It's estimated that the average American home has 10,000 individual parts and components...and uses another thousand, or so, specialized glues, fasteners, caulks and sealants in the process of being built.

At the recent 2002 International Builders Show in Atlanta, more than 71,000 construction professionals from 95 countries came together with a thousand or more manufacturers to see what's new in products and construction.

If you are fascinated by new-home construction, remodeling and-or home improvement...especially in the "up-to-the-minute" and "what's new" department...this was the place to be. Here's a sampling of what soon will be making homes sweeter.

Starting at the front door, technology is giving Mother Nature serious competition with products that look, act and feel like the real thing...only they're better. Fiberglass doors have been evolving over the last few years, steadily improving to a point where they now rival both traditional wood and steel ones for beauty, strength and durability.

Now you can have the deep, rich grain of premium natural wood doors without swelling, cracking, warping and splintering. Or the smooth, crisp and sleek look of steel without the dents, dings, scratches or rust. Today's fiberglass doors offer all the benefits without the shortcomings, with energy-efficiency, extended maintenance-free beauty and an array of styles and decorative glass options from which to choose.

Many new products at the show focused on health features and-or on being environmentally more earth-friendly. For example, a number of building products contain urea formaldehyde...from glues and insulation to particleboard to carpeting...and its residual fumes can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, nausea and, for some, serious skin rashes.

Meeting the challenge head-on, Johns Manville removed formaldehyde as a "binder" in its insulation manufacturing process. Going further, they now offer a line of encapsulated batt insulation with a 360-degree poly-film wrap to become more installer-friendly with less itching from airborne particles. Also, to make installation faster and easier, JM introduced batts with vertical perforations every few inches...running top to bottom...so insulation easily can be pulled apart to fit narrow or nonstandard sized framing cavities, rather than the tedious and time-consuming hand-trimming previously required.

Usually, construction products like adhesives, caulks and sealants are not big trendsetters, but this year they are changing. Ever-tightening federal regulations...regarding VOCs (volatile organic compounds) present in all solvent-based products that pollute indoor air and the environment...has manufacturers seriously reformulating to comply. And while they are at it, they're making these products better, stronger and longer-lasting.

Since the upgrades are too many to list, we suggest visiting your local hardware store or home center to see what's new...or for more info go to the Adhesive and Sealant Council Web site (www.ascouncil.org), the Adhesives Manufacturers Association (www.adhesives.org) or visit Adhesives and Sealants Industry Online at (www.adhesivesmag.com).

Another area receiving a big boost from technology and smart thinking is lumber and sheathing used for everything from framing and roofing to flooring and decks. For example, Louisiana-Pacific's new TechShield radiant barrier roof sheathing is an aluminum sheet that blocks 97 percent of the sun's radiant heat...leaving attics up to 30 degrees cooler.

Georgia-Pacific's new G-P Plus Plywood Sturdi-I-Floor offers both tongue-and-groove edges and a smooth, fully sanded face for direct application of floor-covering products.

Deck building has many new options as well, with a wide variety of maintenance-free engineered composite materials...both for underfoot deck planking and engineered railing products. These systems blend new technology with design options galore for easy-to-build, long-lasting, maintenance-free decks that offer instant summer-fun gratification.

After roaming the aisles of the largest annual construction industry show in the world, we can assure you home sweet home is about to become better, stronger, smarter, more healthful, more earth-friendly and easier to care for and maintain. And that, indeed, is sweet.