2/26 – West Metro Home Remodeling Fair 10:30 – 3:30 http://goldenvalleymn.gov/events/remodelingfair/index.php.

3/10 – Mac-Groveland Home Improvement Fair 10:00 – 3:00 http://www.macgrove.org/node/15.

3/10/12 – South Minneapolis Housing Fair 10:00 – 3:00 http://www.housingfair.org/.

3/17 -  NE Journal Homeshow  10:00 – 2:00 http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?publication=downtown&section=58&page=310.

3/24 – SW Journal Homeshow 10:00 – 3:00 http://www.swjournal.com/index.php?publication=southwest&section=90&page=292.

3/30 – 4/1 – Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase (sm) http://www.paradeofhomes.org/index.aspx.

4/28-29 – The Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour. http://www.msphometour.com/.

Minneapolis, Minnesota – January 10^th, 2012 -Castle Building & Remodeling is proud to announce that it is celebrating its 35^th anniversary in the business of residential remodeling.  Owner, Mr. Loren Schirber says “As the second generation of my family to own and manage Castle, I am extremely proud to see the company reach its 35^th birthday.  The residential remodeling business is a tough industry that faces lots of competition and low barriers to entry.  With failure rates for small businesses at about 50% in the first five years, I am extremely proud of our team and that we have continued to persevere and grow profitably over the five years that I have owned Castle”.

Last year Castle completed 39 design projects and completed 179 remodeling projects including: Kitchen Makeover: 4, Kitchen Remodel: 18, Baths: 32, Basement: 7, Cabinets: 3, Attics: 7, Exterior Renovations: 21, Addition Shell: 2, Shed Dormer Addition: 2, Handyman Carpentry Projects: 28, Misc. Handyman: 32, Ice Dams: 5, Flooring: 11, Porch / Deck: 4, and Landscaping/Fence: 3.

Noah Martin Castle Building & Remodeling’s Production Manager says “We are extremely proud to accept this award.  At Castle we take pride in being the best value in professional remodeling.  We work hard to deliver top design artistry and craftsmanship and take care to plan projects in advance so we can guarantee a better experience than our competitors.  Receiving this recognition reinforces that Castle’s processes and procedures are working and do set us apart from the competition”.

“Only a fraction of the businesses rated on Angie’s List can claim the sterling service record of being a Super Service Award winner because we set a high bar,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks.
“The fact that Castle Building & Remodeling can claim Super Service Award status speaks volumes about its dedication to consumers.”

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their clients and abiding by Angie’s List
operational guidelines. Ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

We also know that many young families own homes with little equity, yet still need to add space and remodel and that is why Castle offers many financing partnerships.  Many growing families have utilized a FHA backed 203k loan that looks at the future value of a home after proposed improvements and lets you borrow against that value. 

As your family grows and you get a new ruler of the castle and need more space give us a call. 

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I am a business owner in St. Paul and we are being forced to lay off our workers and leave our clients without working bathrooms while we wait for electrical inspections.  We are running into major delays with scheduling electrical inspections in St. Paul and this is causing our projects to screech to a stop while we wait two plus weeks for electric inspections.  Last Wednesday after several days of calling, our electrician finally reached some one and was able to schedule several inspections for September 9^th.  Electrical inspections are booked out about 2.5-3 weeks and building inspections are booked out over a week currently and this time frame is very difficult to work with especially on small projects like bathroom remodeling projects.  On small projects we only have one work of week before needing our first building and electrical inspections.  Every other municipality can normally schedule inspections with 24-48 hours advanced notice.  

As one the largest design/build remodelers in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and currently are in the process of remodeling approximately 10 homes in St. Paul and have quite a few more in the design process that are scheduled to start building soon.  Because of these delays on several projects we are going to be forced to lay off our workers and send them home until the 9^th and will miss our guaranteed completion dates which will cost Castle $40 per day per project.  Some of our clients only have one bathroom and depend on Castle to quickly remodel their bathrooms so their life can get back to normal. 

Please help.  I would strongly encourage hiring more electrical inspectors, authorizing overtime, reallocating inspectors, or hiring outside support from the state temporarily to help alleviate the backlog of inspections scheduled.  Alternatively in the past we have been allowed to take photographs of our work and email it to inspectors for approval.  Minneapolis charges twice as much for permits and I would gladly pay more for a permit if we could get better quicker service. The remodeling market is regaining strength and we need your support to help us continue to perform efficiently and gain momentum.   

PS –  I would like to do what I can to help and would consider joining the Business Advisory Committee if I am eligible. 

Loren Schirber

 Owner/Business Manager

362 Snelling Ave. S

St. Paul, MN 55105

We have also added a page about Financing options Castle offers and a link to resources that provide low interest loans, rebates, and other incentives to remodel.  Interestingly we are seeing a pronounced shift in attitudes away from financing and are seeing a return to the desire to pay cash for home improvements or repairs.  We are still seeing clients who want to do things right and that will last (which can cost more), and then sometimes we are seeing them utilize a credit card to help stretch their budget (or maybe it is just the rewards points they are after).   

Whether you need more info on project costs or financing options offered, please give us a call at 612-789-8509 in Minneapolis or 651-699-4164 in St. Paul.

It was great to hear how Northeast schools, businesses and organizations like PEN and the Edison Community & Sports Foundation are working together on the BBQ.   This Community BBQ will be held at Thomas Edison High School from 3pm to 8pm on August 25th, making it an easy dinner plan since its Open House night!  Everyone is invited!

Castle’s philosophy is that without good schools in our communities, families leave the area preventing continued community growth in local businesses and other aspects of the community. Our schools are a very important part of our community and Castle Building & Remodeling is proud to be a sponsor of the event!

Mark your calendars…we’ll see you on August 25th!