NBN Online for the week of October 3, 2005

Builders Prevail Against Costly Energy Code Change

In a victory for housing affordability, NAHB prevailed in an effort to roll back new, more stringent insulation requirements at International Code Council hearings in Detroit on Sept. 29.

The new requirements would have provided little savings to consumers in reduced energy costs, changed established construction practices and unfairly benefited the fiberglass insulation industry.

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Lumber Prices Provided by Random Lengths

Builders Offer $100,000 Reward to Nab ELF Saboteurs

In partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) has announced that it is offering up to $100,000 for the identification of and information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for criminal acts in the state claimed by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

Builders Confront Price Spikes in Devastated Areas

While inevitable spikes in building materials prices such as those following last year’s hurricanes in Florida are now occurring along the Gulf Coast and in North Carolina in the aftermath of Katrina, Rita and Ophelia, builders and remodelers need to be on guard against price gouging by suppliers and take steps to limit their exposure to unforeseen costs in their sales contracts.