Michigan Family Wins Home Makeover from CertainTeed Corporation

(Valley Forge, Pa.) – CertainTeed Corporation is proud to announce that the Pohl family of Westphalia, Mich. is the grand prize winner of the $75,000 Living Spaces™ Facebook® Home Makeover Video Contest. The lucky family will receive a complete renovation, which will be documented through a new series of webisodes produced by CertainTeed, North America’s leading brand of building products.
“We are amazed at the overwhelming response to the contest and would like to thank everyone who took the time to produce, upload and vote for their favorite video,” says Ken Warshaw, director of marketing communications for the CertainTeed Siding Products Group. “There were many deserving entries; however, with their commanding number of votes, the Pohls truly won the hearts of Facebook users.”
The winning video — entitled “Happy Again?” — features the Pohl family at their century-old farmhouse with patriarch Craig, donning a cowboy hat and guitar, performing an original song that was written for the contest.
“We were impressed by the response that the Pohl’s video received from Facebook voters. Their musical and creative talents resonated with our audience,” adds Warshaw. “We are thrilled to help them in their pursuit of the American dream and look forward to working with them in our upcoming series of webisodes.”
After meeting with the family and visiting the home, CertainTeed decided to significantly increase its contribution to the renovation project. The contest originally only included exterior products — siding, roofing, housewrap, decking, railing, fence and trim — but because of the unique and unusual nature of the home, the company has decided to assist with foundation work and interior remodeling as well. CertainTeed will also be donating drywall and insulation products to complete the Pohl’s farmhouse renovation.
“CertainTeed is North America’s largest brand of building products, so it made sense to engage our gypsum, insulation and foundations groups to help the Pohl family complete the entire scope of their renovation plans,” says Warshaw.
Construction is expected to begin in late-July, when the historic home will be moved back 30 feet from its original site. The entire renovation process will be documented through video webisodes featuring the Pohl family, a local architect, distributors, and contractors with CertainTeed 5-Star, Master Remodeler, and SELECT ShingleMaster™ credentials.
The webisodes, featuring more original music written specifically for the makeover, will be available on the CertainTeed Living Spaces Facebook page (www.facebook.com/certainteedlivingspaces) and the CTLivingSpaces YouTube® Channel, along with the opportunity for fans and viewers to participate in the makeover process through a series of related contests. Updates will also be posted to Twitter @CTLivingSpaces.
In addition to the grand prize winner, the top nine finalists will receive $500 exterior living spaces prize packages. And, to acknowledge the tremendous amount of time and effort all of the contestants put into their entries, CertainTeed is providing a $50 prize package to each participant.
About CertainTeed
Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3.2 billion in 2011. www.certainteed.com
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