Content about Heat transfer

Tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements like insulation, replacement windows, and upgraded HVAC systems will end on Dec. 31, and Congress has not yet renewed them for 2012.

This warning from the Alliance to Save Energy gives homeowners less than a month to take advantage of as much as $500 in tax credits on their 2011 federal tax returns.

Applegate Insulation, a Webberville, Mich.-based company, has recently gained licensure to market both Applegate loose-fill and Applegate stabilized cellulose in California. The cellulose insulation supplier was actively marketed on the West Coast in the 1980s and ’90s. A recent acquisition in Colorado brought the company back into the California market, making the product available nationwide.

Bonded Logic, a company that sells insulation made from recycled denim, has landed a contract with Menards, according to an article in the Arizona Republic. 

The Chandler, Ariz, company will sell its Ultratouch Denim Insulation product in 262 Menards stores in 13 Midwestern states. The product will also be available by special order. 

GreenFiber natural fiber blown-in insulation was installed as part of Cherokee Studios, a project recently named as a Top 10 Green Build Project for 2011 by The American Institute of Architect’s (AIA’s) Committee on the Environment (COTE). 

Greenville, S.C.-based Guardian Building Products has named Steven Ziessler as president of the fiberglass insulation manufacturer and building products distributor.

Ziessler replaces the retiring Duane Faulkner, and will oversee the worldwide operations of Guardian's building products business, including manufacturing, marketing, distribution and product development.

Ziessler’s background includes positions at Kimberly-Clark, Cellu Tissue and Clearwater Paper.

Houston-based Quanex Building Products Corp. has agreed to purchase Edgetech I.G., a maker of warm edge insulating glass spacer systems for window and door customers in North America and abroad. The all-cash transaction, valued at $107 million, is expected to close on April 1.

Knauf Insulation, the Shelbyville, Ind.-based manufacturer, has filed a patent infringement action against CertainTeed Corp. in an Indiana federal court. According to the lawsuit, Knauf Insulation mineral wool is made with ECOSE technology, a sustainable binder technology based on rapidly renewable bio-based materials rather than petroleum-based chemicals commonly used in traditional fiberglass insulation products.  

Huntsville, Ala.-based Line-X Protective Coatings will join the 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' list of suppliers on an upcoming project in Hampton Roads, Va. The company will donate its spray-on insulation Foam-Guard and Aspart-X floor coating. 

A Home Depot store in Concord, N.H., reopened late on Jan. 24 after a pick-up truck drove through the wall of a local residence and landed in the living room. According to the story in the Union Leader, the driver of the pick-up lost control of the vehicle on a 90-degree curve in the road and plowed completely through the living room wall. The occupants of the home -- a man and his 7-year-old twin daughters -- escaped injury. But they needed to repair the damage enough to get through the night.

In today’s market, the products that go into a home are more important than ever. Buyers are demanding better quality, greener design and more features for less money, and so are builders. On the following pages is a collection of new, innovative and design-oriented products to help builders save time — or keep up with the times.

Mission Stone Fireplace Surrounds