Laminate Countertops
There are several big names in the laminates used for countertops, Formica, Wilsonart, and Nevermar are the ones I come in contact most frequently, Others in the market are Arborite, & Pionite. Unfortunately, the word laminate has become synonymous with flooring,...
What Does R-Value Mean?
I have been confused for years about just what the term R-value means. You would think that if you have 16" of insulation it should correlate to an R-Value. That is all well and good, as long as you are talking about the exact same insulation. What an R-Value is, as...
Residential Foundation Repairs
Although we are not engineers, we do get involved in repairing structural things quite often. I realized just how often when a potential client, who is an engineer herself, found it difficult to locate a contractor in town that deals with this sort of problem. Her...
Galvanic Corrosion
Today's topic is a not so uncommon plumbing problem. While remodeling in Boise, we at Levco see all sorts of things. This problem was discovered in the utility room. The effects were carried throughout the daylight basement ceiling. Usually, what people are really...
Living in a Leaded Home
There are nearly 15,900 homes here in Boise Idaho that were given the "Completely leaded until proven otherwise" stigma by the EPA RRP rule in April, 2010. Other than becoming older, these homes are not any different than they ever were. It dawned on me that I live...
Bats in the Belfry or Flies in the Chimney
Yes, This is a saying that can mean many things, but eludes to being off your rocker. A belfry is an old word for a bell tower and having bats up there a colorful way of saying that there isn't much going on inside. Well, my neighbor just came by to tell me of flies...
Recent Posts
Flashing Red GFCI
I recently returned to a kitchen remodeling project to figure out why the a counter outlet stopped working. I traced the power back under the crawl space to a junction box with a GFCI outlet that would not reset and had a flashing red LED in it. I turned it into a...
Roof replacement problems
As a part of our work requests we take care of homes that have been inspected for the purposes of resale. In the majority of these homes, we have found that when a roof replacement has been done that the ducts have been left disconnected. The ducts we are talking...
Maintenance required
I had a Honda Accord 30 years ago that had a little red indicator on the analog odometer with a manual reset. That was my first car with this innovative reminder. Who knew it would be the launchpad for a new venture 3 decades later. Idiot Lights are a real thing I...
Can you flip a p trap?
I recently came across a problem that is fairly common in remodeling kitchens. A client remodeled their home after 35 years and ended up with a nicer, under mount sink. The sink bottom ended up about 4" lower than the previous one too, so the connections to the wall...
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