In a twist on design contests, Ply Gem’s 2011 Designed Exterior Giveaway awarded a remodeler a complete exterior home design prize package worth $50,000. Winner Case Design/Remodeling, in Washington, D.C., then chose to give back by using the prize to remodel the home of Gary Gaal of Alexandria, Va., a retired lieutenant colonel and local volunteer.
Seeing is Believing
Using Ply Gem’s Designed Exterior package along with products from GAF, Plastpro, Wayne-Dalton, and Dow, Case transformed Gaal’s home from what Rick Matus, senior vice president and director of design and sales at Case, called “dull, dreary, and in need of repair” to an attractive shingle-style residence that “increased 15% in appraisal value.”
Case partnered with BSB Design, in Florida, to develop the project using the Designed Exterior system in which clients can choose elements such as colors, siding, trim, and roofing materials to see how the total home might look. Matus says that it was “really easy to work with. That’s what appeals to me and will to most remodelers.”
The home’s original windows which were broken allowing drafts inside, were replaced by R-5 energy efficient Ply Gem windows in a half colonial grille pattern consistent with a traditional shingle style. Without them, the design would not be complete.
Matus took a sample kit and used Adobe Photoshop software to apply the homeowners’ design choices to the design. When the homeowners were uncertain about the suggested maroon shingle color, for example, having the ability to show them how all the pieces would look together — their texture, color, style — aided the selections process.
The Gaals are ecstatic about their new home — surprised at the transformation using a few simple elements.
Opportunity Knocks
Case Design/Remodeling, which has a charity arm called Case Cares, often does pro bono work and also enters design competitions as a regular part of its marketing strategy. The Ply Gem contest led to exposure on ABC, Fox, and cable channel newscasts as well as a blog in The Washington Post. And during the process, Matus says, they had a box of “nosy neighbor flyers” on the lawn.
—Stacey Freed, senior editor, REMODELING.
