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Buying guide for products used in building interiors:
This article series discusses and provides a best construction practices guide to the selection and installation of building interior surface materials, carpeting, doors, drywall, trim, flooring, lighting, plaster, materials, finishes, and sound control materials.
This article includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?
Resources: Manufacturers, Industry Associations, & Sources of Indoor Wall Materials, Flooring, Carpeting, Lighting, Sound Control Materials
Drywall Trims and Accessories
Clinch-On Products, A Deitrich Metal Framing
Company
www.dietrichindustries.com
Nail-on and clinch-on galvanized metal corner beads
Con-Form International/Strait Flex
www.straitflex.com
Strait-Flex fiber-composite mud-on corner bead for
inside and outside off-90 degree angles
Drywall Systems International
www.no-coat.com
No-Coat prefinished drywall tapes for inside and outside
corners, off angles and bullnose trims
Flex-Ability Concepts
www.flexc.com
Curved metal top and bottom plates for curved wood or
metal stud walls
Grabber Construction Products
www.grabberman.com
Drywall screws, corner clips, and fiberglass mesh tapes
Insta Arch Corp.
www.instaarch.com
Galvanized steel preformed and custom arches for drywall
National Gypsum Co.
www.nationalgypsum.com
ProForm tapes and finishing compounds
U.S. Gypsum
Beadex and Sheetrock-brand tape-on metal corner
beads and trims. Complete line of drywall finishing
compounds
Vinyl Corp., A Deitrich Metal
Framing Company
www.vinylcorp.com
Full line of vinyl beads and trim
Ordering Procedures for Interior Trim
Providing the shop with a specific cut list of
finished pieces is the best way to guarantee that they deliver
the pieces needed for the job. For a premium, you can
obtain all-heartwood, all-sapwood, or color-matched
boards for uniform color in glue-up work and throughout
the job. Also, the millwork shop can plane the stock on one
or both sides, joint one or both edges, and sand one or both
faces as needed. Generally, the millwork shop can dress
the boards far more economically than a contractor can in
the field or in a small shop
Prefinished Wood Flooring
Alloc Inc.
www.alloc.com
Snap-together, no-glue long-strip and single-strip
laminated flooring
Anderson Hardwood Floors
www.andersonfloors.com
Laminated strip, nail, glue, and floating
Armstrong World Industries
www.armstrong.com
Bruce, Hartco, and Robbins prefinished plank and
engineered strip
BHK of America
www.bhkuniclic.com
Snap-together, no-glue laminated wood flooring
Columbia Wood Flooring
www.columbiaflooring.com
Prefinished solid strip
Duro-Design
www.duro-design.com
Floating click-lock oak flooring
Gammapar
www.gammapar.com
Engineered wood strip with oil, UV-cured urethane,
or acrylic-impregnated finish
Junkers Hardwood
www.junkershardwood.com
Floating solid strip with metal clip installation
Kahrs
www.kahrs.com
Laminated strip with UV-cured acrylic urethane,
nail, glue, or floating
Lauzon
www.lauzonltd.com
Prefinished strip, laminated strip, and click-lock
laminated plank
Mannington Mills
www.mannington.com
Laminated strip and plank with polyurethane and
aluminum-oxide finish
Medallion Hardwood Flooring
www.medallionhardwood.com
Prefinished solid hardwood strip and plank with
aluminum-oxide finish
Hawa Bamboo Flooring
www.hawabamboo.com
Prefinished bamboo flooring with aluminum-oxide finish
Natural Cork
www.naturalcork.com
Prefinished glue-down or nail-down 3-ply bamboo planks
with aluminum-oxide finish
Resilient Flooring Manufacturers List
Congoleum
www.congoleum.com
Vinyl sheet flooring and tiles
Domco (division of Domco Tarkett Group)
www.domco.com
Vinyl sheet flooring and tiles
Forbo
www.forbo-flooring.com
Linoleum sheet and tiles
Mannington Mills
www.mannington.com
Vinyl sheet flooring and tiles
Nova Distinctive Floors
www.novafloorings.com
Laminated linoleum surface over fiberboard and cork
planks, floating installation
Tarkett
www.tarkettna.com
Vinyl sheet flooring and tiles
Cork Flooring Manufacturers & Sources
american Cork Products Co.
www.amcork.com
Prefinished parquet tiles and floating floor planks
Amorim Revestimentos (formerly Ipocork)
www.wicanders.com
Floating or glue-down laminated cork tiles with
UV-acrylic or oil finish
BHK of America
www.bhkuniclic.com
Snap-together, no-glue, laminated cork flooring with
UV-acrylic finish
Expanko Cork Inc.
www.expanko.com
Cork tiles with wax or polyurethane finish
Korq Inc.
(212) 758-2593
Natural Cork
www.naturalcork.com
Glue-down cork tiles and floating laminated planks with
UV-cured acrylic finish
Nova Distinctive Floors
www.novafloorings.com
Laminated cork planks with glue-down and floating
click-lock installation
WECork
www.wecork.com
Cork tiles, sheets, and floating floors
Polymer (Urethane), MDF, and Vinyl Trim Producers & Sources
Burton Mouldings
www.burton-mouldings.com
MDF(medium-density fiberboard), polymer, flex, and wood
Fypon
www.fypon.com
Polymer moldings and components
Nu-Wood
www.nu-wood.com
Polymer moldings and components
Outwater Plastics
www.outwater.com
Polymer moldings and components
RAS Industries
www.rasindustries.com
Polymer moldings and components
Royal Mouldings (formerly Marley Mouldings)
www.royalmouldings.com
Polymer, polystyrene, expanded-PVC, CPVC, and acrylic
molding profiles and components
Flexible Trim Manufacturers & Sources
Flex Trim
www.flextrim.com
Flexible polymer moldings
Resin Art
www.resinart.com
Flexible polymer moldings
Industry & Trade Associations for Carpeting, Lighting, Finishes, Wood Products, Flooring, Painting & Decorating
american Lighting Association
www.americanlightingassoc.com
Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries
www.awci.org
Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)
www.carpet-rug.org
Drywall Finishing Council
www.dwfc.org
Forest Stewardship Program
www.fscus.org
FloorFacts
www.floorfacts.com
The Gypsum Association
www.gypsum.org
National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association
(NOFMA)
www.nofma.com
National Wood Flooring Association
www.woodfloors.org
Painting and Decorating Contractors of America
www.pdca.org
Smartwood/Rainforest Alliance
www.smartwood.org
- - Adapted with permission from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction (Steve Bliss, J Wiley & Sons) .
...
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In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
Steve Bliss's Building Advisor at buildingadvisor.com helps homeowners & contractors plan & complete successful building & remodeling projects: buying land, site work, building design, cost estimating, materials & components, & project management through complete construction. Email: info@buildingadvisor.com Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
Access Ramp building codes:
UBC 1003.3.4.3
BOCA 1016.3
ADA 4.8.2
IBC 1010.2
Access Ramp Standards:
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Public Law 101-336. 7/26/90 is very often cited by other sources for good design of stairs and ramps etc. even where disabled individuals are not the design target.
ANSI A117.4 Accessible and Usable buildings and Facilities (earlier version was incorporated into the ADA)
ASTM F 1637, Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, (Similar to the above standards)
America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press)
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
ASHRAE resource on dew point and wall condensation - see the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, available in many libraries.
2005 ASHRAE Handbook : Fundamentals: Inch-Pound Edition (2005 ASHRAE HANDBOOK : Fundamentals : I-P Edition) (Hardcover), Thomas H. Kuehn (Contributor), R. J. Couvillion (Contributor), John W. Coleman (Contributor), Narasipur Suryanarayana (Contributor), Zahid Ayub (Contributor), Robert Parsons (Author), ISBN-10: 1931862702 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862707
2004 ASHRAE Handbook : Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning: Systems and Equipment : Inch-Pound Edition (2004 ASHRAE Handbook : HVAC Systems and Equipment : I-P Edition) (Hardcover) by American Society of Heating, ISBN-10: 1931862478 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862479 "2004 ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and Equipment The 2004 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment discusses various common systems and the equipment (components or assemblies) that comprise them, and describes features and differences. This information helps system designers and operators in selecting and using equipment. Major sections include Air-Conditioning and Heating Systems (chapters on system analysis and selection, air distribution, in-room terminal systems, centralized and decentralized systems, heat pumps, panel heating and cooling, cogeneration and engine-driven systems, heat recovery, steam and hydronic systems, district systems, small forced-air systems, infrared radiant heating, and water heating); Air-Handling Equipment (chapters on duct construction, air distribution, fans, coils, evaporative air-coolers, humidifiers, mechanical and desiccant dehumidification, air cleaners, industrial gas cleaning and air pollution control); Heating Equipment (chapters on automatic fuel-burning equipment, boilers, furnaces, in-space heaters, chimneys and flue vent systems, unit heaters, makeup air units, radiators, and solar equipment); General Components (chapters on compressors, condensers, cooling towers, liquid coolers, liquid-chilling systems, centrifugal pumps, motors and drives, pipes and fittings, valves, heat exchangers, and energy recovery equipment); and Unitary Equipment (chapters on air conditioners and heat pumps, room air conditioners and packaged terminal equipment, and a new chapter on mechanical dehumidifiers and heat pipes)."
1996 Ashrae Handbook Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment: Inch-Pound Edition (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 1883413346 or ISBN-13: 978-1883413347 , "The 1996 HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook is the result of ASHRAE's continuing effort to update, expand and reorganize the Handbook Series. Over a third of the book has been revised and augmented with new chapters on hydronic heating and cooling systems design; fans; unit ventilator; unit heaters; and makeup air units. Extensive changes have been added to chapters on panel heating and cooling; cogeneration systems and engine and turbine drives; applied heat pump and heat recovery systems; humidifiers; desiccant dehumidification and pressure drying equipment, air-heating coils; chimney, gas vent, fireplace systems; cooling towers; centrifugal pumps; and air-to-air energy recovery. Separate I-P and SI editions."
Principles of Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: A textbook with Design Data Based on 2005 AShrae Handbook - Fundamentals (Hardcover), Harry J., Jr. Sauer (Author), Ronald H. Howell, ISBN-10: 1931862923 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862929
1993 ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 0910110964 or ISBN-13: 978-091011096
Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com. See our book review of this publication.
Decks and Porches, the JLC Guide to, Best Practices for Outdoor Spaces, Steve Bliss (Editor), The Journal of Light Construction, Williston VT, 2010 ISBN 10: 1-928580-42-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-928580-42-3, available from Amazon.com
Brick nogging used as soundproofing was mentioned in a now-no-longer-online article on Popular Forest Magazine poplarforest.org
The Circular Staircase, Mary Roberts Rinehart
Construction Drawings and Details, Rosemary Kilmer
"An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Energy Savers: Whole House Systems Approach to Energy Efficient Home Design [copy on file as /interiors/Whole_House_Energy_Efficiency_DOE.pdf ] - U.S. Department of Energy
Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438 "Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
Gypsum Construction Guide, National Gypsum Corporation
Gypsum Construction Handbook [purchase at Amazon.com] H17, Technical
Folder SA920 and PM2, PM3 and PM4, United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124,
"Insulation: Adding Insulation to an Existing Home [copy on file as /interiors/Insulation_Adding_DOE.pdf ] - ," U.S. Department of Energy - tips on how to do your own check for the presence of absence of insulation in a home
Insulation: Selecting Insulation for New Home Construction [copy on file as /interiors/New_Home_Insulation_DOE.pdf ] - , U.S. Department of Energy -
"Your state and local building codes probably include minimum insulation requirements, but to build an energy-efficient home, you may need or want to exceed them. For maximum energy efficiency, you should also consider the interaction between the insulation and other building components. This is called the
"whole-house systems design approach" [copy on file as /interiors/Whole_House_Energy_Efficiency_DOE.pdf ] -
Lath & Plaster Systems [copy on file as /interiors/LathPlaster_Nat_Gypsum.pdf ] - , 092300/NGC, National Gypsum Lath and Plaster Systems, National Gypsum Corporation, 800-628-4662 describing National Gypsum's Kal-Kore brand plaster base
Metal Lath Specifications, Specification for metal lath and accessories, Lath and Plaster [copy on file as/interiors/Amico_lath-inside.pdf ] - from Amico, a lath and plaster accessory producer.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST (nee National Bureau of Standards NBS) is a US government agency - see www.nist.gov
"A Parametric Study of Wall Moisture Contents Using a Revised Variable Indoor Relative Humidity Version of the "Moist" Transient Heat and Moisture Transfer Model [copy on file as/interiors/MOIST_Model_NIST_b95074.pdf ] - ", George Tsongas, Doug Burch, Carolyn Roos, Malcom Cunningham; this paper describes software and the prediction of wall moisture contents. - PDF Document from NIS
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Piquet Wall Construction: involving timber-framed wall construction with long top girts, diagonal timber bracing, and small diameter logs
placed vertically along with concrete chinking to fill in the wall plane.
Plastering, PM 5, Product & Systems Technology, US Gypsum, May 1998, web search 10.5.2010, original source: http://www.usg.com/rc/technical-articles/plaster/
[copy on file as/interiors/Plastering_USG.pdf ] - plastering-technical-guide-veneer-plaster-joint-reinforcement-systems-en-PM5.pdf United States Gypsum Company, 125 South Franklin ST., PO Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124, Paraphrasing from this document: USG uses the term shadowing in this document in describing the visual effect over gypsum board joints caused by the lower moisture absorption rate (take-up) and lower capacity than gypsum base face paper. Shadowing at joints occurs where veneer plaster is applied over tape joints, requiring a second coat to completely hide the tape, providing a visually uniform surface. USG Advises: "This [second] cover coat must be allowed to harden and dry before plaster application is started.
Plastering Skills, F. Van Den Branden, Thomas L. Hartsell, Amer Technical Pub (July 1, 1985), ISBN-10: 0826906575, ISBN-13: 978-0826906571 [purchase at Amazon.com]
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or
ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com
The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code. [copy on file as http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf ] -
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Alvin S. Hyde, Cindy A. LaRue, Lawyers and Judges Publishing; ISBN-10: 1933264012 ISBN-13: 978-1933264011
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
The Staircase, Ann Rinaldi
Common Sense Stairbuilding and Handrailing, Fred T. Hodgson
The Art of Staircases, Pilar Chueca
Building Stairs, by pros for pros, Andy Engel
A Simplified Guide to Custom Stairbuilding, George R. Christina
Basic Stairbuilding, Scott Schuttner
The Staircase (two volumes), John Templar, Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1992
The Staircase: History and Theories, John Templar, MIT Press 1995
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
"The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture, Rev., John C. Poppeliers, S. Allen Chambers, Wiley; Rev Sub edition (October 6, 2003), ISBN-10: 0471250368, ISBN-13: 978-0471250364
In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.