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"14 THE OSHAWA TIMES, Saturday, March 19, 1960 isual Merchandising f Home Improvement By DAVID L. BOWEN HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) --- There's a brand new kind of merchant at one of the shopping centers in this sprawling Long Island suburb. With the same sales efficiency his chain store neighbors use to move a new brand of soapflakes or a power lawnmower, he sells the housewife on a pair of new | bedrooms in the attic, a breeze- | way and attached garage, or aj glamorous recreation room in the | basement. The merchant's name is Her- | pert Richheimer and his busi. pess is home improvements. There's = nothing uncommon about the trade. Bu! Richheimer has brought to it an uncommon | amount of organization and sales- manship . MINIATURE MODELS In the shopping center show- roorn he calls a "Muscum ol Modern Home Improvements" mosi families can find a foot-long miniature house model close fo the lines oi their own home. They then can attach to the model any of several possible expan- sons: a wing or the back, a full | second storey, a shed dormer. | The customer doesn't have to fry to visvalize what the addition would do to the appearance of his house; he can actually see it. Nothing about inferior finishing is left to the imagination either. | The basement of the showroom is cut up into compartments, each with a different type of wall and floor surface. There's a dummy dormer, to show exactly what is involved in raising a sec- tion of roof to' make an attic room. Richheimer salosmen find these props more than atractive sell- ing aids. They help remove the plain ignorance of many home- owners on the basic fundamen- tals of residential construction. "If you ask a man in the pres- ence of his wife if he knows what a hip roof is, he'll always answer ves," Richheimer : ingists in heavy German accent. "He ac- | tually doesn't, but he wants to impress his wife. We avoid prob- able misunderstanding by mak- | ing certain everything is clear all along the line." "Ingenuity. new ideas and hon- | esty on the part of the home im- contractor will give 'he public the trust it should [have in the industry," Rich- | heimer continues. be no need for a family to move every few years because of lack of space. People should not be afraid to buv home improve- mens to make their original home grow with family and in- come." NO LOOSE ENDS In addition fo attractive chandising, Richheimer's staff of salesmen shoulder prospect's complete the job requires masons, plumbers and heating engineers in addition te carpen- ers, all are available. The company also assists in ar- ranging financing on big jobs, often accomplished by re- financing the morigage Best proof of the attraction of | provement mer- his | "There should | large | the | burden. If] electricians, | this type of thorough organiza- 'tion in the home improvement | contracting field is Richheimer's fantastic growth. In his sixth year of business, he expects to gross four million dollars in 1960. One of the factors promoting the rapid growth is the predom- inance of development homes in this section of Long Island, par- ticularly Levittown, N.Y., where Richheimer got his start operat- ing out of his own home. In many cases, additions became as stand- ard as the original models. Rich- heimer now has a second office in Levittown, Pa. However, his business is not completely dependent upon stand- ard models. He says only one- third of his current New York work is in Levittown. He's will- ing to tackle any house. space wi'hin Richheimer choices » | use of all available the original walls." says, 'he has two basic either expanding ouf or up | BEAUTY ESSENTIAL Great caresshould be faken to make sure an addition adds beauty to the home, he "If an extension looks makeshift or inappropriate, it will destroy the value of the original home rather than adding to it." Generally speaking, he found the ranch easiest to alter. | a wing in any direc- | |'Tt ean sprout | tion. Split-level | lend designs has | "Once a homeowner has made | warns, | | | themselves fo additions either in| the front or back is an extra bedroom in the | behind a ground level recreation room, Most common | rear | CALIFORNIA REDWOOD Panelling Vertical Siding Bevel Siding Clear Lumber ~ All Kiln Dried -- -- Quality Graded a WE HAVE IT IN STOCK Wholesale and Retail MILL VALLEY LUMBER CO. .. 66 RUSSETT AVE. off 1270 Simcoe St. N. Phone RA 8-6264 "Our Best Advertisement s Our Workmanship" REPAIR WORK HEATING INSTALLED CUSCOTT PLUMBING AND HEATING We wish to extend congratulations to the City of Oshawa on its 36th Anniversary. This marks our eighth year of conducting business in this City. * * * * * * * 1952-1960 Our Motto quoted above "Our best advertisement is our work- manship" means exactly this . . . enabled us to stay * in business over the years. * % * * * * Aithvrieed Dealer for Let us check your heating unit SERVICE CALLS satisfied customers have APPLIANCES INSTALLED MAYCO m==c WATER SOFTENERS GUSCOTT PLUMBING & HEATING LIMITED 207 SIMCOE SOUTH OSHAWA NE He A Ary RA -5-5132