As I sit down to write this installment in the Home Base, I am very proud to be able to address the topic of ethics in the home improvement industry in a positive way. So often remodeling has a bad reputation because of the sleazy tactics some companies use. There are news paper articles and TV news reports about senior citizens being ripped off or someone providing a large deposit to a contractor who never returns to do the work.

With this in mind, it is especially noteworthy to me that my business, Legacy Remodeling, has been named the winner of the 2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics in the Marketplace. This prestigious honor is a reflection of the way a business conducts itself towards its employee's, customers and the surrounding community.

As I mentioned in a previous posting, Pennsylvania has enacted contractor registration legislation this year which requires all companies that perform home improvement work for pay to register with the state. Customers who are interested in having this type of work done are encouraged to check with Pennsylvania's Attorney General's office prior to hiring a contractor. One of the suggestions which the AG's office makes on their website, is that homeowners should also check with the BBB to see what kind of record the company they are considering has.

With Legacy being named as the 2009 winner of the Torch Aware, homeowners in the Pittsburgh area have the opportunity to select a company that not only handles quality products and will do a quality job, but also a company that they can feel comfortable will deal with them with honesty and integrity.