ArchWeek Residential 2009.0415
ArchitectureWeek Editors
editor at architectureweek.com
Wed Apr 15 16:40:15 PDT 2009
Dear Designers, Builders, and Dwellers,
ArchWeek Residential brings you housing news and analysis weekly
from the editors of ArchitectureWeek.
An emerging material quality problem seems like about the last thing
needed now by battered builders and owners alike.
At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials
were in short supply, American construction companies used
millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was
abundant and cheap.
Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and
apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives
off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and
silverware, and possibly sicken people.
Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that
imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials
exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring
home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000
homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt
after Hurricane Katrina.
"This is a traumatic problem of extraordinary proportions," said
U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat who introduced a
bill in the House calling for a temporary ban on the
Chinese-made imports until more is known about their chemical
makeup. Similar legislation has been proposed in the Senate.
Chinese Drywall Poses Potential Risks - Associated Press, 2009.0413
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jpih0xS6cypWMaQgq3Idjhmyik0AD97GN5GO1
Discuss online:
http://www.designcommunity.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24873
Residential Design and Building News
------------------------------------
NFIB Says Business Optimism Falls Again, to 81.0 - Forbes, 2009.0414
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/04/14/afx6287753.html
Producer Price Index Drops 1.2% in March - 123Jump, 2009.0414
http://www.123jump.com/economy-story/Producer-Price-Index-Drops-1.2-in-March/32403/
Bernanke Sees Signs U.S. Contraction May Be Slowing - Bloomberg, 2009.0414
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGq2PG.ZpdkU&refer=home
U.K. Mortgage Lending 'Rises Slightly' - BBC News, 2009.0414
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7997782.stm
The Young in the Old: A Family-Friendly Bungalow - Old House Journal, 2009.0413
http://www.oldhousejournal.com/family_friendly_bungalow/magazine/1592
Is There a Downside to Mortgage Aid? - Associated Press, 2009.0413
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hRRRtGAIJTjIiJm79MO6COzY5OxAD97HUBCO0
Real-Estate Hope in China - Wall Street Journal, 2009.0413
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123961738509213209.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Smaller Houses Are Big - Scripps News, 2009.0413
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/42459
National Home Builders Pulte, Centex to Merge - Post & Courier, 2009.0413
http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/apr/13/national_home_builders_pulte_centex_merg78383/
Before You Refinance Mortgage, Take These Steps - Chicago Tribune, 2009.0413
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/financing/chi-before-refinance-mortgage,0,6059621.story
Old Suburbia Must Fit into New Society - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2009.0412
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/04/12/suburbia0412.html
Last Stand of the Millionaire District - New York Times, 2009.0412
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/realestate/12scapes.html
Cottage Needs Many Tweaks to Be Full-Time Home - Ann Arbor News, 2009.0411
http://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/index.ssf/2009/04/cottage_needs_many_tweaks_to_b.html
Concrete Helps Heating, Cooling - Leader-Post, 2009.0411
http://www.leaderpost.com/Concrete+helps+heating+cooling/1487754/story.html
Banks Offer a New Tool for Home Refinancing - Wall Street Journal, 2009.0410
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123931996530606873.html
Alberta Housing Starts Fall 71% in March - Edmonton Journal, 2009.0410
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Local+housing+starts+fall+March/1480607/story.html
Choosing Right Flooring for Your Home - Chicago Tribune, 2009.0410
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/advice/chi-flooring_chomes_0410apr10,0,1205174.story
Government Ignites Surge in Home Mortgage Refinancing - Chicago Tribune, 2009.0410
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-housing1apr10,0,5922783.story
Jefferson's Blind Spots and Ideals, in Brick and Mortar - New York Times, 2009.0409
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/arts/design/10mont.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=building+AND+construction+AND+architecture&st=nyt
What We Can Learn from the Great Western Ranches - New West, 2009.0408
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/kat_vlahos_on_what_we_can_learn_from_western_ranch_vernacular/C35/L35/
As Some U.S. Markets Level Off, Housing Slump Hits Manhattan - New York Times, 2009.0408
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/realestate/manhattan/09real.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=construction+home+residential&st=nyt
Fundamentals of Constructing Sustainably - ArchitectureWeek, 2009.0408
http://www.ArchitectureWeek.com/2009/0408/environment_1-1.html
In the new fifth edition of Fundamentals of Building
Construction, Allen and Iano set a new benchmark by
incorporating sustainability issues into a mainstream
construction textbook, section by section, as in this
concise overview from the first chapter. We also look
forward to a future edition of their outstanding book in
which appropriate sustainability considerations have
penetrated every topic and page. -- the Editors
Canadian Housing Starts Jump in March - CBC, 2009.0408
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/04/08/housing-starts-cmhc-march.html
Canadian Currency Gains for Second Day as Housing Starts Rise - Bloomberg, 2009.0408
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=anrMpc6aB0jg&refer=canada
Defying Economy, New Orleans Keeps Rebuilding - Los Angeles Times, 2009.0403
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rebuilding-new-orleans3-2009apr03,0,950914.story
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Aussie Govt. Goes Public-Private on Fiber to Home - CNet News, 2009.0407
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