Owens Corning to Acquire Assets of AmeriMark Building
Products, Inc. and its Subsidiaries


          Move will strengthen company's exterior systems
offering

    TOLEDO, Ohio, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Corning
(NYSE: OWC; Toronto) today announced it has entered into 
an  asset  purchase  agreement  with  AmeriMark Building 
Products, Inc.,  whose  principal  financial  backer  is
GE Capital Services.  The acquisition will significantly 
strengthen Owens Corning's vinyl siding capacity, making 
the company a North American leader  in  that  industry.
In addition, the acquisition  enhances  Owens  Corning's
position  in the fast-growing company-owned distribution 
channel for vinyl siding and vinyl windows.

    The purchase price is approximately $310 million and
terms of the agreement have been approved by the  boards 
of directors of both companies.

    AmeriMark  is  a specialty building products company
serving  the   exterior  residential  housing  industry.  
Major product lines include vinyl siding, vinyl  windows 
and aluminum accessories for the exterior of  the  home.  
Including the acquisition of Reynolds  Building Products 
in March 1997, AmeriMark's pro-forma 1997 sales would be 
approximately $450 million.

    "This  acquisition  significantly  strengthens   our 
exterior system offering and improves our  vinyl  siding 
product position for our customers and consumers,"  said 
Owens Corning Chairman and CEO Glen H. Hiner. "AmeriMark,
along  with  Fibreboard Corporation,  which was acquired
earlier this month, will make Owens Corning a  leader in 
exterior systems."

    Last  September,  Owens  Corning  introduced  a  new 
strategic thrust called System Thinking(TM).   The first 
implementation of that new  initiative,  System Thinking 
for the Home(TM), responds to the fact that  a  majority 
of consumers want integrated systems that address whole-
project  needs.    The  acquisition  of  AmeriMark  will 
substantially  strengthen the company's ability to offer
exterior systems for the home.

    "AmeriMark has broad distribution through its company-
owned   distribution   centers,   retail   channels   and 
independent distribution,  as well as the ability to sell 
under private label,  "Hiner said.  "These strengths will 
provide  additional  synergies   with   Owens   Corning's 
traditional  market  channels  and the Norandex and Vytec 
distribution network."





    This is Owens Corning's 17th acquisition in the past
three  years.   "We  have  been acquiring businesses and 
assets  in  recent  years as  part of our growth agenda,
"Hiner said.  "While achieving our $5 billion sales goal 
in  1998,  it is our current intention to provide for up 
to  two-thirds  of  the  purchase  price  for  AmeriMark 
through  the  sale  of  certain  non-core  Owens Corning 
businesses, including the recently announced decision to 
sell our Pabco subsidiary, which had 1996 sales  of  $58 
million.   "Net  of  divestitures,  the  acquisition  of 
AmeriMark will be accretive in 1998, " Hiner said.   "We
expect the transaction to close in the  third quarter of
1997, pending government approval."

    Owens  Corning  also  announced  that it has filed a
registration statement with the SEC that, when effective,
will  allow  Owens  Corning  to  issue   hybrid   equity 
securities resulting in cash proceeds  of  approximately 
$300 million.

    Headquartered in Raleigh,  NC,  AmeriMark  has about 
1,700  employees  with  10  manufacturing facilities and
approximately  60  distribution  centers  in  the United 
States.   The  company's  products  are sold under brand
names that include ALSCO, Homeside, and Hastings.

    Owens  Corning is a world leader in high performance
glass fiber composites and building materials with sales 
in 1996 of $3.8 billion.  The company's internet website 
can be found at http://www.owenscorning.com.