Newsletter:  April 2005 a "The Rinnai hot water heater is outstanding, it's superior to anything." – Jim Kempers, LeDuc & Dexter Residential Manager "Wright Contracting is very schedule driven, they don't waste any time or motion. They really know how to make things happen." – Bill Zeeb, LeDuc & Dexter Commercial Manager "This is a good move for me. It's a creative opportunity." – Tammy Townsend, LeDuc & Dexter Residential Department

Rinnai – Tankless Water Heaters	RESIDENTIAL

Rinnai Continuum model is built for indoor wall mounting with wall vent pipe. (click image to enlarge)	Rinnai Integrity model is built for external wall mounting. (click image to enlarge)

Rinnai water heaters have been popular around the world and now they are catching on in the U.S. Unlike the conventional hot water heater that has a heated storage tank, the Rinnai is a tankless water heater that delivers hot water on demand with a continuous supply of hot water that will not run as a hot water tank does. "We've looked at a lot of hot water heaters," says Jim Kempers, Residential Manager at LeDuc & Dexter, Inc., "Rinnai has a great factory presence. It's a first class water heater." Whereas a conventional hot water heater has a 10-year life the Rinnai Continuum, a compact wall-mount unit, has a 25-year life and the components can be replaced as needed as opposed to replacement of an entire hot water tank unit. The Rinnai gas-fired water heater can be wall-mounted indoors, outdoors or flush mounted outdoors. A digital control pad can be mounted in multiple locations in the home to monitor performance and regulate water temperature. The Rinnai water heater has an efficiency rating of 88% compared to 65% for a tank hot water heater with the main difference being that the tank heater loses wasted gas up the flu because of constant water reheating after hot water use to keep the tank at its set temperature. The Rinnai heats water only as it's needed at the hot water source saving energy and energy costs of 33%. The Rinnai Continuum system uses the feedback from a water flow sensor to adjust the fully modulating gas valve, giving users a consistent water temperature for any duration. This makes the Rinnai Continuum ideal for a two or three bath home that gets heavy use in the morning when the entire family is using hot water. With the homes that LeDuc and Dexter have been involved with Jim Kempers has many times recommended Rinnai water heaters, "The most important part of the system is sizing and finding the demands for the homeowner's requirements for hot water. The Rinnai hot water heaters have the ability to solve most sizing requirements. Rinnai is an outstanding water heater, it's superior to anything."

Culinary Institute Dormitory	COMMERCIAL

The future Culinary Institute of America dormitory in St. Helena was a convalescent home. (click image to enlarge)

When the school bell rings in August and classes begin at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena there will be a new dormitory to house students who aspire to be the next great chefs of the world.

This dormitory wing is framed-in with under slab plumbing completed to form hallway with rooms on both sides. (click image to enlarge)

The 40-room dormitory, which was formerly a convalescent home on Pratt Ave., is about a quarter of a mile from The Culinary Institute of America. The entire structure was gutted leaving the exterior walls, the roof and floor slab to frame the remodeling. Wright Contracting, Inc. is the general contractor for the project and LeDuc & Dexter is busy with the under slab plumbing.

The original floor slab had to be cut for the new plumbing that will supply each room with a sink, toilet and shower. The dormitory will also have a kitchen and laundry area with four commercial hot water heaters to supply them and the 40 dorm rooms with hot water. Two of the hot water heaters are existing and LeDuc & Dexter is installing the two new ones.

LeDuc & Dexter's Gonzalo Ochoa covers piping with pea gravel before under slab plumbing is cemented over as Foreman Jeff Shank, in foreground, looks on. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter's Sam Samay uses a calculator to figure pipe angles for under slab plumbing. (click image to enlarge)

The building schedule is tight with the August deadline, but things are moving along at a good pace. Bill Zeeb, LeDuc & Dexter Commercial Manager has no doubt that the deadline will be met, "Wright Contracting is very schedule driven, they don't waste any time or motion. They really know how to make things happen."

Wright Contracting has been in business long enough to have built Montgomery High School and consistent and successful enough to have also built Elsie Allen High School. They continue to be known for schools, wineries, like Geyser Peak Winery and a number of Kendall Jackson facilities, along with multi-family housing. They have done a number of projects with Luther Burbank Housing. Over the years Wright Contracting has taken on big and memorable projects such as the Marin Civic Center Performing Arts Center and Mare Island Naval Base.

Making pipe connections with metal clamps on PVC piping. (click image to enlarge)

Tammy Townsend Joins Residential Team	THE COMPANY

Tammy Townsend is a member of the Residential Department team at LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. Since January she has been assisting Jim Kempers with billing, specifications for residential plumbing fixtures, fire sprinklers and preparing proposals for customers. Prior to coming to the Residential Department Tammy was the Purchasing Agent for LeDuc & Dexter. "This is a good move for me," says Townsend, "It's a creative opportunity. I like working on projects with Jim (Kempers) where I can look at the plans and the fixtures and think about what would go well together in the bathrooms and the kitchens. I'm getting good training. I sit in with Jim and the customers. Jim knows the customers and knows what a lot of the customers want, whether it's modern or traditional or whatever style it might be."

Tammy Townsend is now a member of the residential department at LeDuc & Dexter.

Townsend didn't come into the Residential Department completely cold, she had assisted Jim Kempers when she was Purchasing Agent. "I really liked it then and now I have a passion for it," says Townsend, "I approached Tom LeDuc with the idea of changing my position at the company." Tammy saw the opportunity when Dale Bettcher came to LeDuc & Dexter. He started in the warehouse but had a very strong background in purchasing. Townsend trained Bettcher for the Purchasing Agent position and moved to the Residential Department with approval and support from LeDuc. "I learned a lot in the Crestcom training classes (The Bullet Proof Manager) and it helped me see this opportunity. I really took it to heart that if you didn't really like what you were doing you couldn't really excel at it. You have to have a passion for what you do and now I have it. I think the move was good for me, Dale and the company."