A veteran of the windows and doors remodeling industry since the late 1990s, Joe Altree, the owner of AHE Windows & Doors, is leaving his imprint on Las Vegas housing.
American Home Exteriors, the original elongated name, has been in business in Las Vegas since 2015. It has 16 employees. Altree’s two sons, Robert and Brennan, work for the company.
Q: What does the company do?
A: We’re an in-home remodeling company that specializes in exterior doors and windows. We provide our customers with new doors and windows for their homes.
Q: How do you work with prospective customers?
A: We bring the showroom to them. We have a lot of door samples, kits and pictures.
Q: Who are your customers?
A: We only serve the homeowners. We’re the one-stop shop. We do it all for you. We install and do all of the transitions, the casings and painting. We only install our own products so we can warranty and service them.
Q: How did you launch the company?
A: I started this business with my wife, Shannon, who, unfortunately, passed away from a brain aneurysm 20 months ago at 47. She’s on all of my logos and was the love of my life. She was the back end of the business, and I was the front end. Since then, I have just put my head to the ground. It was a check I didn’t want to cash, but this was our company, and (I) used the life insurance to double the business size.
Q: How did you do that?
A: We had a budget to advertise for leads because we could only install a certain amount a month. I decided to double what I’m spending on advertising to get more leads; hired four more installers; hired two more in sales and paid more for insurance. It’s paying dividends, and this isn’t even the best economy I have ever worked in. Remodeling is tied to people borrowing against their houses (and interest rates are elevated). Windows and doors can be $30,000 to $40,000 for the whole house. It helps that they have financing available — five to six years at zero percent.
Q: What kind of homes do you work on?
A: Typically, anything eight years and older. Many were built between 1990 and 2008. We also do 1950s and 1960s homes.
Q: What is the price tag of homes you do for remodeling?
A: The median home is $400,000 to $600,000. I’ve just done a $4.5 million home and also done a $50,000 flip. Anything that needs windows and doors, we can do it.
Q: What is the average price tag of the work you do?
A: The average per sale was $13,659 in August and September was $16,108, but I sold $4,000 doors and $39,000 jobs. It’s a lot different if you have six windows and a door than 31 windows and six doors. Not everyone gets it all done at once. We do a lot of work on partials. The biggest job was $168,000.
Q: What is the trend right now?
A: It’s to open up the back of the house and see everything. The other trend is that everyone wants black windows. They want thin lines and more glass. Beautiful modern front doors are really trendy. Homes at The Ridges are what people want, but the problem is retrofitting that to a 1990s home is expensive.
Q: Why do people get new doors and windows?
A: The No. 1 reason is they have some type of pain. With doors, it may not close right and water, bugs and dust can get through a gap. Beauty is the second reason. With windows, it’s also pain. When it’s very hot, they don’t want to be uncomfortable when the air conditioning is on. I’m much more busy when it’s freezing cold. People hate the draft. They have the heat on and can feel everything. People who have moved here and bought a house say the windows and doors are awful. That’s common and others who have been in their house for a long time want something new.
Q: How much is security on people’s minds when getting doors and windows?
A: It’s always on people’s minds, but windows and doors are so much more secure. The option you have not only for the way they lock and close, but we also have many security pieces from the world’s best security doors. You can put in lamented glass. It’s a concern for lots of people in certain areas while others don’t care at all. Today’s windows and doors are way more secure than the old ones. I’ve sold packages where you have to cut through the stucco to get into the house.
Q: What else are they concerned about?
A: They are concerned about their energy bills and want to lower them. They like that their new windows are quieter. Neighborhood kids can be yelling, and they can’t hear it.
