The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center announced that its ToolBase Services website, ToolBase.org, has been fully redesigned to help building professionals more easily navigate comprehensive information on materials, innovative technologies, business management, and housing systems.

ToolBase.org helps accelerate the awareness of beneficial new technologies and updates building professionals on industry issues and research. It is provided by the NAHB Research Center with support from the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) Program. The site is the building industry's leading online resource for practical, objective information on building technologies and the findings of the PATH program. The redesign focuses on keeping pace with advances in product development, evolving industry issues and the latest Web technology.

Some of the site's more specialized resources include:

The PATH Technology Inventory
An online listing of over 150 advanced technologies and practices, the PATH Technology Inventory provides a repository of reliable, non-commercial technical information for building professionals and consumers and helps practical residential construction innovations gain market awareness and graduate to the mainstream. Among the Technology Inventory's new features are downloadable Computer Assisted Design (CAD) drawings for over 40 technologies that builders and architects can add directly to plans. And, new online videos further explain product benefits and demonstrate installation.

The Inventory is continuously infused with up-and-coming technologies -- wind power generators, combined heat and power unites, attic hatch sealing and insulation, synthetic roof underlayment, and advanced lighting controls, to name a few recent additions -- that potentially improve the affordability, durability, quality, and environmental performance of housing.

Field Evaluations
A cooperative effort between builders, remodelers, manufacturers, PATH and the NAHB Research Center, field evaluations place new technologies into residential construction projects across the country so they can be evaluated in real-world conditions. The ToolBase website contains the findings of the nearly 40 field evaluations that have been completed, covering all types of building systems from electrical and HVAC to foundations.

PATH TechSets
A new resource to help builders implement innovations in manageable, systems-based packages, Tech Sets take the guesswork out of choosing cost-effective technologies that can improve home quality and deliver distinct market advantage.

ToolBase TechNotes
These technical write-ups featured on ToolBase.org offer fundamental narratives on common issues builders want to know more about, such as copper pinhole leaks; termite protection; the benefits of structural insulated panels (SIPS); alternative materials, and residential building diagnostic tools that can help builders improve the quality of their new homes. Each fact sheet includes a subject synopsis provided by NAHB Research Center experts and additional resources for more detailed information.

Promote Your Successes
PATH and NAHB Research Center technical experts are actively seeking information on innovative technologies. If you are a builder or remodeler who has implemented any of the Inventory's featured products or practices in the field ToolBase.org wants to talk with you. Go to the ToolBase Services website for more information.

ToolBase.org is administered by the NAHB Research Center, with funding from the PATH program and other private sponsors.

Published: August 22, 2006

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Peter L. Mosca is president and founder of BAK Communications, Inc. He has over 22 years of communications and media consulting experience, serving a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the CCIM Institute and the REALTOR Association on all three levels – national, state and local. He is the Spokesperson Trainer for the CCIM's Jay Levine Academy and trains hundreds of residential REALTORS nationwide to be effective industry spokespeople. He is consistently ranked as "excellent" by about 90% of those who attend his presentations. While his principal consulting focuses are public speaking and media relations development and content delivery and management, Peter is also the host of the Voice America Network's weekly radio program, "Income Property Investment Talk," a one-hour program that brings the powerhouses of commercial and residential real estate to property investors every Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. Peter is married 17 years to his wife Barbara. They have two children: Ashley, 15 and Kelli, 12. Hence, the name BAK Communications, Inc.