February 2006 Table of Contents

As the business press reports on home building executives taking home some of the biggest salaries in all of American business or buying lavish homes on the coast, it's refreshing to reflect on the achievements of the winners of this year's Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Awards. Clearly, this bunch has a different set of priorities. Read more

If you're considering a traditional-looking roofing alternative to asphalt shingle, you might want to check out synthetic products that simulate the appearance and texture of slate and wood shakes. Read more

Generally speaking, market domination doesn't last for long: At some point, competition eats away share or growth simply slows. Read more

Builders in the Sacramento, Calif., region are responding to the softer housing market by offering buyers enticing incentives to close deals, a move that industry analysts say could spread to other locations across the country. Read more

Urban sprawl costs Americans $34 million a day, according to a new book that reports on a 10-year study into the economic costs of spreading out. Read more

So much for HUD's federal affordability standard, which estimates that housing costs should eat up no more than 30 percent of household income. Read more

Iraqi television station Al-Sharqiya has a hit on its hands with Labor and Materials, its version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Read more

Associated Builders And Contractors (ABC) and the military placement agency Orion International recently launched a new interactive site that links military veterans with available positions in the construction trades. Read more

Public art makes the landscape more pleasing to the eye, but it can also make a telling statement about the shared values of a neighborhood and its residents. Read more