Web Site of the Month

All You Need Is Love

by Chris King

The goal of Love Plumbing & Remodel’s Web
site is simply stated at the top of its home page by owner Terry Love: “I’ve
created this Web site to save you time and money.”

The Redmond, Wash.-based company’s site is so packed with information, advice, plumbing and remodeling tips that the online adventurer runs the risk of losing track of time altogether and getting caught up in the intricacies
of consumer reports or tall tales about Love’s visit to Bill Gates’ bathroom.

    The bathroom and kitchen
remodeling pages are among the most popular at the site — reached at www.terrylove.com — and they contain a wealth of information on products and services provided by the company, sample contracts, and links to manufacturers and showrooms. The sections also contain consumer reports by Love himself and various periodicals on remodeling costs and product ratings.

    If you need plumbing advice, there is a list of frequently asked questions, as well as a bulletin board where people can post their questions and receive advice from Love and others on all types of remodeling issues.

If you see a product you like, you can grab a virtual shopping cart and purchase anything from a garbage disposer to a toilet to a bathroom fan online. You can even purchase a Love Plumbing and Remodel T-shirt, featuring
the company’s “very cool” heart-shaped logo, with the promise that a portion of the proceeds from T-shirt sales goes towards updating the Web site.

    A quick click on the “Jobs Done” icon gives you an overview of some of the work Love has completed since joining
the industry in 1974. Pictures of residential custom homes and commercial buildings can be found there, alongside before and after shots of various remodeling projects.

There is also a retrospective of advertisements Love has run about his business, including one titled “Woman Wrecks Bathroom With Sledgehammer,” the true account of his mother’s attempt to get her husband
moving on a long-awaited bathroom remodeling job.

After the fictional trip to Bill Gates bathroom,
we cannot be sure of the tale. But Love credits this as his inspiration to go into remodeling. “I swing a sledgehammer as well as my mother and love designing bathrooms!” With the detail and attention to the topic evident in his Web site, that
much seems to be a given.          Copyright � 2000 by Business News Publishing Company

• All you need is Love