Building Materials

Off-the-Shelf Fix for I-Joist Miscuts

I-joist manufacturers' standards dictate that web holes must be perfect circles to transfer shear forces properly, and they advise builders of the minimum distance between holes and from bearing points of the joist.

Building Materials

Panels Get Tougher Thanks to Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

Engineers at the University of Maine's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center might have invented a way to help houses survive natural disasters.

Moisture Management

Moisture Management to Prevent Mold

Mold prevention can be a watershed for your business

Building Materials

Plastic Ducts Can Limit Leaks

A recent installation of a rigid-plastic ductwork system in a home in Cartersville, Ga., indicates that plastic ducts can reduce air leakage.

Building Materials

Kitchen Convenience in the Bath

Be it to shampoo hair or clean the sink, the Catalina pullout bathroom faucet from Price Pfister makes each job easier.

Building Materials

Materials Price Spikes Erode Builder Margins

And anticipated oil-related increases have yet to hit.

Building Materials

The Return of Linoleum

Once a kitchen standard, linoleum began losing ground to other flooring types, namely sheet vinyl, in the 1940s.

Building Materials

Don't Paint Just by Numbers

Cost of materials should be merely one factor when evaluating paints and stains.

Building Materials

Stay One Step Ahead of the Storm

For help in scheduling, protecting materials and ensuring that work gets done in a safe environment, builders increasingly are using software programs that deliver the specifics on job-site weather conditions.

Building Materials

Lumber Price Spikes a Boon to Big Builders?

Recent price spikes for framing lumber, wood structural panels and oriented strand board have led some Wall Street stock analysts to conclude that private builders are an endangered species.

Home Builders Institute's Schools to Skills Grant Application Open Through December

As Mortgage Rates Rise, Buyers Lose Purchasing Power

Renters Are Choosing Single-Family Homes for These Features