High Point Market Will Be a Tale of Two Shows
As the world’s biggest furniture market starts this weekend, it will be all about the haves and have-nots. When the furniture industry gathers in High Point, NC, over the next ten days for its spring market, it will be with the dark cloud of tariffs hanging over it, creating possible opportunities for vendors who either […]
Lowe’s Big Acquisition Pushes Them Further into Pro Business
With its $1.3 billion purchase of Artisan Design Group, the giant DIY retailer continues to expand its focus on trade customers. Artisan Design Group, based in Dallas, operates nationwide and provides design, distribution and installation services for interior surface finishes, including flooring, cabinets and countertops to homebuilders and property managers. It has 132 distribution, design […]
TimberHP Files for Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy
The wood fiber insulation producer is restructuring to eliminate its debt and will continue in operation. Based in Madison, ME, TimberHP said in court papers that it ran into financial difficulties from delays and unexpected costs retrofitting its paper mill facility because of inflation and supply-chain issues. The pre-arranged filing is expected to eliminate about […]
Mass Timber Support Bill Pushed in U.S. Senate
The Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act, which has bipartisan support, promotes the use of mass timber in U.S. construction. The renewed effort to pass the legislation originally introduced last year is led by Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley and Idaho Republican Senator James Risch and supports efforts to promote the use of mass timber in […]
A New 3D-Printed Railway Shelter Shows the Potential for the Technology
Most uses of 3D printing are still for smaller objects and products but the technique is increasingly being used in new construction. In a remarkable example of the potential for 3D printing technology and how it might ultimately compete with more traditional building methods, workers in Hatsushima, Japan built a rail transit shelter in less […]
Lumber Prices Up in March, but Tariff Concerns Loom
Madison’s Lumber Reporter shows increases in prices at the end of the month, with many holding off on buying pending new trade developments. In the week ending March 28, 2025, Madison’s said the price of 2×4 benchmark softwood lumber Western Spruce-Pine-Fir was $545 MFBM (thousand feet board measure), up $10 or 2 percent from the […]
Washington DC, Las Vegas, SF and Dallas Lead Home Downsizing Trend
If you’re looking for a new apartment or condo and it seems smaller than you expected, you’re not imagining things: downsizing has become widespread. New research from Storage Sense, which runs storage facilities and would of course benefit from this trend, shows that apartments and condominiums in many major American cities have gotten smaller over […]
With Fires Raging, KB Home Unveils ‘Wildfire Resistant’ Development
The big builder has opened a new community in California that it says meets Insurance Institute for Business & Home safety standards. The recent wildfires that have hit parts of the country – especially California – are prompting home builders to develop structures that offer the most fire-resistant construction possible. KB Home is taking up the cause […]
What Is the Most Popular TV Home Design Ever?
We all love the homes on television so home builders might want to know which are the ones Americans would most like to live in. Yes, they’re not real people and real homes – some of them are just facades and these days they may even be computer generated – but when a research company […]
A New London Exhibition Celebrates Japanese Master Carpentry
The works of Tsunekazu Nishioka, who passed away a quarter century ago and is considered Japan’s greatest “miyadaiku,” or master carpenter, are now on display. “The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan’s Forests” opened at Japan House London last month and runs through July 6, celebrating the work of this classic woodworking technique and […]