• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:30 PM

Green building materials, such as foam insulation and faux wood shingles, are seeing gangbuster sales, despite the national turndown in housing construction.

Homes that contain a lot of green features typically cost anywhere from 3% to 5% more to build than a traditional home, but the homeowner usually can recoup the costs through cheaper power bills. The push toward green construction is driven, in part, by rising environmental sensibilities, but many green vendors also point to the rising cost of heating and cooling homes.

James Hardie Industries, which makes fiber-cement siding that lasts longer than traditional siding, reports U.S. sales jumped 16% in its first six months ended Sept. 30. Honeywell International says sales of its "expanding" foam insulation product rose 20% in 2006. And Carlisle Cos.' EcoStar, which makes roof shingles out of recycled rubber, says sales rose 35% last year.

Meanwhile, sales of many traditional building materials were down during 2006. Sales of lumber and construction materials fell 12% in December from the same month a year earlier, according to preliminary estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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