Provide educatio insulati

know the value of adding insulation to a home IYlto save on energy costs, but few know what R-value to buy or how much, or whether a vapor barrier is needed and, if so, which one. Choices can be quite intimidating for consumers and contractors; dealers can help by understanding a few basic construction principles, according to insulation manufacturer Johns Manville.

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First, the resistance to heat flow through radiation, conduction and convection in a building is measured in R-values. The higher a material's R-value, the greater its insulating power. R-values are marked or identified on batts and rolls of insulation, as well as on its packages. Colorful charts show the number of bags, thickness and weight needed per 1,000 sq. ft. to achieve a certain R-value.

To aid do-it-yourselfers and professional contractors in selecting the correct R-value for their area, building products retailers generally post a chart of recommended R-values for five temperature zones across the United States (see below). The R-values represent the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association's recommendations for optimum thermal performance for average climate zones shown on the map.

Vapor barriers, more accurately called vapor retarders, are also crucial in blocking air filtration through walls, ceilings and floors; although its primary purpose is ro control moisture. Typically, a family of four produces about l0 lbs. of water vapor per day.

Vapor barriers minimize the amount of interior moisture that passes into the walls and attic. Without effective vapor retarders, mold or mildew can occur and structural components of the building can be damaged. Insulation also can be dampened, temporarily reducing its effectiveness.

Vapor retarders are installed on the warm side of walls, ceiling and floors. This means that in ceilings, the vapor retarder faces down, in walls it faces the inside, and in floors over unheated spaces, it faces up. With the exception of reverse-flange insulation, the stapling flanges are on the same side as the vapor retarder. In hot climates, however, where air conditioning is used more than heating, the exterior side of the insulation is often the warm side. In

The

higher a material's R-value,

the greater its insulating power, these situations, local construction practices should be followed regarding the use and placement of vapor retarders.

In some construction, separate vapor retarders are used. When required, 4-mil or thicker polyethylerte sheeting, available in rolls, is rolled out horizontally and stapled to the warm-in-winter side of the framing. The polyethylene should be stapled at the sides and the excess material folded back into the room. If more than one sheet of polyethylene is required, a double fold should be made at the meeting of the two pieces and stapled, or the sheets may be overlapped and taped. If stapled, the pieces should meet only at a stud or a joist. Foil-packed gypsum board also serves as an effective vapor retarder.

During a time of critical energy supply and constantly rising fuel and energy costs, fiberglass insulation and vapor barriers reduce energy consumption in winter and summer by reducing heating and cooling costs.

Rrrrurrrs

84 Lumber opened a new store in Amarillo, TX., returning to a market it departed six years ago, and applied to build a 7,950-sq. ft. store on 10 acres in Augusta, Ga., a market it left in the late 1980s

Lowe's stores in South Florida; Baltimore, Md.; Washington, D.C., and Dallas/Ft. Worth, Tx., now carry point-of-purchase sheets concerning the National Fenestration Rating Cauncil's rating and labeling system

Home Depot this month opens new stores in S. Annapolis and Reisterstown (Baltimore), Md.; W. Tallahassee, Fl., and Greer, S.C. ...

Home Depot has purchased 40,000 H ewlett- Packard personal computers as part the home center's nationwide technology overhaul; has discontinued carrying Black & Decker's Price Pfister plumbing products at its Eastern U.S. stores; has begun an effort to recruit junior military officers for store management positions, and has purchased 6,500 tickets for the Atlanta Falcons 2002 football season to award employees ...

Boozer Lumber Do it Best, Columbia, S.C; Pride Do it Best Home Center, Amarillo, Tx.; Phillips Lumber Do it Center, Cedar Hill. Tx.. and multi-unit chains E.C. Barton & Co., Jonesboro, Ar.a Parker Do it Best Lumber, Port Arthur, Tx., and

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Scotty's, Winter Haven, Fl., won purchasing awards from Do it Best Corp...

Siewers Lumber & Millwork Corp., Richmond, V&., won an honorable mention at the 2A02 Better Business Bureau International Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics competition in Minneapolis

Wrorrslrrns/thrurlcrun:ns

Lumber One, Littleville, Al., recently acquired McKinney Lumber Co.'s Sheffield, Al., sawmill, renaming it Lumber One Shffield...

Southwood Fore st Products, Birmingham, Al., has relocated its distribution center to a larger 30,000-sq. ft. warehouse on 3.5 acres in Fairfield, Al.

Cardin Forest Products, Kimball, Tn., has started production at its new hardwood sawmill on a 113-acre tract in Kimball two miles from the old site; the $6 million expansion should boost production from 50,000 to 65,000 bd. ft. aday...

Gilman Lumber Co. }ras perrnanently closed its Ashland, Vzl., sawmill

Mountain City Lumber Co., Laurel Bloomery, Tn., received word that a Carter County, Tn., land owner has filed suit in U.S. district court claiming the company failed to clear-cut a 120-acre tract of land under the terms of the logging contract

Random lzngths reports temporary curtailments at GeorgiaPacific, which shut down its sawmills in Wakefield, Va., and Creedmoor. N.C.. for about five months and reduced Claxton. Ga.. and Dudley, N.C., mills to a single shift Travis Lumber Co., Mansfield, Ar., has cut production in half at least until the spring Anthony Timberlands, Bearden and Malvern, Arj Curt Bean Lumber Co., Glenwood, Ar.; Columbus Lumber Co., Brook-haven, Ms., and Gilman Building Products' six sawmills and planers are moving to a four-day production schedule ... Columbus also indefinitely shuttered its South Plant planing operation...

Forest Technology Group, Greenville, S.C., has opened a new Southeast regional office in Pine Mountain, Ga.; Richard Hall, business development mgr.

Universal Forest Products has acquired Quality Wood Treating Co.'s Prairie Du Chien, Wi., composite wood facility

American Wholesale Insurance Group Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has acquired lumber industry insuter Woodus K. Humphrey & Co. Inc., Shreveport, La. ...

Louisiana-Pacific Corp., which announced plans earlier this year to sell 12 sawmills, has pulled twothirds of the lumber mills from the market after receiving low bids for the assets; sales of the other four mills are expected to proceed Barnett Millworks. Theodore. Al., is now distributing Lithonia, Ga.-based Tucker Millworks' Genesis double hung, casement and awning windows in La., Ms., Al.. and Fl.

J&M Producls is now the exclusive distributor of moldproofing products from Healthy Wall Products, Vienna, Va.

The World Trade Organization recently ruled that Canadian stumpage fees do not constitute a benefit as the U.S. had first claimed; American trade officials argue that low stumpage fees are unfair subsidies of Canadian exports. The ruling will now go to another panel for a final judgment expected next spring the Canadian government plans to provide $117 million in aid to timber workers and communities affect'ed by the softwood lumber dispute ...

ECMD Inc., North Wilkesboro, N.C., has been named one of the top revenue-producing companies in the state by Business North Carolina magazine ...

Collum's Lumber Products, Allendale, S.C., agreed to implement Scoopsay''s integrated man-agement system software ...

Johns Manville Corp. will close its air infiltration products plant in Parkersburg, W'.V., by the end of the year

Knauf Fiber Glass's insulation products recently were certified for indoor air quality from the Greenguard Environmental Institute. Atlanta. Ga.

Pacific MDF Products was recently featured on the cover of the Composite Panel Association's magazine, Second Wave; the Rocklin, Ca.-based company's MDF products were showcased in the home of Composite Panel Association chairman Elliott Savage, industrial wood division president, Georgia Pacific

Temple-Inland Forest Products Corp., Diboll, Tx., was a recipient of Masco Corp.'s 2001 Supplier Team Award ...

Grffith Lumber Co., Woolwine, Va., and Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., Alexandria, La., were finalists for the National Hardwood Lumber Association's 2002 Forest Stewardship Award

Anncor Florida has opened a new plant in Haines City, Fl., that manufactures precast reinforced panel and block building products from sand, lime and water

American Portland Cement Alliance has merged'with the Portland Cement Association and will operate its Washington, D.C., office as PCA s government affairs division ...

"The forest health crrsrs cannot be ignored. There are "72 million acres of National Forest System land at high risk to catastrophic wildfire. Another 26 million acres are at high risk to insect infestation and disease. That is enough to burn a path from New York City to Los Angeles 62 miles wide. It is time to make our forests healthy."

- W. Henson Moore, c.e.o./ president, American Forest & Paper Association

Housings starts in September (latest figures) shot up l3.3%o to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.843 million ... single family starts surged l8.2%o to 1.477 mlllion; multi-family was at a rate of 329,00O for 5+units ... building permits gained 3.1Vo to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.727 million.