Choosing Building Materials

With today’s budgets straining many school districts, lowering operational costs in facilities is paramount. When designing a new school or renovating an existing one, material selection can have major impacts down the road when considering the life cycle costs of a building.

1. What materials will extend the life of the building?

2. What materials require minimal maintenance?

3. Can I afford to pay a little more now if necessary to save a lot in the future?

Exterior materials – Brick, stone, or masonry materials are extremely durable and easy to maintain. Pre-finished metal also generally holds up well. At the smaller scale, think about exposed steel columns and lintels. If they are galvanized, they would not need painted every few years. Similarly, anodized aluminum door and window frames would not require paint like hollow metal frames.

Interior materials – There is no end to the options of materials to select from. Evaluate the use of each space to determine where the greatest impact can be made. Higher end materials may not be necessary in the entire building.

Corridors – These are high traffic areas that see a lot of abuse over time. Masonry in these areas have the same benefit as when they are used on the exterior of the building. If the walls are drywall, consider placing ceramic tile, laminate panels or another stronger and cleanable material over the face of the wall. For the floors, if the budget allows, terrazzo will last the life of the building and does not require waxing like vinyl tile does. Other options that would eliminate the need to wax floors could be porcelain tile or solid vinyl tile, among others.

Classrooms – Finishes here can greatly vary depending on how each district uses their spaces. The common choices are vinyl tile or carpet. Tile offers the most flexibility in a space since rugs can easily be placed over them. If there are sinks in the classrooms, this also keeps these areas easy to clean. Carpet can be beneficial, especially in second floor classrooms, to lessen the sound of moving furniture into the first floor rooms below. Extending a higher end finish in these rooms is often difficult to do with many budgets, but the same advantages could be seen here as those mentioned for the corridors.

Restrooms and kitchens – Quarry tile, ceramic and porcelain tiles, and poured quartz flooring are all good options for these spaces. In the facilities we have been working on recently, we are seeing more districts choose the poured quartz flooring because there are no grout lines that will discolor over time. This also provides a seamless surface to clean.

This is clearly just touching the surface of the many material choices that have to be made on each project. I encourage you to talk through the benefits of each material with your architect, keeping in mind the life cycle implications of these decisions.