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5/5/08 Timberline Panel Company Receives Small Business Excellence Award

Timberline owners Tom Harrison and Paul Martin were honored to be recognized as 2008 Small Business Excellence Award winners at a luncheon at the Desmond Hotel in Colonie, NY. To be presented with such a prestigious award by the US Small Business Administration was a humbling experience for all of us at Timberline Panels. Timberline was nominated for the award by the NYBDC, who has partnered with us to help us achieve our short and long term goals as a company.

Successful small businesses are the economic foundation of vibrant communities, employing half our private sector workforce and creating about 70% of net new jobs.

All of us at Timberline Panels strongly believe in our principles as a company and to be recognized in such a manner was an extremely gratifying experience. It is motivation for us to continue to refine our efforts to make beautiful, energy efficient, environmentally responsible homes and buildings a reality for our clients.

5/2/08 Strategies for Green, Sustainable, and High-Performance Buildings
Compiled via the International Code Council

Below are some of the more typical techniques which may be awarded points in green building programs or standards. Buildings are typically rated by green building programs or standards in direct relation to how many of these techniques are implemented.

• Avoid environmentally sensitive areas (wetlands, etc.).
• Develop brownfield or greyfield sites.
• Build in close proximity to public and alternative transportation.
• Build a smaller structure (reduced site impact, material resources and energy use).
• Build up versus out (less roof and foundation per square foot).
• Provide erosion and sedimentation control and storm water management.
• Provide a landscape design which limits long-term water and energy use and preserves the natural environment.
• Implement rainwater and runoff collection and greywater recycling systems.
• Reduce heat island effects through green or light colored roofs and light colored, shaded and/or reduced paved areas.
• Utilize durable, affordable and low-maintenance materials and material-efficient structural systems.
• Utilize materials which are easily returned to the Earth in their original form, can be recycled or are renewable.
• Use low VOC (volatile organic compound) emitting materials (adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, carpeting, etc.).
• Implement construction and/or post-construction waste recycling programs.
• Engineer high-performance building envelopes.
• Install high-performance windows.
• Utilize net-zero capable energy systems (geothermal, active and passive solar systems, wind and hydro-electric generators).
• Install energy-efficient appliances.
• Install high-efficiency furnaces, boilers and water heaters.
• Install energy recovery ventilators for exhaust and make-up air systems.
• Install and maintain high performance HVAC air filters.
• Install energy-efficient lighting fixtures and motion sensors.
• Develop a building systems commissioning plan and/or have an energy audit performed.

Come see Timberline April 25th & 26th at the Saratoga Environmental Expo!!

Timberline is proud to participate in the 2nd annual S.E.E. at the Saratoga City Center in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY, April 25th and 26th. Timberline embraces the intent of the Expo, which is to make green products more accessible to consumers and to educate the public on the benefits of "going green." Come see firsthand how sustainable our products and services really are!

Vermont Governor Jim Douglas among the state and local officials to attend the Timberline Grand Opening

Gov Douglas stands with Timberline owners Tom Harrison and Paul Martin in front of the company's state-of-the-art production equipment.

Timberline owner Tom Harrison answers a question from a member of the press as state and local officials learn about the company's energy efficient building products.

Green building and energy efficiency were the topics on most people's minds at Timberline's Grand Opening.

Structural Insulated Panels Adopted into the International Residential Code

Rochester, NY – The International Code Council (ICC) voted to adopt structural insulated panels (SIPs) into the International Residential Code at their Final Action Hearings, May 22, 2007.  The prescriptive specifications and installation details submitted by the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) and APA –The Engineered Wood Association will be included in the 2007 supplement to the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC).

An overwhelming majority of code officials voted to accept the proposed Public Comment, revising the original proposal that was denied by the IRC Building & Energy Committee in September of 2006.  According to SIPA Executive Director Bill Wachtler, the revised Public Comment addressed the issues posed by the IRC Building & Energy Committee and other industry groups at the September Code Development Hearings. 

“SIPA has worked closely with SIP manufacturers and other interested industry groups to come up with code language that provides a solid alternative to stick framing using structural insulated panels in residential construction,” Wachtler explains.  “Completing this has been a major milestone for the SIP industry and will lead the way to further code acceptance and industry standards.”

Builders using SIP walls in residential projects will no longer be required to conduct additional engineering to show equivalency to the International Residential Code, facilitating the use of SIPs in residential construction. 

“This will have a significant impact on SIP home construction,” said Tom Williamson, Vice President of Technical and Quality Services at APA –The Engineered Wood Association, who conducted the testing that supported the code change proposal.  “Structural insulated panels will now be side by side with other forms of construction in the residential building code and builders will have SIPs as a code-recognized option.”

Support for the Public Comment was provided by testimonies from Dow Chemical, the Polyisocyanurate Molders Association (PIMA), the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Research Center, and APA–The Engineered Wood Association.  Funding for the testing was granted by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program, a division of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development dedicating to improving housing technology for American families. 

About SIPA
The Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) is a non-profit association representing manufacturers, suppliers, dealer/distributors, design professionals, and builders committed to providing quality structural insulated panels for all segments of the construction industry.