Once buzzwords within the building industry, phrases such as “zero net energy,” “sustainable energy,” and “energy conservation,” are now commonplace.

In an industry typically dominated by men, women continue to push the limits, encouraging others to follow suit and serving as an inspiration for how to be successful.

On a small peninsula of land, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the West River in Maryland, sits a community of traditional homes that evoke the centuries-old history of American settlement in the area. 

Springfield, IL branch recently helped to replace and protect a new concrete plaza surrounding Milner Library at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. 

The ways in which liquid and vapor move through our building envelopes are complex, and even today not completely understood; but the fact that lots of water can (and does) move through porous building materials is a phenomenon that rules over so much of the way we build.

The highest performing wall assemblies are the ones designed to realistically manage moisture and dry out, and not those designed with the unachievable goal of completely locking out all water.

Hurricane-force winds. Searing rays from the sun. Baseball-sized hail. These are just a few elements that home exteriors can be subjected to on a regular basis. 

Throughout its history, the Macon County Courthouse in Decatur, IL has inhabited a variety of buildings, from a log cabin built in 1829 where Abraham Lincoln practiced law, to a stone and brick four-story building with a clock tower built in 1892 to its current location — a five-story limestone building constructed in 1939. 

Are you prepared for what the future has in store for the industry? If you're a business owner, are you confident you're prepared?