Built Right Awards

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Innovation in Home Improvement Award

For the contractor who found a better way. This award is open to every trade and goes to jobs where a new material, method or piece of technology made the home work better for the people who live in it.

Enter an innovative project

What our judges look for

Examples include smart water shutoff and leak sensing, solar-ready or heat pump retrofits, aging-in-place bathrooms, prefabricated or 3D-scanned installs, and new low-maintenance materials. Judges use the same scoring as every category, and the Difficulty and Transformation scores carry the innovation.

  • A real problem the usual approach would not have solved as well
  • New materials, methods or technology used correctly and to code
  • Results you can measure, like lower energy bills, less upkeep or better access
  • Ideas other contractors could learn from and use
  • The same solid workmanship and happy homeowner we look for in every category

Photo tips

Show the problem you started with, the new product or method while it goes in, and the finished result. If you have numbers, like an energy audit before and after, include them in your description.

Leave out logos, yard signs, house numbers, and homeowner faces so judges score the work, not the brand.

Innovation winners