Promting Healthy Homes

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Stairs 101

Oct 20, 2011 | Architecture & Design, Understanding your home

Stairs have stopped most DIY guys from contemplating remodeling at different altitudes. Fortunately a building code was developed to standardize how steps are made. There is very little room for being creative outside the box when it comes to the basic requirements...

Fall checklist of To-Do’s

Oct 11, 2011 | Moisture Protection, Understanding your home, Weatherization

Although we remodel here in Boise Idaho and we do not really offer these services, I would like to get the word out to "Show that we care." about you and your home. Planning for cold weather is a good thing to do. I especially like getting these things done during our...

Remodeling and Your Senses

Oct 7, 2011 | Historic District Homes, Home Evaluations, Moisture Protection, Understanding your home

Let's first outline the subject matter. I recently published a similar blog on foundation moisture to review the senses and how they can be used to ferret out what is wrong. In this post I am exploring how I use my senses in a broader way. I work like a Crime Scene...

Stucco, Yesterday & Today

Sep 30, 2011 | Concrete, Siding, Understanding your home

Plaster describes the earliest interior coatings. It is a Greek term meaning to "daub on" and it dates back to 500 BCE. It was not until the invention of Portland Cement that exterior plastering, then called Stucco, was developed that could withstand the elements. A...

Engineering 101

Sep 23, 2011 | Architecture & Design, Concrete, Home Evaluations, Problem Solving, Process, Understanding your home

We, " Levco" just encountered another situation where the handy man would not be a good fit. Did you ever get the feeling that the (fill in the blank) just didn't feel strong enough to hold a few folks in the same place. Weird feeling, trust your gut. I recall seeing...

Hydronic Heat

Sep 9, 2011 | HVAC, Plumbing, Understanding your home

Although I have remodeled many homes we haven't run into too many hydronic heating systems. By the time we remodel most of the home's heating systems have been altered several times. My own home started with Coal, then converted to Oil and then to Natural Gas forced...

Shower diverter problems?

Jul 31, 2016

Stump the Plumber This is another in the stump the plumber series. A friend called from out of state, he was visiting family. They had a typical tub shower situation with a single valve so it had to be fairly new. The situation When he turned on the water, the tub...

I can’t turn the HOT water off

Jul 17, 2016

OK, so you own your home and you know that there are some fairly simple systems that work together to keep you warm, safe and sound. Electrical. (If you can keep the smoke in the wires everything works out) HVAC. (Why does the AC only fail on the hot days after...

Sediment in your pipes?

Jul 3, 2016

Stump the plumber Another in the series called Stump the Plumber. Although not a plumber myself, I have plenty of handy man experience but, (My father-in-law Bob is my retired plumber that verifies that everything I say is true.) Sediment can come from a number of...

Water recirculating pump problem

Jun 19, 2016

Stump the Plumber This is another installment in the stump the plumber series. The situation I went to look at a kitchen remodeling project and during my evaluation I asked an open question that I always like to explore. "Is there anything else that you would like to...