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Contact: Mary Danielsen
Director of Public Information
(856) 616-8460
 
 
Builders League of South Jersey announces merger with New Jersey Remodelers Association

CHERRY HILL, NJ, April 8, 2010 – The Builders League of South Jersey, a Cherry-Hill based housing industry trade association, has announced its merger with the New Jersey Remodelers Association, thus expanding the scope of work the association does for construction industry professionals.
 
The League will gain some 50 new member companies that are primarily based in southern New Jersey and comprise the newly-formed Builders League of South Jersey Remodelers Council. The merger was recently approved by both association’s Board of Directors and takes effect immediately.
 
 “We are very excited to announce this merger. Both associations felt that now was the right time to join forces and provide industry leaders from our area with an expanded level of professional development and industry oversight, which together we could do,” said BLSJ President Winfield Ziegenfuss. “There are more networking opportunities for all our membership with everyone under one roof. As well we are strengthening the scope of our community service programs and public affairs oversight of the regulatory issues that impact both new construction and remodeling.”

The merger will help the Builders League strengthen its efforts within the remodeling community. Several BLSJ member companies were also members of the NJRA.

Founded in 1979, the NJRA was a trade association of builders, remodelers, suppliers, financial experts and other professional service organizations involved in the housing and construction industry. The Association promoted itself as an ethical and humanitarian trade association focused on providing New Jersey’s property owners with access to member companies dedicated to the most stringent remodeling standards.

Its membership standards were considered one of the strictest in the country. When members were approved they assigned the association the rights to arbitrate in any legitimate consumer claim against them that was filed with the NJRA’s Consumer/Contractor Arbitration Board. The CAB, which was founded in 1981, heard a handful of new cases each year. Throughout its history no complaint had gone unresolved.

“New Jersey’s remodeling industry is growing. How we live in our homes is changing, from our likes and dislikes to our technology needs and the ever-increasing desires to improve the energy efficiency and durability of our homes,” said BLSJ Remodelers Council President Mark Evans of M.S. Evans Builders in Mt. Ephriam. “As an industry we’re adjusting to those changes. There is greater oversight needed for new and changing regulations that impact the construction industry. Now was a great time for the two associations to combine their efforts. It gives us an opportunity to strengthen the construction industry in southern New Jersey by offering an expanded level of professional development to remodeling companies and, at the same time, provide New Jersey property owners with a reliable resource for finding quality remodelers and builders.”
 
 
NATIONAL CERTIFICATION COURSES OFFERED FOR CERTIFIED AGING-IN-PLACE SPECIALISTS
 
According to national forecasts there are 76 million Americans ages 55 and over and that number will expand to 85 million by 2014.  While the Baby Boomer generation is influencing everything about how developers plan active adult communities, some older Americans are making plans to stay put in their current homes. The Builders League of South Jersey is now offering a series of continuing education courses this winter that will allow area builders, remodelers, and other real estate specialists to become Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) with three full-day classes offered in February.
 
 

GREEN BUILDING COURSES OFFERED FOR BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS IN SOUTH JERSEY

 
As South Jersey residents begin to access the cost effectiveness of their homes in this economy, many real estate and home building professionals have begun seeking the training necessary to grow their Green Building businesses.   The Builders League of South Jersey is hosting a series of continuing education courses in February and March that will allow area builders, remodelers and other consulting professionals to become certified as Green Building professionals. The League is affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Building Professionals program, which teaches industry professionals techniques for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options.  For more information, click here.
 
 
BUILDERS LEAGUE OF SOUTH JERSEY TO HOST MANDATORY EPA LEAD CERTIFICATION COURSE FOR CONTRACTORS
 
Ordinary renovation and maintenance activities in older buildings can create dust that contains lead. Beginning on Earth Day, New Jersey contractors will play a greater role in preventing lead exposure as the US Environmental Protection Agency fully implements a new rule that requires all contractors performing renovations, repairs, painting jobs and maintenance on properties built before 1978 to be certified to use lead-safe practices.
 
In preparation for the deadline, the Builders League of South Jersey is hosting a EPA Lead Certification course for area contractors from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 3 at the League’s office on Haddontowne Court in Cherry Hill. Participants can earn their certification with the one-day course, which costs $325. Registration can be done by phone at (856) 616-8460) or online at www.blsj.com.
 
The EPA implemented its Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule nearly two years ago, but the grace period ends on April 22.  The rule lists specific containment procedures for both interior and exterior projects. In addition to firm certification, one employee will need to be a Certified Renovator. This employee is responsible for training other employees and overseeing work practices and clean up. The training curriculum for certification, in development with the EPA, will be an eight-hour class with two hours of hands-on training. Both the first and renovator certifications are valid for five years.  Violations of the EPA’s RRP rule can result in fines of $32,000 per day.
 
The certification is required for any one who performs renovations, repairs, and painting jobs in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities. Under the rule, child-occupied facilities are defined as residential, public or commercial buildings where children under age six are present on a regular basis. The rule does not apply to minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or where less then 20 square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior. Window replacement is not minor maintenance or repair.
 
Before beginning work, contractors will be required to provide owners, tenants, and child-care facilities with a copy of EPA’s lead hazard information pamphlet Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools. Once work is completed, contactors must document compliance with this requirement.
Homeowners who perform work to their own homes are not covered by the EPA’s RRP Rule. It is their responsibility, however, to create a safe environment for their family. The EPA is urging homeowners planning to conduct work on their older homes to read a copy of the Renovate Right pamphlet.They may also call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) and ask for more information on how to work safely in a home with lead-based paint.
 
For more information on the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule visit http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
           
     
      
         
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