I grew up in an older home and my father Ed Levitch MHRIP was an Architect and remodeling contractor in and around Berkeley California and the surrounding cities since 1958. Growing up I learned so many things from him, he taught me the value of family, respect and everything I know today about remodeling homes safely.
I remember a time at Levco Builders when I received a call from a man who shared a personal story about lead poisoning. He thanked me for advocating for the rule. I assured him of my commitment to safety. I was an early supporter of the EPA’s RRP rule, and I’m still a strong advocate today for ensuring people are safe in their homes.
What is a Healthy Home?
We all believe our homes are healthy places but all too often the opposite is true. As a remodeling contractor too, I deal with it every day. From the materials we use to how they are installed and the environment we create within the envelope of your home is unbelievably important. The CDC describes a healthy home as “One that is designed, built, and maintained to support our health” I couldn’t agree more. The other pivotal moment in my quest to promote healthy homes was a document written by the then Surgeon General, Steven Galson in 2009 who articulated the need for a healthy housing stock. This blog is dedicated to all things related to healthy homes with an emphasis on lead, lead detection as well as protection of humans and pets.
The Leaky Faucet Gets the New Parts
I have been surprised at how often new things don't work like we expect them to. As a remodeling contractor our plumbers install lots of faucets. In a recent project we had two of them start to leak within a few months of installation at the kitchen sink. Warranty...
Retrofitting Hydronic Heating
Our client wanted heated floors in their existing home. There was a partial basement and crawl space access. I remembered a system that we have used before that circulates fluid beneath the floor and felt that this would be a good option to offer. It uses glycol and...
Joist Hangers Use & Misuse
Joist hangers have been around for around about 59 years, they were developed by Simpson Strongtie for a friend who was looking for a way to secure some boards in a more structurally sound way. Now days there are all kinds for them for all sorts of purposes. There are...
How Energy Efficient is Your Home
For the past 110 years, we have been in a rush to make sure the hurdle of the new housing stock is built safer, stronger, and more energy efficient than the last code cycle because people dying in tragic collapses and fires is not a good thing, nor is wasting our...
Faucets Should Not Leak
Fixing them may or may not be easy. One important thing to remember is that you need to turn off the water supply to work on them with out the possibility of making a big mess. Every home has a main shut off, (I have not run into one without one) In fact you need to...
Braided Steel Water Heater Supply Lines
As a contractor I get into all sorts of things. It's like the saying on the shirt. Recently I was called to attend to an emergency, the homeowner had contacted her friend and realtor who happened to have me on speed dial. They were watching water spray our of her...
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A Visit To The Crawl Space
Nobody really wants to admit that they have one especially if you haven't been down there for a while or ever. I just bought a new to me 1988 home and what I found told a story. Fortunately, I had a prepurchase inspection and so there was not much shocking to deal...
Whole House Water Filters
Nothing gives a guy a warm fuzzy feeling than knowing that your home is protected by a whole house water filter. I took it one further and added a secondary filter beneath the sink that provides water to a drinking spigot and the ice maker in my fridge. All is good...
I Bought A Cool Tool
I recently replaced a Garbage Disposal for a friend and struggled to get the darn thing attached to the collar. Then once installed, I realized that I had not installed the little protective rubber piece that keeps big things from falling in and pieces from shooting...
Tell Me About Garbage Disposals
These things were designed as a convenience and have essentially become a necessity. There are all kinds of them, you get what you pay for. A steel interior will eventually rust. A stainless steel one will not rust. Cleaning them periodically with ice cubes and baking...