Up Front

Recently, I told you readers about the new Bulletin Board on the Walls & Ceilings Web site. Professionals and DYIers alike have been posting some great questions and a commendable few have stepped up to share their know-how. If you haven’t already read through the conversations, or “threads,” please do so.

But that’s not the best thing about the Walls & Ceilings site anymore. We on the staff are excited to announce that—just in time for Christmas!—the site has been entirely revamped to offer you optimal ease of navigation and convenience, as well as the most comprehensive information covering the walls and ceilings industry.

Not only will it sport a new look, its contents will stay fresher than ever with ongoing industry updates that provide you the tools you need to get the job done. And an extensive issue archive means when your cherished copy vanishes mysteriously (as often happens with Walls & Ceilings, we hear), you’ll never be far from that really good story you wanted to save.

You’ll also never be far from new products. For several months now, you’ve been able to obtain information about advertised products and services and items in the Product & Literature section through the site by selecting a “reader action card” number, or typing or selecting a company name. The new site allows you to go a step further, by requesting information about particular products that were advertised or listed in a certain month.

For instance, say you saw an ad in the October issue for a fastener that knocked your socks off, but you can’t remember the name of the company that makes it. Simply select the “fastener” category and you’ll get a list of the fastener manufacturers that advertised that month, from which you may take your pick.

We’re proud of our new site but, in truth, we’re just staying on top of the trend of providing goods—information, in our case—on the Internet. As Nick reported in his article “Surf’s Up” in last month’s issue, e-commerce in the wall and ceiling industry is expected to blossom. Contractors, end users, suppliers and products are settling in comfortably with this novelty-turned-tool for materials, specifications, data and codes.

In this month’s issue, we list the items from our Product & Literature section that you readers found most worth pursuing, which you indicated on the RACs torn out of your magazines and on the Web site. But one thing is conspicuously absent: Web-based products that will further accelerate the speed of the walls and ceilings industry. Maybe next year we’ll see it.

Sarah Mazure

Editor and Publisher

Happy Holidays—From the Walls & Ceilings family to you and yours!