A U.S. homebuilder estimates that increasing the domestic content of new houses by just 5 percent would create 220,000 American jobs.

Anders Lewendal is putting his money where his mouth is, as he constructs a Bozeman, Mont., home entirely of U.S.-made products. And shattering the conventional wisdom that domestic goods cannot compete on cost, Lewendal, an economist-turned-builder, says the house's price tag is barely 1 percent higher.

Goodbye, Chinese drywall.

Lewendal's homemade "Build America" campaign caught the attention of ABC News, which reported that the Montana dwelling is constructed with 120 products produced in 33 states, including Florida.

The drive to increase domestic content in new home construction makes sense on several levels, industry observers say.

"Licensed professional builders that construct for quality, as opposed to quantity, are likely already using many of these domestically made products," says Edie Owsley, a former spokeswoman for the Florida Home Builders Association.

"I think you could certainly pivot from the 'Made in America' story as potentially being a way to put Florida’s construction industry back to work," added Owsley, now with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

The National Association of Home Builders is only slightly less bullish than Lewendal, estimating that a 5 percent increase in domestic content could directly create 175,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs.

Ed Dion, president of Dion Builders in Tallahassee, said he tries to purchase materials that are locally made.

"It's not difficult to do. Plus, the warranties tend to be better, compared to throwaway products from overseas," he said.

Additionally, Dion noted that buying domestically is "more green. There's less shipping involved."

But there are limitations. Long, straight lumber needed for vertical construction is a rare U.S. commodity, but plentiful in Canada -- so Canadians dominate that niche, Dion said.

Similarly, homebuyers who demand Italian marble and other imports will always prevent builders from going 100 percent American.

Woody Knobel's Alumacart aluminum-fabricating company makes railing for high-end customized homes. Since Florida's housing market began tanking five years ago, the Jupiter-based firm has scrambled to add other boutique product lines, including trellises, wagons and carts.

Knobel said tight financing has slapped a double-whammy on small U.S. manufacturers.

"The biggest problem is not price of the worker, it's the working capital to be competitive with China. You can't be competitive with country that finances its business and helps them with working capital. It's not the same playing field," he says.

Knobel extends his ire to Wal-Mart, a prime purveyor and marketer of Chinese goods.

"Wal-Mart hurts the U.S. more than al-Qaida," he asserts. "The Chinese set the price. Our regulators need to go to the other countries and apply the same standards we have."

For his Montana home, Lewendal found that a box of U.S.-made nails cost $5 more than those made in China, and he paid $146 more for each bundle of steel. But he also discovered that the domestic nails were less prone to jamming nail guns.

Lewendal purchased American-made windows at the same price charged by foreign suppliers, and Lem Quist of Miami-based CGI Windows said U.S. manufacturers remain competitive in residential projects.

Using aluminum from Lakeland and glass from Ocala, CGI's 130 employees assemble impact-resistant windows, mainly for high-end homes.