Company to Streamline Operations, Realign Regions and Leverage Size and Synergies in Response to Challenging Homebuilding Market Environment

SG&A Expense Reductions Estimated to be $20 Million to $25 Million

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Building Materials HoldingCorporation (NYSE: BLG), a leading provider of building materials andconstruction services to professional residential builders and contractors,today announced plans to unify and streamline its BMC West and SelectBuildoperations and position the Company for future growth and value generation.Aggregate annual SG&A expense reductions from the plan are estimated to be inthe range of $20 million to $25 million.

'We are conducting a comprehensive analysis of our business and developingan initial plan for improved profitability and cash flow to right-size theorganization to reflect today's homebuilding market,' said Robert E. Mellor,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. 'While there are considerable externalpressures on the markets we serve, our Board and management team are committedto making internal changes designed to minimize the impact of the downturnwhile positioning our company for growth as the market improves.'

'We expect to see significant improvements in our cash flow as we executethis plan, which will bring the Company's two major business units into muchcloser alignment,' said Stanley M. Wilson, President and Chief OperatingOfficer. 'BMC West and SelectBuild have traditionally maintained theirindependence not only in terms of branding, but also with regard to strategy,purchasing, administration and leadership. While maintaining the unique brandidentities of BMC West and SelectBuild, we intend to flatten our managementstructure and reduce our operational organization from 13 regions into 7regions. We expect to take advantage of the new synergies created by thisrealignment, while also working to grow the bottom line by leveraging ourpurchasing power to improve margins and by streamlining our back-officesupport functions to reduce expenses.'

The primary components of the plan are:

Organizational Realignment -- The realignment flattens BMHC'sorganizational structure by reducing its existing 13 regions into 7 regions:

    * Intermountain (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah)    * Midwest (Illinois)    * Northwest (Oregon, Washington)    * Pacific (California, Northern Nevada)    * Southeast (Florida)    * Southwest (Arizona, Southern Nevada)    * Texas

Business Unit Closings and Consolidations -- Upon completion of thoroughevaluation, we expect a number of underperforming business units to be shutdown. These units were determined to be performing below expectations and, inaggregate, have incurred losses both for the full year 2007 and the firstquarter of 2008.