Total spending on public and private construction projects registered growth of 1.0 percent during February, while January's strong gain was revised even higher to 2.5 percent. Total nonresidential spending increased 1.2 percent mostly due to the improvement in the public sector. However, the private nonresidential segment slipped 0.5 percent.

On the residential side of things, a 0.7 percent rise was recorded, which was shored up by a 3.6 percent bump in home improvement outlay as spending in the single-family sector was off 1.1 percent and multifamily eased back 0.4 percent.

Reported separately, retail sales of building materials wiped out last month's growth by falling 4.4 percent in the latest report.

A statement by the Wells Fargo Economics Group said, "Construction outlays are volatile during the winter months, but spending appears to be building momentum headed into the spring."