News Release 3Palms – 3 of 3

For immediate release:

January 11, 2013

AirRenew® Gypsum Board Contributes to Healthy Indoor Air Quality in Ultra-Sustainable Southern California Home

(Tampa, Fla.) – CertainTeed® AirRenew® Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Gypsum Board has been chosen for a high profile, net-zero energy Southern California home. The project, called ‘3Palms,’ will showcase industry-leading green building practices. The property owner, three-time Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston, worked with John Turturro of Turturro Design Studio to design a home to meet U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Platinum certification and the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) standard. The home will benefit from a healthier interior environment through the use of AirRenew, which actively removes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from interior air.

“One of my primary goals in building 3Palms is to demonstrate new state-of-the-art building products in order to inform and educate,” said Cranston, who is best known for his leading role on the AMC cable TV drama series, Breaking Bad. “I selected AirRenew for the interior walls and ceilings because of its superior air quality, recycled content and other green attributes.”

The AirRenew IAQ gypsum boards were used to construct the walls of the three-bedroom, 2,350 square-foot home. Project Designer John Turturro of Santa Paula, Calif. and green builder Allen Associates, Inc. of Santa Barbara’s team of eight installed, taped, and finished the material over a period of five weeks. Breathable earth plaster was then applied to finish the walls, with the exception of the garage and mechanical rooms, where primer and latex paint was used.

“The product installed easily, very much like standard board. Joints were smooth and flush; and tape and mud application was smooth and easy,” said Bryan Henson, president of Allen Associates Builders. “AirRenew and clay plaster made for a great combination in this LEED® Platinum beach home, where wicking of moisture and breathability of the wall membrane was an important criteria.”

AirRenew IAQ board captures VOCs — specifically formaldehyde — through primer and multiple coats of water-based acrylic, water-based epoxy paint, breathable wallpaper or clay plaster. The board converts the formaldehyde into an inert compound that safely remains within the board. The product also features CertainTeed’s M2Tech® technology, which is specially engineered to provide enhanced protection against moisture and mold. As new sources of formaldehyde — such as cleaning supplies, air fresheners, window treatments and furniture — are introduced into the interior environment, AirRenew will continue to scavenge formaldehyde ultimately improving indoor air quality. AirRenew contains up to 96 percent total recycled content and can be installed, finished, and recycled like standard drywall. AirRenew is GREENGUARD Children & SchoolsSM Certified and has completed UL Environment’s stringent Environmental Claims Validation program.

The 3Palms project also included stringent performance standards for air tightness, with strict attention to climate change imperatives, economic feasibility and building durability. The home is highly insulated, using radiant heating, photovoltaic solar panels and recycled and renewable products throughout. Virtually airtight, it will be primarily heated by passive solar and internal heat gains from occupants, cooking, bathing and electrical equipment. Summer heat will be controlled through shading, window orientation and passive ventilation. A heat/energy recovery ventilator will provide a constant supply of tempered, filtered fresh air.

Offering a broad range of gypsum and finishing products for interior and exterior needs, CertainTeed Gypsum has served the North American building industry for more than 80 years and is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s leading producer of gypsum products. This, in combination with the full range of affiliated CertainTeed Corporation building products, provides architects, contractors, builders and dealers one partner to provide service and support for commercial and residential building projects.

For more information about AirRenew, visit www.certainteed.com/airrenew.

About CertainTeedThrough the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3.2 billion in 2011. www.certainteed.com

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