May 21, 2024 By Melissa Gibson 3 min read

Over 40 years ago, John Hudock of Hudock Garages fell into his career unexpectedly.

He began doing concrete work for a large garage company, Bullock Garages, and a year later, became the local manager serving Fayette, Greene and Washington counties.

“About 20 years ago, Bullock Garages in all 18 states went out of business, and I thought that was it. I actually went to Pittsburgh and looked into a different line of work, but eventually, my wife and I decided to design a website and continue selling garages under Hudock, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Hudock said.

The company sells and installs residential garages, and Hudock has been there to see the changes in customer expectation over the years.

In the 1980’s, garage doors came with a pre-primed siding, and the homeowner would have to paint the garage door after installation. The material was fiberglass and less expensive.

“In the past, we were tied to certain materials but now, 95% is vinyl siding, a really nice steel and an insulated door that’s pre-painted. We’re able to be very flexible as far as the type and color of siding you want to use. We can match it to your home,” Hudock said.

Today, he installs 35 to 40 garages per year. He said that’s a result of how customers’ preferences have grown, including their new-found uses for the space.

“The average size keeps getting bigger and bigger. People are looking to store boats, multiple cars and they want more storage area,” Hudock said. “We recently completed a 28 x 80 garage for a guy who wants to store several cars.”

In addition, technology has improved.

“Garage doors and openers use more technology and customers want the keypad outside which makes it nice,” Hudock said.

The requests coming in are unique and include more new features than ever before, making the process more involved. Even those in the market to purchase a house put garage size and amenities at the top of their list, Hudock said.

By the 1930’s, the house without at least a single-car garage would be considered a slow seller and over the decades, the use and need of a garage has changed.

“It’s more extensive. In our homes, we’re converting the garage into a big tv room, workout area or multi-purpose room,” Hudock said. “No one has ever told me they built the garage too big. You might be limited by price or space but from an investment standpoint, it protects your vehicles and adds value to the house.”

These days, Hudock said he has a great team doing the heavy lifting. He now serves as coordinator for the work. He enjoys meeting the customers and hearing their stories, and they have confidence in his experience.

“People have asked us why we don’t get into houses. This is a niche market and I feel like we do what we do and we do it well,” Hudock said. “As long as they keep calling, I figure, why retire? We’ve got good guys here.”

For more information, visit http://www.hudockgarages.com/index.html.