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