Veneer stone nails top Builders’ Show award criteria

Sources: National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C.; Evolve Stone, Winchester, Va.; CP staff Evolve Stone Mortarless Series manufactured stone veneer, cast to enable installation with pneumatic nail guns, took Most Innovative Building Material and Best of Show honors in the National Association of Home Builders’ Best of IBS Awards program. Awards in eight categories are presented to International Builders’…

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NAHB Institute’s premier report tracks deep dearth of workers

Sources: Home Builder Institute, Washington, D.C.; CP staff The residential construction industry faces a shortfall of 200,000 skilled trades workers, according to the Home Builder Institute’s inaugural HBI Construction Labor Market Report. “This persistent challenge endangers the affordability and availability of housing and hinders a robust economic recovery,” affirms HBI CEO Ed Brady, noting how labor represents approximately 30 to…

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NAHB analysis shows doubling of concrete-framed home volume

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff Annual concrete-framed home completions climbed from 42,000 to 86,000 over the 2015-2019 window, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. With lumber prices up more than 170 percent from mid-April through mid-September, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association cites market conditions favorable for…

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PRODUCERS – MARCH 2020

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Eagle Materials Inc. directors have taken a key step toward mid-year separation of cement- and gypsum wallboard-centered Heavy and Light Materials businesses into independent, New York Stock Exchange-traded companies, both Dallas based. Leading the Heavy Materials namesake will be current Chairman Mike Nicolais and President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Haack. Leading the Light Materials business, operating as American Gypsum Company, will be Chairman Dave Powers, former Eagle Materials CEO and current director, and President and CEO Craig Kesler, current chief financial officer.

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EPA clarifies federal vs. state jurisdiction in definitive waters rule

Sources: Environmental Protection Agency; National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

With the backdrop of the 2020 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James announced the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. A clear definition for “waters of the United States,” it lays to rest one of the most contentious EPA actions—a 2015 Clean Water Act reinterpretation expanding federal authority over bodies of water minuscule and massive—attempted under the Obama administration.  

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A breath of fresh air from the National Association of Home Builders

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By: Pierre G. Villere

The top line economic indicators are mixed these days, but we remain bullish at our firm about the future of the construction industry. My frustration is with the press, from CNBC to the major news networks on both the conservative and liberal sides of the political spectrum, with their need to fill the day with news. This results in long, anguished speculation about the state of the economy, and just more of the Chicken Little Syndrome, as I call it (“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”).

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Home Builders stats counter pervasive speculation on the economy

Sources: Allen-Villere Partners, New Orleans; CP staff

A National Association of Home Builders analysis of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Census Bureau data contrasts with widely subscribed pessimism on the economy and outlook for construction. In his latest dispatch for Concrete Products, construction materials management consultant Pierre Villere weighs NAHB estimates—tracking market activity through August and indicating single-family home sales up 18 percent year over year—against a prevailing, ‘sky is falling’ mood. 

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Genest Concrete’s Comfort Block warmly received at NAHB show

Sources: CP staff; National Association of Home Builders, Washington, D.C.; Genest Concrete, Sanford, Me.

An insulated concrete masonry wall system, with block placed on adhesive or thin set mortar, was among Best of IBS Awards/Most Innovative Building Products category finalists spotlighted during the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show. Developed by Maine building and hardscape unit producer Genest Concrete, Comfort Block is offered in two- and four-piece versions, CB-8 and CB-16, for 8- or 16-in. thick walls.

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ORGANIZATIONS – MARCH 2016

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James Bogdan has joined National Ready Mixed Concrete Association as senior director, Sustainability Initiatives. Based in Pittsburgh, he will help position members to meet new requirements in such green building standards as LEED and Green Globes. Initiatives include product sustainability and transparency, supply chain sustainability, and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.

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