The Life of a Demonstrator

Staying true to form, blogs are going back to their roots. What are those roots? That is telling a personal story and not just adding to the million pages of paraphrased content already out there. Therefore, I have decided to share my story for one day – a day from the life of a demonstrator at Home Depot.

What is a demonstrator?

If you have ever been to The Home Depot, I am sure you have seen the poor soul standing at a table displaying some product or been approached by someone pitching a product. This is a demonstrator.

Why do we do this?

Unlike free food and recipe ideas in grocery stores or similar setups in similar stores – some products just can’t be stacked on a shelf. In my case, it is sunrooms, screen rooms, patio covers, ultra lattice pergolas, under decking and more. Uh oh, there I go pitching in this very blog.

I mentioned poor soul earlier. I know most of you customers don’t see us in this light. You see an annoying sales person that you must avoid at all cost. That is the very reason we are poor souls. We know that we are annoying and you would rather avoid us, but as with anything, we must fulfill our jobs.

What is my only desire?

Just know that we, meaning demonstrators, really do not want to bother you. We are trying to inform you of the many other wonderful services and products that Home Depot has to offer. You may be surprised how often customers find amazing promotions and projects they are truly interested in just by allowing us to engage you in conversation and opening a dialog.

Want to learn more about our products and services, click here?

Isn’t my deck by itself good enough?

There is no arguing that a really nice deck can make a backyard and home much more beautiful.

However, does it make it more livable? That is the main question you should ask yourself. When you are in the middle of full-on summer, will you really get much enjoyment sitting directly in the sun? Yes, you can sun bath or grill out, but why not do these things and more?

Adding a patio cover or pergola over part of or over the entire deck multiplies the benefits. To begin with, you now have shaded areas that offer anywhere from 20 – 30 degree temperature differences compared to being in the full sun. It doesn’t stop there. Adding an outdoor ceiling fan even makes it better. You now really have an outdoor living area.


Partial areas can be blocked off for privacy with oversized ferns, palms, border walls and other areas can remain open for entertaining on any occasion.  Outdoor patio furniture can remain truly outdoor furniture year-round. How many times have you started to grill and all of the sudden you find yourself fighting time against an approaching thunderstorm? You no longer have to worry about issues like this or rained out parties. Everything and everyone is now protected from the elements.

With summer just weeks away, I know you don’t want to hear about heat, but even with winter months, rain or snow, you still have an enjoyable living area with a fire pit or outdoor heater to keep you toasty and warm.

Backyard living is a very trendy subject in today’s home improvement projects.

A deck is just a deck. Add depth and dimension with a patio cover and/or pergola and you now have added square footage that adds to the value of your home and makes it much more attractive. If you ever decide to sell, your home value has now increased. Contact Factory Direct Remodeling of Atlanta to get started turning your backyard into a truly enjoyable living area regardless of the weather.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Choose Aluminum Patio Covers and Pergolas vs. Wood

Aluminum construction has many advantages over its wood predecessor

Various textures and colors give you an endless array of options and finishes. For completely seamless integration, veneers can also be added to match the existing exterior of your house, e.g., brick, stucco, siding.

1. 200% stronger than traditional stick built construction
2. Materials cost and construction is a fraction of the cost.
3. Resistance to natural weathering
4. No maintenance with the exception of occasional cleaning
5. Impervious to boring and nesting insects
6. Wood construction is subject to fire damage and termites
7. No refinishing every 2 – 3 years common with exterior paints and stains
8. No splitters, rusting nails, warping, bowing and rotting common with traditional wood
9. In addition, warranties are available which is never the case with traditional construction
10. Aluminum is also superior to steel in that fact that corrosion and rust are not common

All of these benefits, the durability and overall lack of maintenance involved makes Factory Direct Remodeling of Atlanta #1 in patio cover, pergola, under decking, sun room and screen room additions. While wood is not the most favorable choice for construction, we do have solutions for building with wood. In these cases, we use only the highest quality treated wood with a special patented finish that will last for years to come. At Factory Direct Remodeling of Atlanta, we use only the best material.

Aluminum vs. Wood Pergolas

Aluminum composite pergolas, patio covers, under decking, screen rooms and sun rooms are far superior to wood products. 



Pergolas build to last 25+ years

First, there is no chance of termite damage an insects cannot bore or nest in Factory Direct Remodeling of Atlanta’s high-grade aluminum products.

Second, aluminum requires no maintenance and does not rot, fade or require treatment like it woof predecessors.

Third, aluminum is a fraction of the cost and built to withstand extremely high winds.

Finally, the aluminum products available today can be made to look like any material and in most shades of color.

We have customers who recently suffered tornado damange in 2011 and their aluminum sun rooms are still standing and that is their current living area since the traditional wood build structure is completely gone.

We are happy to hear from customers with both products. Tell us what you think.