Volunteer's Home Gets Free Extreme Makeover

Gary Gaal, a retired Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army, only wanted new windows for his home.  His wife had bugged him about it over the past 10 years, noting every neighbor who purchased new windows.

Imagine Gaal’s surprise when Falls Church-based Case Design/Remodeling selected him to receive a free makeover for his home, valued at more than $100,000.

Case transformed Gaal’s bland 1972 colonial home into a modern shingle-style house and the envy of his Alexandria neighborhood.

This included new state of the art, energy-efficient windows.

 “This is amazing.  I would never have guessed in a million years that this would happen to me,” said Gaal.  “All I wanted was some new windows.”

The project will be completed this week and unveiled Saturday during a neighborhood block party.  Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, Case Founder Fred Case, as well as President Bruce Case and representatives from the Patriot Guard Riders will be on hand for the celebration.

Case was selected by Ply Gem, a manufacturer of exterior home projects, to receive products worth $50,000 to remodel a home.   The added cost of labor and design makes the remodel worth more than $100,000. 

“We could have selected an employee to give the makeover to,” said Rick Matus, Sr. Vice President and Director of Design and Sales at Case.  “But we wanted to give to someone who had given to their community.”

Gaal serves as an auxiliary police officer in Fairfax County and assistant chief of the Franconia Fire Department, Gaal received the 2011 Lee District Community Champion Award.  He was at the Pentagon on 9/11 and activated a crises management team.  He has logged 19,000 volunteer hours in his community.

Along with the windows, the makeover included new siding, stone veneer and accessories from Ply Gem; roofing from GAF; an entry door system from Plastpro; garage doors from Wayne-Dalton; insulation and weatherization materials from Dow Building Solutions; and architectural design services from BSB Design.

Content with merely sprucing the place up, the Gaals “were a little resistant to change,” said Matus.  “It’s a big transformation.”

Gaal said he could never have afforded such a makeover.   “The Case award is just incredible ,” he said. “My wife is ecstatic.  She has wanted new windows and doors for the last 10 years.”

And about those windows…“We went through an earthquake and a hurricane and I couldn’t hear anything outside,” said Gaal. “There were 50 mph winds and I didn’t even notice there was a storm outside.”