IN Upper St. Clair Spring 2014 | Page 37

Established Family Business Remodeling a Generation of Homes W hen Lou Angelo got into the construction business, the Beatles had just hired a drummer named Ringo Starr to fill the seat of Pete Best. Now, nearly 50 years later, Angelo Associates and its 12 employees are still remodeling homes and making homeowners more comfortable through his work. “I started off working in this business parttime, while working full-time days as a school teacher,” Angelo said. “My father was a building contractor, and since then, the business has evolved from building houses into a remodeling company. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, Angelo Contracting Company operated as a partnership. In 1990 we made a planned Kitchen and Bath Manager Lisa Hurley, Certified Kitchen and Bathroom Designer said remodeling homes allows people to add to their biggest investment, stay in the comfort of a living space they’re used to and provides for homeowners to stay current with trends and styles in the industry. “Today, you’re seeing less tubs and more high-end showers,” Hurley said. Angelo said with the new homes, the biggest trend is towards openness in the bathroom. “People seem to want spacious, open showers,” he said. “Most of our showers are done in ceramic or porcelain tile.” Angelo said kitchens are trending upscale as well. “Certainly, the countertops have changed through the years. The highest percentage of our top sales are done in granite and that is probably because of the wide range of availability and consequently reduced cost. We’re a factory dealership for Wood-Mode and Brookhaven Cabinetry and we do a very impressive volume in frameless cabinets,” Angelo said. Hurley said frameless cabinets are a more European style of cabinet, giving homeowners more storage space for their money because they don’t have the typical cabinet frames that people are used to seeing. “You don’t see any columns between the double doors,” Angelo said. “It’s all doors with no obstructions. Installation precision is really, really important for frameless cabinets. It’s not for the do-it-yourselfer in general.” Complementing their kitchen and bath work reputation, Angelo Associates has made a name in window and door renovations and has been a Certified Pella Contractor since the certification program was instituted. Window/Door and reorganization. At that time, I chose to form General Remodeling Manager Dean Papciak a closely held S-Corporation, so that future said, “We are well equipped and experienced transitions in management and responsibilities for the structural hard jobs such as adding or could occur smoothly and without interruption. enlarging window and door openings, and I chose the name Angelo Associates because frequently incorporating a significant new look it reflected my desire to maintain a close for the exterior as well as the interior.” working team of professionals who would Angelo Associates also excels in deck work support the customer-oriented Angelo business and bringing people together outside their patio philosophy.” door. Angelo said business remains strong in “With deck work and exterior siding and this economy and that moving from new trim, the trend today is towards synthetic construction to increased volume of kitchens, materials,” Angelo said. “Even in the very high bathrooms, windows and doors, has been great end jobs, people are asking for mostly synthetic, for his business and his clients. low maintenance materials. There are some very interesting natural jungle mahoganies that we’ve worked with. They’re durable, and they work well, but are generally more expensive.” If you don’t see ads for Angelo Associates, don’t be surprised. As with any good professional, their business tends to come from referrals. “Most of our business comes from word of mouth,” Angelo said. “They’ve been referred from a past customer. For the past several years, our sales were over 94 percent by referrals on average. We’re really happy about that because it’s based on what we have shown we can and will do.” That’s not a bad track record for a business headed toward its half-century mark. Angelo said he’s proud of where he’s been and foresees many remodeled homes to come in the future. Another aspect that Angelo’s proud of is the fact that customers can get a live person on the phone and service within 24 hours in an age of automated telephone menus. Office and showroom hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and Saturdays by appointment. “We’re good at remodeling. We’re good at building strong ethical relationships,” Angelo said. “And we’re pretty good at sticking around.” For more information on Angelo Associates, go to angeloassociates.com or call 412.655.3430. Upper St. Clair | Spring 2014 | icmags.com 35