Message from LeDuc & Dexter

Our monthly newsletter is an opportunity to share information, education and promote our industry and customers. We feel that it is beneficial to provide a profile of the working relationships we enjoy with our customers and help to build new relationships for all of us in the construction industry. Bookmark our web site at www.leducanddexterplumbing.com and click on Subscribe to our Monthly Newsletter, then fill in name and e-mail address and that's it!
 

Total Concepts – The Rechin Family	RESIDENTIAL

Total Concepts is currently building this custom home in Shiloh Estates with a building schedule of 14 months from start to finish.

Since 1965, Total Concepts has been building one-of-a-kind custom homes. "We started off building homes at Sea Ranch, then we moved down the coast and built homes in Bodega Bay. Now most of our work is in Sonoma and Napa County," says Brad Rechin, Project Manager for Total Concepts and part owner along with his father and two brothers. Hank Rechin, the father, who started with the coastal homes, taught and brought his sons into the business over the years. Brothers Brad and Mark supervise the building projects and John oversees contractual, bidding, administrative and negotiation duties.

Total Concepts has been involved in commercial projects in the winery sector, such as Viader Winery and Beckstoffer Vineyards, but for the most part hey have made their name and reputation building upscale custom homes. They recently completed the construction of one home and are currently building another home in the exclusive gated community of Shiloh Estates.

Architect Farrell Faber designed the 7,200 square foot Shiloh Estates home and guesthouse, which is now under construction. The project, which is nearing completion, will represent 14 months of work by the time it is done. The home features a multi-peaked black slate roof, a front stone faux archway and an all cherry wood spiral staircase. All of the doors and windows are imported from a French company, Portalais, which is owned by Total Concepts. The plumbing, which is being installed by LeDuc & Dexter's residential department , consists of all copper piping and a number of stylish fixtures and sinks.

"We have worked with LeDuc & Dexter on 4 projects within the last year or so. Kevin (Delong) did a great job with the rough plumbing on this project. We had been working with a number of smaller plumbing contractors in the past and we decided that we needed a bigger company to handle our workload," says Rechin.
 

GCCI at 401 Healdsburg Ave.	COMMERCIAL

This 20,000 square foot commercial building at 401 Healdsburg Ave. in Healdsburg will be part of the already bustling downtown area. GCCI is the general contractor.

"Zero clearance is what we have. When you build in a downtown area it's a real challenge," says Mike Gentry of GCCI. "We have no staging area, so we schedule the delivery of materials as we use them. This takes a lot coordination on everyone's part including our sub contractors." It's the first thing Gentry mentions when asked about the project at 401 Healdsburg Ave., a 20,000 square foot, 2-story commercial building located at the corner of Healdsburg Ave. and North Street in Healdsburg, just off the Healdsburg downtown Square. Architect Chuck Peterson of Santa Rosa designed the building.

GCCI is a construction company that deals solely with commercial projects and GCCI is willing to travel. "We have worked in Vacaville, Tracy, Colorado, Florida, Mexico and the Yukon Territory," states Gentry, suggesting that perhaps they will go anywhere to build. Originally GCCI concentrated on public works projects such as schools, "We have done work at Santa Rosa High School and at Montgomery we built the performing arts building and library. Now we do a lot of work in the private sector."

Gentry sites a big difference between the two markets, "In the private sector you have building permits and the freedom to make changes and save money for the customer when it's possible. In public works there are no permits and you have private inspectors hired by the district or architect to oversee construction. It's not that one is better than the other, they are just completely different."

Seismic retrofitting is another specialty of GCCI. "One of the biggest projects we did was an existing 12-story high rise building – Bay View Federal Savings, one million pounds of steel were used to reinforce that bank," according to Gentry.

Back on ground at 401 Healdsburg Ave., an office building that will feature a 25 square foot indoor atrium topped with a skylight, things are on schedule. Gentry has one group of his favorite sub contractors on the job and LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department is installing the entire plumbing system. "LeDuc & Dexter are fantastic. We've worked with them over the past 10 years. Their workmanship, their timing and their professionalism are all a reflection of their owners. It always starts at the top."
 

Moving Up From Within, Part 1 – Commercial Dept.	EDUCATION

John Dunn was recently promoted to Commercial Superintendent and received the Employee of the Quarter award for his supervisory work at Sears Point.

There are two basic ways to fill management, supervisory and other key positions in a company. "One way is to bring in someone from outside the company," says Tom LeDuc, President of LeDuc & Dexter, "It's also very expensive and there's also a good chance that they may not stay with the company." The other way is to promote existing employees into those positions. "You make an investment in the people you believe can do the job." That investment is the training that is required. "Promoting from within the company also builds employee loyalty," reminds LeDuc.

In LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department some of the investment has been leveraged. Recently, John Dunn, who was previously a Project Manager and has been with the company for almost 5 years, was promoted to Commercial Superintendent. He took Rich Hoaglund's position, as Rich moved into the position of Estimator. "Rich and I have shared the responsibility of training John, who is experienced and talented, it's working out well," says Bill Zeeb , Commercial Manager at LeDuc & Dexter.

Dunn, who did an impressive job as Project Manager at Sears Point , helping to earn him the Employee of the Quarter award, sees his new position of Commercial Superindendent as "a little bit of everything." Dunn oversees all field employees; reviews job plans, does the dispatching, and meets manpower requirements for each job according to the needs of the various contractors he works with.

Rich Hoaglund believes he was the first employee hired by LeDuc & Dexter over 19 years ago. " Tom and Arty hired me over at Tom's house in his kitchen, I started as a plumber's helper," recalls Hoaglund. "I've really done about everything here, from sweeping floors to estimating." Estimating is the new position Hoaglund assumed about 3 months ago. Hoaglund is responsible for all of the job take-offs; the nuts and bolts of plumbing that includes piping, fittings, valves and layouts. "I really like the plumbing industry, it's what I want to do," states Hoaglund.

Marie Coleman worked at LeDuc & Dexter's Super Service division for over 4 years before coming to the Commercial Department a year ago as Bill Zeeb's assistant administrator. Coleman received her training from Bill Zeeb. Her duties include tracking jobs, change orders and pricing. Coleman works closely with Dunn to support jobs with rental equipment needs and she is also responsible for As Build and Completion documents for all commercial jobs. Marie recently visited the Moen Distribution Center in Las Vegas, courtesy of Moen and Pace Supply, along with two other LeDuc & Dexter employees, Purchasing Agent, Tammy Townsend and Kris Kinney of the Residential Department. "We had fun!," reports Coleman.