Portland, Ore.-based Neil Kelly Co., a design-build remodeling firm that has remodeled more than 30,000 homes, announced its Top 10 interior design trends for 2013.

Twenty of the firms design professionals who shared their knowledge based on working with material suppliers and vendors came up with the following list: 

Parr Lumber will open its latest window and door showroom on Oct. 8 in Portland, Ore. Called Aloha Window and Door, the 2,900-sq.-ft. design center will feature each of the three top window types, vinyl, fiberglass and wood. The vinyl windows feature Jeld-Wen, Milgard, Cascade and Ply-Gem. Fiberglass windows include Marvin Integrity and Milgard and the wood windows include Jeld-Wen, Marvin and Andersen.

Portland, Maine-based Hunter Panels announced its new "Hunter Xci" product line for use in exterior commercial wall applications. The launch of the Xci product line boosts Hunter's offerings of insulation products for the commercial building envelope.

"With recent upgrades to the I-Codes calling for continuous insulation, Hunter Polyiso is a perfect fit for commercial wall assemblies," said Alma Garnett, VP of Hunter Panels. 

CalPortland Company (CPC), a major producer of Portland cement and building materials in the United States, has agreed to pay a $1.425 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its cement plant in Mojave, Calif.

As announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), CPC will spend an additional $1.3 million on pollution controls that will reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), pollutants that can lead to childhood asthma and smog.

Parr Lumber recently replaced a truck stolen from a Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East job site.

On Sept. 29, Habitat construction staff and volunteers found that the truck, power tools and construction materials had been taken from the Victoria Cottages job site – which will be home to eight local, hardworking families -- near SE 204th and SE Stark in Gresham, Ore.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Index, a leading indicator of U.S. housing prices, delivered some good news for a change on Aug. 30, reporting that home prices increased by 3.6% in the second quarter of 2011, after falling 4.1% during the previous quarter. Compared with the second quarter of 2010, however, the index still posted an annual decline of 5.9%.

Teufel Nursery, a landmark Portland, Ore., garden center and landscaping business that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, has paid off a major creditor, according to an article in the Portland Business Journal. 

The founder of Rent a Husband, Kalle Warren Jr., has filed a lawsuit against Ace Hardware and his former attorneys in a Portland, Maine, Superior Court, according to an article in the Portland Press Herald. He is seeking $200 million plus punitive damages.

The idea of a nationwide chain of green building material outlets has been dreamed about by many eco-minded business people and investors. But it’s never gotten past the one-off stage, where successful green retailers push past their local markets with a successful model that can work in multiple cities across the country. Until now. 


The merger of Ecohaus and Green Depot, announced on Feb. 7, is a West-meets-East event that unites three of the pioneers in the green-building movement. Four, if you count Greenmaker in Chicago, which Green Depot purchased in 2008.