Remodeling on the mind

MICHIGAN CITY Homeowners, contractors and home maintenance companies from across the region converged at Blue Chip Casino over the weekend for the Builders Association of La Porte County (BALC) annual Home Show Expo.

Held Saturday and Sunday in the Stardust Event Center, more than 40 vendors attended the event, which is targeted at homeowners and anyone interested in building, maintaining or remodeling their home.

Our mission is to promote home ownership in the community, said Cindy Dangler, executive officer of the Builders Association of La Porte County.

The purpose of the home show was to invite the general public to speak with experts in a variety of fields regarding their home plans and ideas. Among the several vendors were home builders, landscapers, bath installers, plumbers, roofers, remodelers, furniture retailers, gutter installers and a chimney sweeper.

Lending institutions and title companies also were among those in attendance.

Weve had a very good response, Dangler said of the number in attendance at the expo. All winter long, people have been sitting at home thinking of what they want to remodel.

Jim Pressel, past president of the BALC, attended the home show not only as current treasurer of the Indiana State Builders Association, but also representing his custom home builders company, Pressel Enterprises Inc.

On display, Pressel showed guests pictures of homes he has built, ranging from $200,000 to more than $2 million in price. The purpose was to let his customers know that, regardless of the price of the home, the same quality goes into each project and each customer deserves the same amount of respect.

Being in the home business for more than 20 years, Pressel said the biggest change he has seen in the industry is technology and the thought process that goes into designing a home.

Twenty years ago, building a home meant four walls, he said. Now we think about making the homes more expandable, greener, more sustainable those are our major concerns.

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Remodeling on the mind