the poured concrete pathways that help to spread the weight of the home from the foundation walls to the surrounding soil). If you view the house during construction, check to be sure that the top of the highest section of pipe is no higher than the top of the footing. Once the piping is installed, confirm that it is consistently sloped to discharge pipes leading down and away from the foundation and verify that the piping is continuous with no breaks. The drain should be surrounded by granular fill.


If you have the chance to look at the foundation when the house is being built, you should see
the drain pipe next to the footing, surrounded by granular fill.

Wall and roof insulation that keep the home comfortable year-round without high utility bills.

While the temperature and quality of the air inside the home aren’t visible, their effect on homeowners’ comfort and health is an important factor in long-term satisfaction with a home. Just as you need to bundle up on a cold day, a home needs to be wrapped in the proper amount of insulation against the elements. A well-designed and properly installed insulation system combined with air-sealing techniques that close gaps in walls and around windows can minimize drafts and uncomfortable spots and contribute to higher energy efficiency.

At a minimum, insulation should be placed in the floor of an unfinished attic, in the exterior walls, and in the wall between the garage and the living space. Insulation is typically referred to by its R-value. The higher the R-value, the more resistant a material is to heat flow. If you lived in Minnesota, for example, you'd want R-19 insulation in your walls because R-19 insulation is very resistant to heat flow and will hold in the heat longer. A more moderate climate such as Virginia might only need an R-13. To find out optimal levels of insulation for your region, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Insulation Fact Sheet.

All building codes require insulation in the exterior walls between the wood studs that make up the frame of the walls. Of the many types available, fiberglass batt insulation is most common. If you’re viewing a house before drywall has been installed, check that the installation fits snugly between the frame of the walls. Gaps will reduce the insulation’s effectiveness.

Most building codes also require insulation in the attic. Blown-in dry cellulose insulation, made from recycled, shredded newspaper that has been chemically treated to be fire-resistant, is commonly used in this area of the home. The depth of the insulation should be level across the floor; if it is lower at the edge of walls, for example, the insulation value will be reduced.

Heating and cooling systems that provide comfort and contribute to the home’s energy efficiency.

The heating and cooling system should keep homeowners comfortable year-round yet still provide the maximum energy efficiency possible.

An air-conditioning unit’s efficiency is measured by a seasonal energy efficiency rating, or SEER. SEERs range from 10 to 20; the higher the SEER, the more energy efficient the unit is. The typical SEER rating most builders use is a SEER 10, which is the lowest efficiency a central air-conditioning system can have by law. Using a SEER 12 unit can lower energy consumption by up to 20 percent.

A furnace or boiler’s energy efficiency is measured in annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE. As with the SEER, the higher the AFUE, the more energy efficient the system is.

Look for the yellow “EnergyGuide” label on both air-conditioning units and furnaces to find out their efficiency rating. For more information on the “EnergyGuide” label, visit ENERGYguide.com.


This label, which appears on every air-conditioning unit, explains its efficiency rating. Higher SEER ratings will probably help reduce utility bills.

While the location, size, or appearance of a home may initially seem most important to your clients or prospective customers, its underlying construction features will play a significant role in convincing them of the home’s quality and closing the sale. Competitive builders are increasingly building for performance, quality, and longer-term customer satisfaction. Knowing a home’s hidden features and using them as selling points to differentiate yourself, establish your credibility, and improve your sales approach will help you succeed in the competitive world of new-home sales.

Note: All images are copyright BuildIQ.