Expert Spotlight: Milanese Remodeling

From the very beginning, the Milanese family found that solving problems for their clients the best way was the key to success.  In 1957, Gabe and Jackie Milanese introduced aluminum awnings, storm windows and siding to make the home ownership experience easier. 

Minimizing maintenance and increasing energy efficiency with innovative products is an ever-changing evolution at Milanese Remodeling that spans two generations. 

The Milanese Remodeling Family: Seated at Front- Jackie Milanese, Standing Left to Right Mark, Jackie II, Michael Angelo II, Mark Anthony, Linda, Trish, Gabe III, Michael Angelo & Kim Milanese.  Photo of their annual Christmas Book-signing Party.

Problem-Solvers

Although experience and creativity allow Milanese Remodeling to provide clients with exterior home improvements and outdoor living spaces they desire, their expertise starts with solving the client’s problem in the best possible way.
 
The “Philosophy of Home Improvements” at Milanese Remodeling is to ask good questions, listen closely to the client’s answers and then offer the best solution for them.  In order to be expert problem-solvers, Milanese feels they must continually search for state-of-the art products from reliable and forward-thinking manufacturers, just as they have from the very beginning.

Humble Beginnings

Gabe Milanese grew up without a father. Helped by necessity, he discovered he was a natural entrepreneur when he was still a boy.  His ability to make money helped his mother and grandmother keep their home. As he grew into a man, he wanted nothing more than to start a business and become a financial success. 

Jackie Melrath lost her mother when she was seven. She wanted nothing more than a happy family with a husband and children to love.

A series of fortunate events caused the two to meet, fall in love and marry. Together, they would do both - fill a happy home with six children and start a business that still thrives after over six decades. Their family started immediately with a daughter, Linda. Gabe Jr. would soon follow, but it would take more good fortune before the business began.
 
Gabe took a steady job at the paper mill to support his young family, but he never gave up his business ambitions. After work, he started selling wrought iron railings his father-in-law made in his welding shop. Gabe had the “Gift of Gab” and soon everyone he knew had new railings for their homes. Gabe knew he was on to something. He started looking for something else people would buy for their home. He found it: Aluminum!
 
Entrepreneurs like Gabe were creating new home improvement products made of aluminum. Gabe believed aluminum products could change the world and the way we lived in our homes because they solved problems that all homeowners had in common in a brand new way.

First Generation of Innovative Products

Awnings
This was 1957. There was no air conditioning in homes. Canvas window awnings blocked the sun to make homes cooler in summer, but they needed taken down before it snowed and put up again in the spring. Gabe and Jackie’s new business would offer homeowners an alternative to make life easier: aluminum awnings that could stay up all year! They could protect doors from rain and snow and create covered patios so homeowners could enjoy the outdoors.
 
Windows
Every home had screens and glass storm windows in heavy wooden frames. Each spring and fall homeowners climbed ladders to switch them over. In the summer, they scraped the paint and puttied the glass on these storm windows. In the winter they scraped the rust off of the screens and painted the wood frames. Gabe and Jackie would offer glass and screen aluminum storm windows to make life easier, too. No more climbing ladders, puttying or painting, once a homeowner invested in aluminum storm windows – and storm doors, too.
 
Siding
Although a lot of homes were built of brick or stone back then, there were plenty of frame homes with wood siding that needed constant maintenance. No matter how often it was painted, it warped and rotted. Wood siding was prone to insect infestation that attracted woodpeckers who made holes looking for dinner. Their new business would solve those problems with aluminum siding, which never needed painting.

Risk-takers

Gabe & Jackie decided to take a big risk and start “Milanese Aluminum” to introduce aluminum awnings, windows, doors and siding to homeowners in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Having a successful business was Gabe’s dream and they were committed to making their dream come true.
 
Gabe quit his job at the paper mill to sell, measure and manage installations. Jackie answered the phone and kept the books. Their first purchase was a sales receipt book to take orders. They borrowed money to build a showroom next to their home so homeowners could see and touch the new aluminum awnings, windows, doors and siding that would improve their home and their life. 

Jackie took care of customers in between taking care of a growing family. A bell would ring in the house when someone opened the showroom door and she would stop whatever she was doing and run to the showroom. She wrote up orders for windows, doors and siding for Gabe to measure. They watched every penny to turn a profit, while taking care of every client like family. Their sign was a landmark on the Lincoln Highway and their business grew.  As soon as the kids were old enough, they helped too.

The Outdoor Living and Exterior Remodeling Experts

Over time, the business evolved. Milanese Aluminum became Milanese Remodeling. Generations of the same family became clients. Repeat business and referrals from satisfied clients helped the company continue to grow. 

The Milanese family became experts of both outdoor living and exterior home improvements. The expertise the Milanese family gained from experience became invaluable to homeowners throughout the Philadelphia suburbs. Milanese Remodeling continues to innovate and explore new ways to solve common problems for homeowners. They also continue to offer a showroom for clients to see and touch available products.
 
Exterior remodeling often means replacing the roofing, siding, windows and doors all at the same time. Whole house exteriors has allowed Milanese to become more creative with design components for striking results for a whole new look, with curb-appeal in mind.  Outdoor living projects have grown from patio awnings to spectacular outdoor living environments for clients to enjoy outdoors at home. New products to solve problems for clients have been added and old products have evolved over time. 

Here is a retractable pergola roof called a “GENNIUS” by KE Durasol. It’s the latest version of a retractable awning. A Somfy-powered retractable pergola roof, really. It handles wind up to 125 miles per hour and rain up to 12” per hour. This one has two Somfy motors, one for the retractable roof and one for a retractable sun screen.

The Evolution of Awnings

One of the biggest new product introductions at Milanese Remodeling was motorized sun control products. The retractable motorized awning would virtually replace the aluminum awning over time. And that evolution all started when Gabe and Jackie brought their children to Italy to visit with family.
 
Gabe and Jackie’s middle son, Mark Milanese, first saw the retractable awning on a home in Italy in 1974 during that family visit to Italy.  His cousin Fausto was an architect and he showed him a project he had designed with a lateral arm retractable awning shading a beautiful terrace. As Fausto cranked out the awning, Mark thought, “THAT is the future of awnings!”
 
After he joined the business full time in 1980, Mark began looking for a retractable awning manufacturer in America. He found very few options available. When he asked one of his aluminum awning manufacturers to consider making retractable awnings, they said, “Mark, fabric is the enemy”. So, there was some resistance to adding fabric awnings to the aluminum awning line.

I Hate my Deck! – Before & After
Before – An Empty Deck. Homeowner hated their deck and never used it. 
After - Milanese Remodeling designed a custom space for the whole family to enjoy, with outdoor television, firepit, grill area, water feature and a Somfy-powered KE Durasol Cassette style retractable awning.
 

After a lot of searching, Mark found Lars Dupont in New York who had just started a new company called Durasol Awnings along with Doug Brown. Doug was the stationary fabric awning guy, but Lars was a big believer in retractable awnings. He insisted that the motorized version was the way to go. 
 
“Comparing a manual version of a retractable awning to a motorized version is like comparing a tricycle to a Ferrari.  They both may get you where you’re going, but the Ferrari is going to be a lot cooler and get you there a lot faster,” Mark says. “There’s nothing worse than sweating while cranking out an awning on a hot day - except rolling it back in!” 
 
Milanese Remodeling has sold thousands of awnings with Somfy motors since then. It’s one of their favorite things to do, because their clients love them so much. “Nobody calls to say, it was a cold night and my windows really kept me warm, or it really rained hard again and my roof is still keeping me dry, but they DO call every spring to say, I put my awning out for the first time today, and I just wanted to call and tell you I love my motorized awning."

This awning at QVC studios is the largest Somfy-powered retractable awning in the USA – 54’ Wide and 33’ Projection! This KE Durasol GENNIUS is virtually windproof and rain proof. Television crews were filming under this structure during Super Storm Sandy!

Want to learn more about this project? Click here!

Motorized Sun Control

Motorized sun control products give Milanese Remodeling clients on-demand shade when they need it to enjoy the outdoors. Homeowners choose a motorized sun control product over a permanent roof because they can deploy them whenever they need shade and retract them to get sun in the house in the winter or see the stars at night. 

The retractable awning continues to evolve. Stronger arms for higher wind resistance and bigger projections have made the lateral arm awning more beneficial. And a new generation of frame designs – called Pergola Awnings - can protect even the largest deck from sun AND rain – even in high winds.

This “retractable screen room” project features 14 Somfy motors! Retractable roof, screen walls and shades provide a unique environment that blurs the line between indoors and outdoors. Click here to see more.

Pergola Awnings are Retractable Roofs

Pergola-style retractable awnings are the next generation of retractable awning. There are a wide variety of this type of product, but they all share the same structural components. They have columns, beams and rafters. Those structural components stay in place all the time. 

The columns, beams and rafters give structural support for retractable fabric with the capability to withstand high winds and heavy rain. The columns can be incorporated into deck railings or patio columns. The framework is a minimalistic version of the traditional pergola garden structure, with European style. Pergola awnings can protect huge areas and are ideal for restaurants and other commercial applications, as well as for residential use.
 
The framework also allows for motorized, retractable screen walls for additional shade or insect protection. Motorized clear window walls, combined with the retractable pergola roof create a retractable room at the touch of a button.

The Tradition Continues

Although Gabe Milanese Sr. passed away in 2007, a second generation has carried on his legacy of solving clients’ problems with integrity and dedication to customer service. Gabe Milanese Jr. began helping his dad with sales after he graduated business school. 

Jackie hired secretaries to help answer the phone. One of them was Trish Rigorosso, who became part of the Milanese family when Gabe asked her to marry him. Gabe Jr. and Trish worked side-by-side for 33 years, with Gabe Jr. as President of the company for 25 years.  He sadly passed away in July 2013, but his memory lives on through the Gabe Milanese Jr. Foundation. 

 
Another generation is showing interest in the family business. They are sure to introduce more new products to solve problems for homeowners.

Milanese Remodeling wants to help you find the best solution for your outdoor space. Contact Milanese Remodeling to learn more!