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CONSTRUCTION
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(210) 308-5800
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Volume 13
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Number 4
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APRIL 2016
Insulation station
Friends open doors
L-R: Kenneth Mantooth, Francis Beasley and Michael Clark
L-R: Robert Ford and Gary Combs met in first grade.
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resident and owner Kenneth Mantooth says Humble-based Star Insulation has picked up more school work in Houston in 2016. “The Houston Independent School District is trying to create more class room space,” he said. “We are working on three schools in Houston right now.” After working for large insulation companies in the area, Mantooth founded Star Insulation 14 years ago. “In the beginning it was just me and my stepfather, a retired engineer,” he said. “He was a estimator and I did all the work. I hired my first employee after about two months. Today we employ 46 people. “My nephew, Michael Clark, is our
vice president. He got out of the military about 12 years ago and went to work with me. My aunt, Francis Beasley, is the office manager.” Mantooth says the key to success in the insulation business is to work 70 hours a week. “In the early days, I worked from sunup to sundown to build the company,” he said. “I learned it is very important to have a good reputation in this business.” According to Mantooth, the company made it through the economic downturn in 2008 by staying determined to work hard. “At one point, all of the office guys and I had to put on our tools and go back
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hildhood friends and owners Gary Combs and Robert Ford established Agape Overhead Doors in 1989 when they saw a need in the Houston market for quality garage door repair services. Combs and Ford became best friends in first grade more than 50 years ago. They played outside and participated on baseball and football teams together during their school days. “It seems like we have been friends our whole life,” Combs said. “We have done this type of work together for a long time. “When we were younger, we were broke and we needed to make money. We decided to find a good trade and stick
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with it.” Combs and Ford started the company with one truck and worked out of a garage in the early days. “In the beginning, Robert answered the phones and I worked in the field,” Combs said. “Over the years we added more employees. Now we have 13 employees. Lawanda White, office manager, has worked with us for 14 years. She does a great job running the office.” Combs says business has been good so far in 2016. The company has seen an increase in commercial jobs in the past few months. “We have also had more apartment jobs this year,” he said. “I am still working continued on Page 18
Church bells ring
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omball-based 1st Choice Roofing & Construction has completed a $2 million dollar renovation for Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church in Spring. The project included interior and exterior renovations and the construction of a new building on the campus. “The exterior of the church was refinished and the roof replaced to give it a new, hill-country inspired design per the client's request,” said Martin Morales, 1st Choice Roofing & Construction coowner. “We opened up the back and sides of the main worship building and added onto the existing structure to allow for more seating, a large sound booth, and a large atrium where members can socialize and mingle.” Morales says he is most proud of the stained wood ceilings and natural stone facade in the sanctuary. “It's really stunning,” he said.
Spring Cypress Presbyterian Church
According to Morales, the interior remodel involved the expansion of the main worship building to add new restrooms, a comfortable “cry room” where parents with babies can view the service, a larger library, a state-of-the-art sound booth with new audio/visual equipment and a renovated stage area. The construction team also installed new ceilings, flooring, seating, lighting, walls and windows. Chris Rochester, 1st Choice Roofing & Construction co-owner, says the exterior of the church also received extensive remodeling. The construction team built on an expansive porte-cochère, several covered porches and walkways, installed a completely new exterior facade, a new roof and also provided a new parking lot. “The result is that we took ‘70s era construction and transformed it into continued on Page 18