I have been a safety nut for my entire adult life. My Emergency Medical profession has had me picking up the pieces of so many broken people over the years, I thought it only natural that I make this safety moment segment a regular portion of Levco's BLOG. Winter time...
This situation caught me off guard. I was presented with a thermocouple from an AO Smith, sealed combustion chamber water heater. The symptoms included that the water heater would go off for no reason. Eventually, he couldn't even get the pilot lit. With careful...
Asbestos is a mined substance commonly found in all sorts of building materials. In the meantime it was used since the days of the ancient Greeks for its many fire resistant and its ability to be used as cloth. It has gone in and out of vogue. There had been...
The new 2009 IRC mandates wired together smoke detectors and Carbon Monoxide detectors be placed at the entry of each bedroom and outside the bedrooms in a common hall. This means that if one detector alarms then all of them alarm. When remodeling, there is a mandate...
As of January 1st 2011 Boise City along with all of the other jurisdictions that adopt building codes, followed the states lead and adopted parts of the 2009 IRC international Residential Building Code. The last code was the 2006 IRC which was implemented in the same...
OK, say you live in a home built before 1978 and are interested in remodeling. You must first understand that "the home is completely painted with lead-based paint" according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) unless tested and proven otherwise. This was...
Redefining a Ranch-Style Home: Levco’s Second Story BreakthroughThe Challenge Our client, who is an Architect, wanted to add square footage to her home. Her lot was constrained and could not go sideways or down.The Idea To use bonus room trusses to create a second...
North End Historic Basement & Master Suite AdditionThe Challenge The Owners had a new son and no Master Suite. They already had a basement but the home was just too small.The Idea The home built in 1943 it was in the North End Historic District and contributing....
Basement wet bar from a storage areaThe Challenge Our client had a walkout basement room that was used for relaxing and entertainment. There was a TV and a couch plus a pool table. They used a vintage cabinet to hold liquor, but the idea of a wet bar in the room was...
Basement Finished in StyleThe Challenge The basement of this home had a chronic water problem. A previous contractor had done a wimpy repair and another contractor was planning to dig a trench around the room to add a pump system to allow water that came in to be...