2011 Spring Home & Garden Show

Written by Shannon Myers

On March 4-6, the Tompkins-Cortland Builders and Remodelers Association presented the 2011 Home & Garden show at TC3 in Dryden. Local vendors as well as those from all over New York State gathered together to present information to consumers about their products and services. Bob the Builder was on hand to greet show-goers on Saturday, and Amy Dickinson made a book signing appearance on Sunday. Informative current hot topic seminars for the consumer and home owner were presented all weekend long!!

A great turnout of consumers browsed through the aisles over the weekend to view the array of home improvement methods that were represented, from construction by professionals like https://betterfoundationrepairneworleans.com/ to heating and cooling, insulation to wood furniture; lawn tractors, landscaping, alternative energy exhibits in wind, solar and geothermal, and lending institutions for home buyer and home improvement loans.

With today’s focus on “Green” living, it was no surprise that many companies at the Home & Garden Show were representative of renewable energy methods, such as geothermal heating and cooling, solar energy, and wind energy. Information and educational materials were offered by such companies as ETM Solar Works of Endicott, Pyrus Energy (www.pyrusenergy.com), GeoTherm International LLC of Tully, HALCO, and Gleason Geothermal of Rochester and Ithaca. These companies and others illustrated how these energy methods are not only efficient in terms of helping consumers to break away from using the earth’s dwindling supply of fossil fuels, but how they also help consumers to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on energy supplied by power companies. Other companies at the Home & Garden Show offered information on energy-efficient living as well, including SunSky Energy LLC, Halco, Hoover Industrial Supply.

Represented at the Home & Garden Show were many companies that offer improvements to other areas of the home: Baker Miller, Cortland HEP, Real Wood Furniture, Solvay Glass, Builders Best, B&B Fine Floor Coverings, and Re-Bath, Victory Lifts just to name a few.

Let’s not forget those who displayed their informational materials and products for the aesthetically pleasing outdoors and problem area improvements to protect the soundness of your home or other structures! Among these were Valley View Gardens, Overhead Door, Schickel Construction Company, Gutter Pro Seamless Gutters & Supply Co. and Northernscapes landscaping services.

The list goes on. There was something to see for almost anyone looking for a specific area of improvement: from Hearth & Home of Ithaca to Pet Containment Systems of NY; from flooring to replacement windows. Virtually all facets of home improvement were represented.

For those consumers who are trying to find a way to buy a home, representatives from various organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Tompkins Trust Co., and Elmira Savings Bank were available to answer questions and provide information about home ownership programs.

Thanks to the generosity of TCBRA representatives from various other Non-Profits services were available for the public, as well, including Fingerlakes ReUse, NYS Cancer Services, the Red Cross, and the Cortland County Soil and Water District.With so much going on and so much information available, as well as lots of goodies being handed out – pens, candies, calendars, mini-basketballs, magnets – the Home & Garden show was a great event for consumers to attend to learn about all kinds of home improvement; not just in terms of sprucing up their homes, but also in terms of improving quality of life for themselves and by helping to save our environment.