Residential window shipments increased 5.7 percent in 2016, reaching more than 43.2 million units shipped across the country, according to a Window & Door Manufacturers Association study reported by Building Products Digest. National growth is expected to add another 5.6 percent in 2017 before easing to a 4.6 percent pace in 2019. Entry doors, interior […]
Flip through any home design magazine and at least one home shows barn doors. The sliding alternative to hinge-mounted doors appeals to homeowners who want distinctive features, and the numbers back the trend: homes listed with barn door in the description sold for 13 percent more than expected and 57 days faster, according to research
A hardware store that had served a Maryland town for 136 years closed its doors at the end of December and reopened three days later under new ownership, with most of the old inventory and most of the staff staying in place. Storefront changes like this happen across building supply retail, and events that bring
Hardware stores change hands often enough that the name over the door tells you little about what is behind the counter. What matters to a builder is the product mix the new owner carries and the expertise on staff, because door hardware decisions happen at every stage of a project. New construction means matching the
Door manufacturing looks simple from the outside: wood, glue, and hinges. Behind the showroom it is a precision industry, where a 1/16-inch error in a slab shows up as a gap at the jamb and plants measure themselves in units per shift. One door maker marked its 150th year in business by cutting the ribbon
Windows reach job sites through a long chain: manufacturers build them, distributors stock them, and builders install them. In northern Michigan, a distributor founded in 1985 grew into the region’s window and door supplier for residential homebuilders, and in 2024 it joined a national dealer network that runs 21 locations across the state. Distribution matters,
Windows and doors do more than open and close. They control daylight, ventilation, noise, and a large share of a home’s heating and cooling load, and they are among the most expensive items a homeowner will ever replace. When buyers evaluate a house, foundation stability and the structure get the first look, but the condition
When a window manufacturer closes plants, the effects reach builders through price sheets, lead times, and product lines that disappear from catalogs. A 2024 announcement shut two window factories: a composite window facility in Southern California and a wood window plant in Wisconsin. The company behind the move said the sites could no longer compete
Multi-slide patio doors are one of the fastest-growing options for openings that need to disappear completely. Instead of swinging into the room or onto the deck, the panels slide sideways and stack into a compact bundle at one end of the opening. Manufacturers now customize these systems in color, height, width, glass, and hardware, which
The garage door is the largest moving part of a house, and the windows are the components people touch most. Both get used daily, take weather from every direction, and fail loudly when something goes wrong. The industry behind them mirrors that reality: door and window makers run highly automated plants, and the same companies
