NBN Online for the week of May 28, 2007

Bid to Require Fire Sprinklers Defeated at Code Hearings

During final hearings in Rochester, N.Y. last week for proposed changes to the International Residential Code, affordable housing advocates pushed back an effort to include requirements for fire sprinklers.

Proponents of mandating fire sprinklers for one- and two-family homes were unable to muster the two-thirds majority vote they needed. The May 22 vote was 476 to 375.

Contained in the code’s appendix, fire sprinkler requirements will remain a local jurisdictional choice, which is exactly as it should be according to representatives from NAHB state and local home builders associations who spoke at the code hearings.

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ICC Hearings Decide on CO Alarms, Foundation Wall Anchors and More

The culmination of the code amendment cycle for 2006 and 2007, the May 21-26 final action hearings of the International Code Council (ICC) ended in Rochester, N.Y. last week with a wide range of decisions of importance to the nation’s home building industry.

In each amendment cycle, through written and oral testimony NAHB actively advocates practical, cost-effective building codes for the International Residential Code (IRC) and the ICC’s other model codes.

2007 National Membership Day Sets New Record, 11,845

More than 400 local associations phoned in 11,845 new member pledges during NAHB’s 2007 National Membership Day on May 22, setting a new record for the event, according to preliminary results from the annual membership drive.

This year’s total was 24% higher than last year, the previous Membership Day record.  

“I know some people are surprised by the big jump in our numbers this year, but I’m not,” said Keith Butz, a builder member from Des Moines, Iowa who attended the telethon and Webcast at NAHB. “The networking and benefits membership offers are especially valuable when buyers are being more scrupulous and builders are being more cost-conscious. It’s times like this when we need membership the most and these numbers prove it.”

$1.2 Million Still Available in ‘Buy Now’ Grant Funds, Apply Today

NAHB has $1.2 million in “Buy Now” advertising assistance grants available to local associations to bolster home sales in markets hit hard by the current housing downturn.

NAHB is encouraging HBAs that have not yet received or been approved to receive grant money to apply for NAHB “Buy Now” Advertising Assistance Program grants.

Nation's Building News Will Not Be Published June 4 or June 11

Nation's Building News will not be published June 4 or June 11 while NBN staff is attending industry meetings and the NAHB Spring Board of Directors Meeting. Regular weekly publication will resume June 18.