The walls in the showroom of Rich Honstad Siding & Windows are lined with different colors of siding and accents that appear like portions of a house extending from the walls. And in the middle of the showroom, more samples are strewed across a large table.

“Our showroom sets us apart, because we offer so many different products, different manufacturers. … The showroom is a great advantage to the customer. They can see siding actually on the wall. They can see the accenting on the walls,” said Rich Honstad, who owns the business with his son, Michael.

Rich Honstad Siding & Windows is a construction company that specializes in siding and windows, but Honstad said he also does roofing, decks and other general construction work. A typical siding job takes five to eight working days.

Honstad opened his business in 1986, and his father had a similar business in Blue Earth. The company has four employees, each with more than 20 years of experience, Honstad said.

“I do everything here from turning on the lights to answering the phones to bidding the jobs to doing the bookwork — everything that’s involved in the business. Then I turn out the lights at the end of the day,” Honstad said.

Honstad’s is a small business, but Honstad said he and his crew work efficiently because of their experience. The group works in a 50-mile radius of Freeborn. Much of the work is completed from spring to December, but Honstad said his team still does certain jobs in the winter.

“We’re just small,” Rich said. “There’s basically four of us involved. We’re a small company, but we do a lot of work in the area.”

“With the experience that the guys have that are working here, we just get a lot more done than a lot of people do.”

Honstad said he has no trouble competing for jobs with other businesses from bigger towns like Albert Lea, because the company is established in the area, and much of the advertisement is through word-of-mouth.

The showroom is a key to the success of the business, because Honstad said customers can view hundreds of siding colors and options, not just one brand or style. He offers a variety of different siding materials like vinyl, steel and composite, and he said there are many more styles, colors and different products available today than when he started.

“It’s a fun business, because you meet so many great people. That’s the part I enjoy. I’ve made a lot of friends over the years,” Honstad said.