Remodeling Expo coming to Pelham

Published 3:04 pm Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders will hold the second-annual Building and Remodeling Expo March 23-25 at the Pelham Civic Complex. (Contributed)

By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Throughout the weekend, the Pelham Civic Complex will be packed with everything from state-of-the-art appliances to kitchen flooring displays during the second-annual Building and Remodeling Expo.

During the expo, which is presented by the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders and sponsored by Alabama Power, Wells Fargo and Verizon Wireless, more than 80 area businesses will showcase everything necessary for a home remodeling project, said Lurenda Avery with the Association of Home Builders.

Avery said the event organizers are looking to expand on the success the expo experienced last year.

“Last year, we had 6,000 people come through the doors,” Avery said. “One thing we really didn’t expect were so many people coming in with blueprints to show to the exhibitors. That was a surprise we were really excited about.”

Expo vendors will display items such as appliances, flooring, windows, doors, stone countertops, grills, televisions and more, Avery said.

“This is an opportunity to meet local experts and talk to people who can actually do work in your home,” said event organizer David Estreicher.

The expo will be open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, and from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 25.

Admission is $7 for adults, and is free for kids 12 and younger. A buy-one-get-one-free admission coupon is available by clicking the expo link on Birminghambuilder.com.

Representatives from several local businesses will hold seminars on Saturday and Sunday covering topics from designing modern outdoor living spaces to solar panel technology.

Association of Home Builders Executive Vice President Bart Fletcher said home and remodeling prices are lower than they have been in the past.

“Our members tell us they are seeing significantly lower prices on materials, some back to levels of 10 or 15 years ago,” Fletcher said. “That makes a difference in the size of a new home you can afford or the quality of materials you can use to update your kitchen.”

To learn more about the expo, and to see a schedule of seminars, visit Birminghambuilder.com.