Published: October 11, 2009 04:53 am      

ALLPRO there for home improvement needs

FAIRMONT — ALLPRO Home Improvements wants to be there to help customers with their remodeling needs.

Fred and Viola Becker started the company, formerly known as Aluminum Products LLC, in Pleasant Valley in 1963.

Donna Blaney, a Farmington native, got a job as a bookkeeper at Aluminum Products shortly after she graduated from high school and worked there for seven years. She later returned to work at Aluminum Products, and she and her husband Marvin bought the business in October 1986.

Marvin, originally from Rivesville and a Fairmont State graduate, has worked at Allegheny Power’s Harrison Power Station for 36 years.

Because of the growth of the company, Donna and Marvin eventually needed to move their operations to a larger space. In 1995, the couple relocated the business to its current location at 201 Fairmont Ave. in Fairmont.

2009 marks the store’s 46th year in business, and the Blaneys have owned it for 23 of those years.

They gave the company its new name, ALLPRO Home Improvements, in January 2008 to reflect the changes in home remodeling over the years. Many people thought the business was just a supplier for aluminum tubing and sheets, but that wasn’t what it did at all, Donna said.

“We do basically everything on the outside of a home, except we really don’t do many roofs,” she said.

Donna said this hometown business offers replacement windows, siding, awnings, gutters, shutters, railings, sunrooms, screen rooms, exterior and storm doors, and much more. ALLPRO Home Improvements is also starting to go into work inside of the home. The staff can do bath renovations, put up interior doors, and add or change moldings for chair rails or ceilings.

In February, Donna took classes and passed a test in order to earn the CAPS — or Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist — designation. With this certification, which required a lot of research, she can provide home improvement services to help older people.

“I think with the elderly that we have here in Marion County, that is really something that is needed here,” Donna said.

For example, ALLPRO can convert a bathtub to a shower and add grab bars to make the bathroom safer for elderly people and allow them to stay in their homes.

In the future, the business plans to start doing more bath renovations and also go into kitchen improvements, Donna said.

She said ALLPRO Home Improvements’ nine employees work hard to treat each and every customer with respect. The company strives to give customers a good product and professional installation at a reasonable price.

“We try to use the golden rule, and we try to treat customers the way we would want to be treated,” Donna said. “I think some people charge too much and other people charge too little and give an inferior product. We try to give quality and value, and we try to stand behind the product that we sell.”

For more information, call ALLPRO Home Improvements at 304-363-1500.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.