OWENS CORNING FILES VOLUNTARY CHAPTER 11 PETITION TO RESOLVE ASBESTOS LIABILITY

All Operations Open and Focused on Customer Service

Toledo, Ohio, October 5, 2000 - Owens Corning (NYSE:OWC) today announced that, in order to address the growing demands on its cash flow resulting from its multi-billion dollar asbestos liability, the company has voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The filing, made today in Wilmington, Delaware, will enable Owens Corning to refocus on operating its business and serving its customers, while it develops a plan of reorganization that will resolve its asbestos and other liabilities and provide a suitable capital structure for long-term growth.

Owens Corning also announced that, in order to enhance its liquidity, it has obtained a $500 million debtor-in-possession financing commitment from Bank of America. Upon court approval, these funds will be available to the company to help meet its future needs and fulfill obligations associated with operating its business, including payment under normal terms to suppliers and vendors for all goods and services that are provided after today's filing. Employees will continue to be paid in the normal manner and their health benefits, as well as those of retirees, will not be disrupted. The company's pension plan for retirees and vested employees is fully funded and protected by federal law.

All of Owens Corning's U.S. operating subsidiaries and certain other U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions today. None of the company's other subsidiaries, joint ventures and affiliates, including all operations located outside the United States, are included in the filing.

Glen H. Hiner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Owens Corning, said, "We are voluntarily taking this difficult but necessary action today to resolve the company's asbestos liabilities in a manner that legally binds all existing and future claimants. With the Chapter 11 process we can finally put this difficult issue behind us in a fair and responsible manner and move forward with our resources and energies focused on competing successfully in the global marketplace."

Mr. Hiner continued, "Owens Corning today is a sound company, with over $5 billion in annual revenues and leadership positions in all of its businesses. All of our operations are open today and focused on serving our customers. The combination of our cash on hand, existing cash flow and a new $500 million financing commitment provides the company sufficient liquidity to meet all future financial obligations to employees, suppliers and vendors."

Owens Corning's cost reduction programs and System Thinking™ marketing initiatives in recent years have been successful in enabling the company to enhance its competitive position. Despite this success, the increasing asbestos liabilities and difficulty of estimating its future asbestos liabilities, especially the costs of settling current and future mesothelioma claims, required the company to consider a range of strategic and financial alternatives.

Mr. Hiner said, "We have been attempting to manage this liability for more than two decades. Our goal has been to compensate fairly any individual impaired through the use of our products, while continuing to operate our business in the best interests of all of our constituencies, including customers, employees and shareholders. Until very recently, we thought Chapter 11 could be avoided. First we tried to resolve cases in individual out-of-court settlements, and then we sought legislative and judicial relief. Finally, we made substantial progress in the management of our asbestos liability with our National Settlement Program (NSP). However, the cost of resolving current and future claims, together with a flurry of recent new filings from plaintiff lawyers not participating in the NSP, led us to the conclusion that a Chapter 11 reorganization was prudent and necessary."

Owens Corning had previously noted that its ability to meet its schedule of asbestos related payments and meet its obligations to the banks under its credit agreement depended, in part, on its results from operations not deteriorating significantly. The fall in demand for building material products, which reflects in large part increased interest rates, combined with elevated energy and raw materials costs and the inability to fully recapture these costs in price adjustments, has significantly reduced the company's margins and income from operations.

The company expects to report its earnings for the third quarter of 2000 in a Form 10- Q scheduled to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2000.

Due to the Chapter 11 filing, the company will not be making the quarterly dividend payment scheduled for October 13, 2000 to shareholders of record as of September 30, 2000. In addition, the company will not be making any interest or other payments on its unsecured debt securities or payments to asbestos claimants for the duration of the Chapter 11 proceeding.

Owens Corning's asbestos liability arises from a high-temperature pipe insulation product trade-named Kaylo, which it distributed and/or manufactured from 1952 to 1972. The company's total revenues from the sale of this product were approximately $135 million. Owens Corning is a co-defendant with other former manufacturers, distributors and installers of products containing asbestos in personal injury litigation. To date, the company has received more than 460,000 asbestos personal injury claims and has paid or agreed to pay more than $5 billion for asbestos-related awards and settlements, legal expenses and claims processing fees.

The company noted that 22 other companies involved in asbestos-related activity have commenced reorganization cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Like many of these other companies, Owens Corning intends to use the special provisions of Chapter 11 relating to the resolution of asbestos claims as a process through which all asbestos claims will be evaluated and resolved with no contingent liability remaining for the company.

Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials systems and composites systems. The company has sales of $5 billion and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. Additional information is available on Owens Corning's Web site at http://www.owenscorning.com or by calling the company's toll-free General Information line: 1-877-799-6904.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these statements. Further information on factors that could affect the company's financial and other results is included in the company's Forms 10-Q and 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT: Gregg Bronk, Corporate Communications, 419-248-8004, or Jules L. Vinnedge, Investor Relations, 419-248-7377, both of Owens Corning; or Fred Spar or Michael Freitag of Kekst & Company, 212-521-4800, for Owens Corning.