Building materials
The materials you use for floors and internal walls influence the performance and comfort of your home. Heavy materials help stabilise temperature, whereas lightweight materials allow the home to heat and cool quickly.
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Heavyweight materials
Choose building materials for the internal walls and floor according to the amount of north-facing windows and solar access.
Heavy materials such as brick and concrete store heat and are good for homes with good solar access and large north-facing windows.
Using too much brick or concrete can make your house difficult to heat if you do not get enough sun.
Lightweight materials
Light materials such as timber and plasterboard do not store much heat. They allow rooms to heat quickly and cool overnight.
This feature is good for homes with limited sun and small north-facing windows, and in areas where you need quick heating. However, homes built with a lot of lightweight materials can become uncomfortable in summer.
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Choose the right building materials
Choose the building materials appropriate to your situation. Read through the following guidelines when planning your home.
Checklist of building materials by location
1. Good sunshine
For a home with good sun and large north-facing windows consider these building materials:
- Insulated slab floor with lightweight external and internal walls. (See Fig. 1.) Use tiles or similar hard floor coverings in rooms with large north windows.
- Insulated timber floors coupled with insulated masonry external walls and limited masonry inside work well.
Fig. 1. A concrete slab on the ground floor stores heat and stabilizes internal room temperatures
2. Poor sunshine
For a home that has poor sun and small north-facing windows consider these building materials:
- insulated timber floors with lightweight external and internal walls
- an insulated slab floor with lightweight external and internal walls (brick veneer or weatherboard and plaster) is suitable. Avoid tiles or other hard floor coverings in heated areas. Use carpet instead.
3. Warmer regions
If building in warmer regions consider:
- an insulated concrete slab floor with internal brick walls in north-facing rooms. A combination of materials can work well: concrete slab floor in north-facing rooms with a timber floor in south-facing sleeping areas. (See Fig. 1.)
4. Colder regions
If building in colder regions:
- avoid extreme amounts of heavyweight material like brick or concrete.
More information:
Interiors
- Materials for interior walls, floors and ceilings [Smarter Homes website.]
- Floors, wall cladding, roofing and joinery [Consumer Build website.]
Concrete
- Concrete floor issues [Consumer Build website.]
Flooring
- Checklists for choosing carpet and hard floor options [Ministry for the Environment website.]
Wood
- Buyer’s Good wood guide [Greenpeace website.]