Newsletter:  February 2006 a "LeDuc & Dexter is awesome, they're a class act and they always have been" – Greg Fleming, Christopherson Homes Superintendent For people that say winemaking is complicated and precise, perhaps the same could be said for winery plumbing. "The past year has been a very busy one for us," says Tom LeDuc, President and CEO of LeDuc & Dexter, Inc.  "Our diversity of services has been a good thing for our employees," says Art Dexter, Vice President and COO of LeDuc & Dexter, Inc.

Christopherson's Rock Ridge Point/ West Haven

Residential

Christopherson Homes West Haven model home. (click image to enlarge)

The Rock Ridge Point/West Haven community will have a total of 62 homes when completed. The homes range in size from approximately 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Although most of the community is in various stages of construction there are ten homeowners that have moved in.

Bath tub plumbed by LeDuc & Dexter in model home. (click image to enlarge)

Kitchen area in model home. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter's residential department is working with Christopherson on the project. The plumbing fixtures for the homes are by Moen and Kohler. "The homeowners can make upgrades on their plumbing fixtures," says Greg Fleming, Christopherson Homes Superintendent, who is overseeing the entire project on site, "if they want brushed nickel or a certain style or color they can certainly get it."

Upgrades in these upscale homes are important to homeowners who want to personalize their surroundings with their preferences. "We have upgrades in a lot of areas like hardwood floors, cabinets and doors to name a few," says Fleming. Essentially the homeowner starts with one of the six floor plans and by making preferred upgrades the home is more like a custom home.

LeDuc & Dexter's Manuel Guzman at work on kitchen sink. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter's Rick Barretta installing hot water heater. (click image to enlarge)

Fleming, who has been with Christopherson Homes for 15 years, has worked with LeDuc & Dexter many times including Siena at Tuscany in Fountaingrove. "LeDuc & Dexter is awesome, they're a class act and they always have been," says Fleming.

This lot has a panoramic view of Petaluma. (click image to enlarge)

These hilltop homes have great views of the countryside. (click image to enlarge)

Vineyard 7 & 8

Wineries

Vineyard 7 & 8 is still under construction. (click image to enlarge)

Vineyard 7 & 8 refer to the Estate Cabernet vineyard, Vineyard 7, and the Reserve Chardonnay vineyard, Vineyard 8. The winery, established in 1999, has produced a number of award winning Cabernets and Chardonnays from the Spring Mountain region.

Water and air lines are being installed by LeDuc & Dexter in the tank room. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter's Dave Riker soldering in the tank room. (click image to enlarge)

LeDuc & Dexter was chosen as the plumbing contractor for the project and have showcased their diverse talents and services including industrial piping, drainage, hydronics for heating and cooling and installation of hose stations throughout the winery. LeDuc & Dexter also installed the utilities for the wave caves, which are presently under construction, and a grease interceptor for the hospitality area. "The winery is situated on a tricky hillside location," says Bill Zeeb, Commercial and Hydronic Manager for LeDuc & Dexter, both of his departments worked together on the project.

LeDuc & Dexter installed two mechanical rooms for the winery. The larger mechanical room features a maze of copper piping with numerous gauges to monitor the boiler, expansion tank and indirect hot water holding tank used for industrial hot water, a built-in heat exchanger used for domestic hot water and two Munchkin boilers for hydronic heating and cooling. This mechanical room also has an air compressor to supply air lines throughout the winery. The smaller mechanical room's heat exchanger controls the air conditioning for the winery with overhead air handlers in the closed loop system. For people that say winemaking is complicated and precise, perhaps the same could be said for winery plumbing.

Emergency eye wash station installed by LeDuc & Dexter. (click image to enlarge)

Mechanical room with boiler to right, air compressor to left, Munchkin boilers and hot water storage tank in the back. (click image to enlarge)

Rear area of mechanical room with red expansion tank, hot water storage tank and a few gauges. (click image to enlarge)

In order to remodel and build the new addition the old structure had to be gutted out. The seismic reinforcing system is under construction now, making it hard to imagine what the finished building will look when construction is completed. We hope to revisit this project upon completion to see the finished product.

Company's Diversity Addresses Market, Supports Employees

The Company

"The past year has been a very busy one for us," says Tom LeDuc, President and CEO of LeDuc & Dexter, Inc., "Two reasons for our busy year have been fire sprinklers and hydronics. Both departments have added to our diversity and have brought new customers to our company.  Typically we are asked to bid on the plumbing along with either hydronics and/or fire sprinklers. General contractors and developers like dealing with one subcontractor who can handle all of these trades. LeDuc & Dexter recently got one job because we could do the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and fire sprinklers."

Tom LeDuc [seated] and Art Dexter (click image to enlarge)

"Our diversity of services has also been a good thing for our employees," says Art Dexter, Vice President and COO of LeDuc & Dexter, Inc., "We tend to expand and contract with the needs of the market, so if the residential department is busier, we can move people from other departments into residential to meet that demand. This has given our employees a very stable work environment." "Because we are one of the larger companies in our industry we are able to offer our employees a very good benefit package," says LeDuc, "We are currently looking for experienced people to work in all of our departments including our warehouse and our service company, Super Service Plumbing. There are also training opportunities available for those who want to enter the trade at the apprenticeship level." LeDuc & Dexter, Inc. has over 80 employees including field and administrative personnel.