Residential building professionals know that trying to predict homeowner preferences can sometimes be a challenge. While home design trends can come and go, the latest market research tells us that consumers' growing interest in sustainability is here to stay. The 2020 Realtors® and Sustainability Report found that 61 percent of residential consumers are interested in sustainability, and Architectural Digest reported that homeowners and designers seeking out “healthy building materials” will be a sustainability trend that emerges in 2021. This adoption of values is heavily driven by heightened awareness to consumers’ impact on the environment, from indoor air quality levels to building material waste amassed in landfills.

This unbridled pursuit of bettering the world around us comes at a moment when interest in outdoor home improvement projects is at a historically high level. Building professionals can meet this moment by recommending eco-friendly building products for their upcoming outdoor home improvement and renovation projects.

Need somewhere to start? Turn to responsible manufacturers like Fortress Building Products to discover clean, safe building products. By carefully examining product composition and utilizing renewable resources, the building and construction industry can meet consumer preferences and support clean building initiatives in twofold.

Recycled and recycable steel framing is one such eco-friendly building product that would be a natural fit for your next project. In a nutshell: steel is a unique building material that keeps on giving: relatively little energy is used to produce it, any waste from a project can be repurposed without any strength or durability lost, and it’s not toxic to our health or the environment. Recycled and recyclable, steel frame profiles eliminate issues associated with moisture absorption. In application, this makes for a more enduring, dimensionally stable deck framing solution that can last 25 years of more. At the end of the product’s life, steel-framed structures can be dismantled during renovations or demolitions, and the steel reused. Many building designers are implementing this type of ideology and call it, “design for deconstruction.”

The building methods, materials and resources that we put in practice can all contribute to the impact the construction industry has on the environment. At Fortress Building Products, we take that responsibility seriously. We know that creating beautiful, long-lasting spaces starts with offering products that are ahead of the curve across industry standards. Be a part of the global change at fortressbp.com/about/who-we-are.