Just call me Ken
January 22nd, 2009 in Blogs
Kevin Ireton, contributor
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Okay, so yesterday I'm in the press room trying to post my blog, but feeling like a genuine reporter. Next to me is a guy named Alan Heavens, a long time reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer. We've chatted at shows in the past. He used to live in Connecticut and work at The Danbury News-Times. He always mentions the Blue Colony diner in Newtown. Anyway, he said something funny and I asked if I could quote him in my blog yesterday, which I did.
Well, I guess he wanted to return the favor (he was filing a story for the paper), so he says "I guess green is still the buzz, huh?"
I said "Yeah."
And he said, "Can I quote you?"
I said "Sure," figuring the glory of seeing my name in a bigtime newspaper far outweighed the shame of such a lame quote. Of course, I didn't count on being called Ken Ireton instead of Kevin, but they did spell Fine Homebuilding correctly.
I had also hoped Alan might mention the launch of the Green Building Advisor, but he wasn't able to. Still and all, he wrote a good, if depressing, article about the builders show.
Here are a few cool things I saw yesterday.
Icynene announced a new open cell spray foam called LD-R-50 that's formulated using castor oil instead of petroleum products.
Panosonic has a small, affordable energy recovery ventilator called the Whisper Comfort ERV. It's designed to help retrofit balanced ventilation in existing homes that have been tightened up for energy efficiency. A specially designed vent pipe requires only a single penetration in the exterior wall. The installed cost will probably end up around $500.
The folks at Ipe Clip introduced a new tool for straightening deck boards. There are similar products on the market, but this one is so beautiful that I want one, even if it is $145.
Over at the Tiger Claw booth I saw a pneumatic nailer with a specialized nose piece designed to accept their hidden deck fasteners. You slip a fastener into the nose, put the gun in place against the deck board and pull the trigger. The gun fires a spiral nail through the fastener into the joist. The chief complaint about hidden fastening systems is always that they take so long to install. This is bound to speed things up. The tool is expected to cost around $200.
posted in: Blogs
About this blog
As the editor of Fine Homebuilding, I spend my weekdays trying to produce a magazine that will satisfy 300,000 of the most demanding builders, both professional and amateur. As the owner of a 200-year old Cape in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills, I spend weekends working on my house.
Each activity invariably informs, and complicates, the other. In this blog, I’ll offer observations from both worlds -- publishing and building -- with the hope of providing some useful or at least entertaining insights.
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