Dow Building Solutions Helps Bring Comfort and Lower Utility Bills to Local Builder’s Award Winning Home

MIDLAND, MICHIGAN – October 9, 2014 – Dow Building Solutions is excited to announce that Cobblestone Homes, two-time winner of the Greatest Builder in the Great Lakes Bay Region, has been awarded the U.S. Department of Energy's prestigious 2014 Housing Innovation Award for Zero Energy Ready Homes in the Custom Builder category.

The Housing Innovation Awards, presented on September 23, at the 2014 Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, are presented nationally to builders who are changing the way homes are designed and constructed. The Zero Energy Ready Homes category recognizes builders who are achieving a whole new level of home performance while complying with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of comfort, health, durability and energy savings.

Cobblestone Home's award-winning, ranch-style home, located at 2936 E Iron Woods Pass in Midland, Michigan, features Dow's innovative Outperformance Insulation Systems. Dow's Outperformance Systems combine the heat loss and moisture protection provided by STYROFOAM™ Brand Insulation, the air sealing protection of FROTH-PAK™ Foam Insulation with Dow's WEATHERMATE™ Weather Barrier Solutions to create a home that is comfortable and affordable.

"Dow Building Solutions is proud to collaborate with Cobblestone Homes on yet another award-winning home" said Tim Lacey, Business Director for Dow Building Solutions, Americas. "Mark and Melissa Wahl are dedicated to building affordable, quality homes that outperform home owner's expectations and we're excited that our solutions are contributing to their success."

Cobblestone Homes, a true mid-Michigan success story, is now officially part of a select group of the nation's top builders who build beyond state-mandated building codes, or the bare minimum building standard required by law.

"It is a great honor to be in the top one percent of builders in the country and Dow's insulation and air sealing solutions helped us achieve this." said Melissa Wahl, Co-owner of Cobblestone Homes "We've built Cobblestone Homes on a foundation of craftsmanship, innovation and environmental responsibility. It's great to be recognized for staying true to our roots."

To celebrate, Dow and Cobblestone Homes will host Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect for the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E), in Midland on October 8, 2014. Mr. Rashkin, author of "Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry — How it got here, Why It's Broken, and How to Fix It" will speak to local building industry representatives about the future of the building industry and the increasing need for building professionals to embrace the concept of high-performance home building.

The award-winning model home at 2936 E. Iron Woods Pass, and other homes built by Cobblestone Homes will be open to the public for complimentary tours as part of the Home Builder's Association of Midland County's 2014 Fall Parade of Homes on October 4, 5 & 11, 12 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Area residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the benefits of high-performance homes through hands-on demonstrations provided by a Dow Building Solutions expert.

About Dow Building Solutions: Dow Building Solutions has a 75 year legacy of providing energy saving solutions to the global commercial and residential construction industry, which began with the launch of its flagship STYROFOAM™ Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foam Insulation, one of the most recognized brands of insulation in the world. A business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Building Solutions offers unsurpassed building science expertise and solutions to help builders, designers, architects and home/building owners reduce energy costs and protect against wind, rain and moisture, while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. More information about Dow Building Solutions can be found via the contact information and link provided below.

About Dow: Dow combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than $57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. For information about Dow, please click on the link provided below.