PORTLAND – Pat Ciancolo of Buxton strolled around the Cumberland County Civic Center with a general idea of what he wanted — information about roofing, windows and natural-gas water heaters — and a specific idea about what he didn’t.
“I was trying to stay away from ‘the only one you’ll ever need!’ type stuff,” he said.
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For homeowners considering improvement projects, Sunday was a perfect day for checking out a variety of exhibits at the annual Maine Home, Remodeling & Garden Show.
“This is the second year I’ve been here,” said Ciancolo, 29, who accompanied his parents, Charlie and Marianne, both considering projects for their home in Gorham.
“I like to keep up on the latest products,” Charlie Cianciolo III said. “I know my wife wants to change over the fixtures in the bathroom. We were looking at a nice new faucet by Kohler, a little more of a modern design. Patrick likes the way it looks and he’s going to be redoing his kitchen.”
The two-day show drew hundreds of folks interested in feathering their nests, or cutting down on energy costs, sprucing up gardens, or even installing a solar-powered greenhouse with its own automatic watering bench. (From the website mainegarden.com, the self-contained and self-tending greenhouse is “perfect for the household that does not have a gardener home at all times, but still wants to have healthy and vigorous plants.”
While your greenhouse is dutifully watering your begonias, you could vacuum the house with a retractable hose system that, when you’re finished, sucks the hose itself right into the wall.
How about an interlocking roof system made from recyclable aluminum?
“It looks really interesting,” said Paula Ecker, 52, of South China. “I need a new roof and replacement windows, so that’s what I came to get information about.”
Her companion, Dan Haskell, 45, of South China, figured the tin roof might make a ruckus, particularly in a rainstorm.
No, assured marketing representative Steve Pyle, a thin layer of insulation beneath the system deadens sounds, so it’s very quiet.
Not far away, a booth sponsored by Home Depot offered a four-pack of compact fluorescent light fixtures equivalent to 60-watt bulbs for a mere 89 cents. Home Depot also sold 12-packs of the same CFL fixtures for $3.47 to show-goers who aren’t very good at math.
A few of the quirkier items included a nozzle for your garden hose (rather pricey at $30 or two for $50), stud grabbers (utility hooks that slip over exposed wooden studs and beams) priced at 10 for $20 or 20 for $35, and floor mats woven from lobster trap line.
Cathy Snyder, 49, of Minot spent much of the two show days at the Meet the Chefs cooking series while her husband manned a Northern Kitchens remodeling booth. Recipes from the chefs — including the lobster macaroni and cheese with sherry breadcrumbs whipped up by the 15th and final chef, Bo Byrne of David’s 388 in South Portland — will be posted on the show’s website (homegardenflowershow.com).
Snyder’s patience was rewarded after the pasta was passed around. She won the raffle for a year’s subscription to Northeast Flavor magazine.
Out on the main floor, 4-year-old Annaka Rogers listened politely while her parents, Jeff and Jessica, talked to a representative of Frost & Flame about wood stoves.
“It’s good because, online, you don’t get a chance to talk to anybody,” said Jeff Rogers, 32, of North Waterboro. “And it’s nice to dream. In 10 years, we want to build our log home, so we’re planning ahead, too.”
Annaka was asked about her favorite aspect of the home show. Bathtubs, she said.
Her parents nodded knowingly. “She wants,” her father whispered, ” a Jacuzzi.”
Staff Writer Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:
gjordan@pressherald.com
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