Home Innovation Shares Expert Insights on Fenestration at WDMA Conference

Speaking at the WDMA Technical & Manufacturing Conference in Minneapolis last week, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson shared his expertise on the market for fenestration products, based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys.

As the presentation highlights, location is key. Remodeling is the largest market for window sales, and being successful in the remodeling window market requires manufacturers to make windows available through local specialty dealers and contractors — that’s where the vast majority of windows are sold. Home improvement warehouse sales represent only about 30% of the market, and the DIY segment represents only 15% of windows purchased.

For window materials, Vinyl is slightly declining in market share overall but is still the most popular material by far. Composite windows are rapidly gaining ground, particularly in remodeling. Market share for Wood windows remains fairly stable.

Source: Builder Practices Reports, Home Innovation Research Labs

However, the recipe for success in exterior and patio doors for the remodeling market is different. A strong majority of these products are sold through home improvement warehouses, such as Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards. Most are installed by remodeling generalists and handymen, and about 35% are installed by DIYers. Fiberglass is now the most popular exterior door in new homes (see graph below), but wood remains most popular in remodeling.
 
The WDMA Technical and Manufacturing Conference offers a unique convergence of industry expertise, professional networking, and regulatory insight. Fostering both technical and professional development, the conference is an ideal venue to participate in leading-edge conversation on emerging technologies, manufacturing applications, regulatory issues, and a wide range of topics of interest to the window, door, and skylight industry.
 
As we highlighted in a previous post, Ed is frequently called upon to share his insights with various industry groups. If you’re interested in finding out more about the data presented above, purchasing your own survey data reports, or enlisting Ed to present at your industry conference, get in touch.

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