Cypress has been a construction staple in the American South for centuries, and it keeps showing up in modern projects for reasons that have nothing to do with tradition. The wood resists decay, repels insects, and holds up in wet conditions where most softwoods fail within a decade. When two cypress mills in North Carolina […]
Composite decking has become the default answer for homeowners who want the look of wood without the yearly sanding, staining, and sealing. The boards pair wood fiber with recycled plastic and extrude the blend into decking that resists rot, splinters, and insect damage. That shift from building products to building solutions has changed how contractors
Manufactured stone veneer puts the look of natural masonry on exterior and interior walls at a fraction of the weight, and the color decisions made before installation determine whether the finished wall reads as real stone or as a thin imitation. The two choices that matter most are the stone color family and the grout
In August 2019, Roseburg Forest Products idled part of its plywood plant in Dillard, Oregon, laying off roughly 90 employees in an indefinite curtailment driven by weak conditions across the North American plywood market. The company moved about 50 of the affected workers to other wood products plants in Dillard and nearby Riddle, and the
Woodford Lumber & Home in Clear Lake, Iowa, marked 150 years of continuous operation in 2019 and then prepared to leave the site it had occupied since 1869. The business lined up a move to the former Superior Lumber property, which closed that May. Superior kept its yards in Charles City and New Hampton, Iowa,
A building products distributor based in Hammonton, New Jersey, recently opened its fifteenth location, this one in Columbia, Maryland, and its third new Maryland store in ten months. The new facility carries roofing, siding, replacement windows, and specialty building materials for contractors and remodelers. Expansion at that pace is a reminder that construction runs on
The worldwide market for thermally modified wood is expected to grow about 3.0 percent annually over the next five years, rising from $328.5 million in 2019 to $380.6 million in 2024, according to a market study published in 2019. Europe remains the primary market because construction, siding, and decking keep expanding there, while the heaviest
A 72-year-old family lumberyard announced it would close after the owners found no buyer. The sisters who ran it planned to retire, the inventory would be liquidated gradually, and a neighboring side business faced an uncertain future. Stories like this repeat across the country, and each one reshapes the local supply picture for contractors. Builders
A roof replacement is one of the largest single purchases a homeowner makes, and the panels that carry it rarely get a second look. Buyers compare shingles, warranties, and color lines while the structural deck underneath stays out of sight. Homeowners weighing solar panels against other upgrades face a real question when deciding where to
Mass timber has moved from a niche idea to a mainstream structural system, and the newest member of the family starts with the smallest logs. Multi laminated timber, or MLT, builds small-diameter pieces into beams large enough for floors, roofs, and mid-rise frames. The approach follows the same logic that runs through structural timber engineering,
