Wood panels used to be a simple choice: plywood for structure, particleboard for budget shelving, and interior medium density fiberboard (MDF) for painted millwork. Then came panels engineered for the outside. Exterior MDF keeps the smooth, machinable surface fabricators expect while surviving moisture, rot, decay, and insects that ruin ordinary boards in a season or […]
Gypsum wallboard is one of the most common building products on any job site, yet its history is rarely told. The board traces back to the United Kingdom in the 1880s, and the mineral inside it has been used by builders for thousands of years. The same gypsum added to cement to control setting time
Cross-laminated timber, usually shortened to CLT, is a prefabricated solid engineered panel made from kiln-dried lumber boards or structural composite lumber bonded in alternating layers with structural adhesives. The result is a straight, rectangular panel with strength in two directions, cut to size at the mill, including door and window openings, and ready to assemble
Contractors source materials and machinery through more channels than ever. They buy from local yards, national distributors, and increasingly from online marketplaces where they can source and compare used equipment, and the supply side of the industry is consolidating at the same time. Distribution networks that took decades to build can change hands in a
When a national building materials distributor agreed to pay $450 million for a software company, the price tag made headlines across the industry. The quieter lesson was about technology: software has become a core part of how building material firms run, not an optional add-on. Contractors already track work with AI cameras and project tracking
Insulated metal panels (IMPs) combine two metal facings with a rigid insulating core in a single factory-made component. A wall that once needed separate framing, insulation, sheathing, and cladding trades now arrives on site as one panel carrying structure, thermal control, and finish in a single lift. The category has grown large enough to attract
When a lumber producer announces a $160 million sawmill near DeRidder, Louisiana, the construction industry watches for two reasons. The mill is an industrial building project in its own right, with foundations, structural steel, kilns, and material handling systems, and the lumber it will ship is the raw material for tens of thousands of new
Building product consolidation has reshaped the industry for two decades, and the pace accelerated when a chemical giant agreed to buy a competitor’s North American building products business for $2.15 billion in cash. The deal bundled roofing, siding and trim, decorative stone, and windows into one portfolio, nearly doubling the buyer’s building products revenue. For
Oriented strand board, or OSB, is one of the most widely used structural panels in residential and commercial construction. When a manufacturer announces a new mill, it signals more than added capacity: it reflects the growing demand for engineered wood products from single-family, multifamily, and commercial builders. The same principles that guide building bearing walls
Custom stair parts give builders and homeowners a way to match a staircase to the home’s character without settling for stock millwork. The same impulse that drives fresh cabinet hardware collections in kitchens and baths applies at the stairs: coordinated components that look intentional, fit the opening exactly, and hold up under daily use. Modern
