As a consumer, it's almost more than you need to know. If you are in the throes of building a new home or have prospects for doing so in the near future, however, the BUILDER Buying Guide 2000 can prove to be one of the most valuable and intense studies of the plethora of new home products available to you.

Sponsored by the magazine's publisher, Hanley-Wood, LLC, the study surveys brand name products that builders recognize most readily, those brands they have used in the past two years, brands they use most frequently and finally those products they would judge as having the highest quality. Some of the brand names brands won in every category, such as Andersen patio doors, and others read differently in each, such as with shower doors. The important thing to recognize here is that these are industry professionals voting on what brands stand out most from 68 different product categories, some for ease of installation and some for the high quality of the materials used in their production.

Product categories ran the gamut, from central vacuum systems, to cabinetry, to garage doors, insulation, lighting fixtures, cordless tools, generators, paints, glass block, and wall board. In other words it's everything including the kitchen sink, with even the best rated pickup truck thrown in for good measure.

Included in the April issue on BUILDER is the NCHI (National Council of the Housing Industry) list of member companies, upon which a healthy and profitable building industry relies for reliable service and innovative products. The builder-manufacturer relationships forged by the council and the NAHB provide a firm foundation for communication between builders and the products they use and trust.

A complete manufacturer directory and product index, with addresses, phone numbers and web sites, is tabbed within the issue, along with a product guide for computer software, doors and windows, electrical and mechanical, exterior products, finishes and surfaces, kitchen and bath, site and landscaping, tools and equipment, and the important structural component products. To top it all off, an "association guide" is published here as well, with phone numbers for organizations for the different building trades, so that builders and consumers alike can gather basic information and do their own research.

BUILDER is not a magazine that graces the shelves of supermarket periodical stands, but is rather an important industry publication that can be of invaluable use to homebuilders and consumers who want to know all about products used in new homes. It profiles trends within the building industry and marketplace, and features interesting features on innovative new building methods.

To find out more about BUILDER, consumers may visit their web site at www.builderonline.com. Here you'll find an interactive guide to building products, using searches by categories, products, companies, and even the newest products on the market. OLD-HOUSE JOURNAL online Restoration Directory is linked from BUILDER's home page, for the specialized needs of spiffing up homes built before 1960. If you can't decide on a house plan, consumers are welcome to go to www.eplans.com, where they can find the same house plans that builders see on the builder-oriented site. They'll also find information on the home-building process and tips on how to select products that will go into their new homes.

Information is the key to becoming comfortable in building a new home. Valuable publications such as BUILDER and the wealth of insight and information furnished by their web site are important tools to making timely and wise decisions when building a new home or remodeling an older one.