For more than 25 years, the annual BUILDER Brand Use Study—conducted by The Farnsworth Group on behalf of BUILDER—has measured the current product choices and attitudes of U.S. builders, contractors, and developers. From one survey to the next, the industry’s responses paint a picture of how those opinions have shifted over the years, from brand to brand preferences up to broad attitudes and influences on product choice.
More than 1,000 respondents from across the country weighed in to share their brand choice preferences and practices for the coming year. The list includes single-family builders, builder-developers, general contractors, and multifamily builders, both public and private, with product volumes ranging from less than five to over 50 new homes each year.
Given the opportunity to name brands across 51 building product categories, respondents are asked which building product brands they are most familiar with; which do they consider the highest quality; which brands have they used in the past two years; and which ones do they use the most, overall? At the category level, they are also asked whether performance, warranty, or reputation influence their product selection most, and whether those responses change across price points.
Many of these brands remain strong in their categories from one year to the next. A sampling of the survey’s leading choices for most-used building product brands include: Trex for composite/PVC decking; LiftMaster for garage door openers; Sherwin-Williams for paints, stains, and varnishes; CertainTeed for vinyl siding; Tyvek by DuPont for housewrap; and Trus Joist by Weyerhaeuser for engineered I-joists.
Still, more than 65% of builders are more willing to try new products and brands in their projects. The majority of survey respondents are looking for new or advanced product features—a preference consistent across all regions and average sales prices. Price, quality, and green/sustainable components are among the strongest factors in the final decision, followed by availability, building new and different housing types, style, warranty, and brand reputation.
Click here to view the BUILDER Brand Use Study’s full results, which include response breakdowns by region, unit volume, and average sales price, overall and within each of the product categories.
