2010 International Builder’s Show – Day 2

2010 International Builder’s Show

Day 2 at the IBS was packed with fun demonstrations and meetings with folks that we’ve been working with on HCI. We also had the pleasure of meeting some new folks from companies that will be excited to feature here. Our second day at the show also featured some of the largest displays with massive two story display homes for windows, doors, siding and framing products.

Dow Foam Products

Day 2 started with a visit to the Dow Building Solutions exhibit. Readers of this site know that we use lots of Dow products for insulating basements and attics so this was an obvious stop for us.

Of particular interest for some of our readers was the adjacent photo. The display shows a popular application for exterior insulated foundation walls. In the display the foundation (block wall here but could be concrete as well) is damp-proofed, followed by a layer of 2 inch Dow blue board, followed by a layer of stucco for the final finished look.

The display also shows the foam board being used on the exterior of the framing above to provide a continuous insulation layer from the foundation footing up to the top of the building. This detail creates and exceptional insulation layer and moisture and air barrier.

Dow also had their new Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles on display and the award winning Styrofoam SIS Brand Structural Insulated Sheathing featured in the village homes.

BEHR Premium Plus Ultra

Day 2 also included a very informative demonstration from BEHR Paints. The folks from BEHR did a demonstration of the BEHR Premium Plus Ultra paint line.

A paint and primer in one, BEHR Premium Plus Ultra^TM Interior is the latest innovation from BEHR Paints, the largest provider of premium paints and stains to the North American Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home improvement market. With a paint that covers existing or uncoated surfaces without a separate primer, even for drastic color changes, BEHR has reduced the need for multiple products, saving homeowners time and money.

We were really blown away at the demonstration. Rick Mueller and Randy Fraley from BEHR showed us two amazing tests. First they painted a piece of plastic and a newspaper with both the Premium Plus Ultra and a standard paint. They they scubbed both first with water and second with Comet scouring powder! We were stunned to see the Premium Plus Ultra stand up to the scrubbing while the regular contractor grade paint was wiped away.

Next the guys painted two ballooons, one with Premium Plus Ultra and one with standard contractor grade paint. Each balloon was slowly diflated with a drastic difference between the two paints. The standard contractor grade paint flaked and fell off the balloon while the Premium Plus Ultra remained intact in it’s original shape. We were quite impressed with the difference!

Finally the guys showed us the benefit of the new formula which contains a primer built in. In the background of the photo above you can see a piece of drywall with graffi sprayed on it. The lower half of that drywall has one layer of Premium Plus Ultra in red, which totally covered the graffiti in one coat. Anyone that’s used a red color knows that’s quite an impressive performance for the first coat of paint.

The folks from BEHR also introduced us to the new Behr Pro Service which will be providing direct job-site paint delivery for contractors. We’ll cover this exciting new topic in another future article.

Other Visits

We also had the pleasure of visiting with folks from Huber Engineered Woods (makers of AdvanTech and the ZIP System), Nichiha Fiber Cement Siding, James Hardi Cement Siding, Senco Air Tools, and Boise Engineered Wood Products.

The trip to the 2010 IBS was fantastic. It was great meeting with many of the folks that we work with on a regular basis. We sure hope to make the trip again next year and continue to share some of the highlights.