Message from LeDuc & Dexter

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St. James Properties – Hanover Place	RESIDENTIAL

Fountaingrove is the premier real estate address in Santa Rosa. Many of the homes are spaciously constructed on small lots that offer low maintenance landscape designs. Hanover Place is a fabulous alternative for homeowners that seek room to roam. With 15 exclusive custom homes on lots from 18,000 to 40,000 square feet in size, Hanover Place retains its natural environment and seclusion with existing hillside Oak trees and dramatic rock formations. Each home in Hanover Place is named after a National Park in this picturesque cul de sac community off Parker Hill Road. There are 5 floor plans for perspective homeowners to choose from.

All 15 homes at Hanover Place are named after U.S. National Parks. The Lassen (click photo to enlarge) The Everglades (click photo to enlarge) The Rushmore (click photo to enlarge)

"There was a lot of digging for the hillside foundations and boulders had to be moved around a little," explains Kevin Delong, Residential Superintendent for LeDuc & Dexter, the plumbing contractor on the project. "Other than the rain we had earlier, this project is moving along well. When it's finished it will be a real showplace." LeDuc & Dexter will complete all plumbing from the property lines to the homes including copper piping for water, gas lines and waste water lines.

St. James Properties, the developer and contractor of Hanover Place, is a two-year old company lead by seasoned homebuilding professionals, Richard Pope, the CEO and President, and Roger Lees, Vice President, both of whom were previously with the international housing and development company Taylor Woodrow Homes. St. James Properties is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California and is a subsidiary of UK-based real estate investment and development giant Somerston Holdings Limited, a company that can trace its roots back to 1854 when it began operations building and operating tea clipper ships.

St. James Properties also has upcoming residential projects in Ripon and Napa. Hanover Place is scheduled to have its first model, The Rushmore, completed in September. Last month St. James Properties announced a partnership with San Diego-based Options Online to implement its web-based design and options selection program for homebuyers. The online program will allow homebuyers to preview and make design selections such as cabinetry, appliances, plumbing fixtures, electrical upgrades and custom options, from the comfort of their own home.
 

Scheduling for Deadlines	COMMERCIAL

In the schedule-driven industry of construction, making deadlines is paramount to success. John Dunn, Commercial Superintendent, is responsible for scheduling and meeting deadlines for LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department. The key in scheduling is "matching the skills of the personnel with the individual jobs," explains Dunn, who prides himself and his department on meeting deadlines.

Currently, Dunn is focused on the River Terrace Inn in Napa. Andrews & Thornley General Contractors, Inc. is building the hotel with a projected completion date of September 1^st. The roof is being framed and LeDuc & Dexter is busy installing the copper water pipe on the first and second floor of the three-story, 107-room hotel. "This is going to be my home for the next two weeks," Dunn said recently in regards to the deadline of this phase. In addition to the copper piping LeDuc & Dexter is also installing gas pipe, drain waste and vents (DWV) and roof drains.

Partial front view of River Terrace Inn shows hot water storage tank (far left, second floor) that LeDuc & Dexter will soon install. (click photo to enlarge) Copper piping installed by LeDuc & Dexter at the River Terrace Inn. (click photo to enlarge) Waste water piping configuration installed by LeDuc & Dexter near entry area of River Terrace Inn. (click photo to enlarge) John Dunn, Commercial Superintendent for LeDuc & Dexter, composing work schedule for the River Terrace Inn. (click photo to enlarge)

The next phase will consist of a lightweight cement floor that will allow LeDuc & Dexter to set the tubs and showers along with two boilers and a hot water storage tank. To get to that point Dunn scheduled his crew to work through the Memorial Day weekend. Dunn has additional resources in manpower from the residential department and Super Service, which he coordinates through Kevin Delong, Residential Superintendent and Jon Schutz, Manager of Super Service. Dunn, who now has 10 to 12 plumbers working daily at the River Terrace Inn to stay on schedule, says, "If someone says they don't think we can make a deadline it just makes me more determined to get it done."
 

The Engineering Partnership	DESIGN/BUILD

Rob Main P.E. and Founder of The Engineering Partnership

LeDuc & Dexter has a very productive relationship with The Engineering Partnership (TEP). Design/Build projects such as wineries, wine caves, industrial facilities, restaurants, hotels, apartments and, in some cases, custom homes are among the jobs that LeDuc & Dexter and TEP take on together. "Because of our great depth of design experience, we give LeDuc & Dexter the capability to bid on virtually any design/build work in Napa County and Sonoma County, says Rob Main, P.E. and founder of TEP. Main, along with Tim Souza, P.E., and Jeff Burgeson form an engineering firm with expertise in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, process piping, plumbing, controls design, energy studies and Title 24 energy compliance.

"In addition to our design expertise we also provide project coordination services through the design phase that are normally a part of a consultant's line of work but less frequently offered by a contractor," explains Main, " Bill Zeeb with more than 40 years of plumbing contracting experience adds a tremendous amount of construction, scheduling and budgeting know-how that complements our design experience. Together, TEP and LeDuc & Dexter provide the client with much more than they could get from either an engineer or plumbing contractor alone. Furthermore, the client benefits from other design/build characteristics such as the shortened design phase and no change orders from incomplete or incorrect plans." This streamlined schedule can be especially helpful for wineries that are building crush facilities for a crucial deadline or a restaurant that needs to re-open for a holiday or special event.

The overall cost is also less for the client when TEP and LeDuc & Dexter perform together on design/build projects. "We don't have to cross every "t" and dot every "i" on the design drawings we do for LeDuc & Dexter, says Main, "we know the details and so does LeDuc & Dexter, we know what they will do, this saves time and money." This is a competitive edge that the two companies offer their clients. Because they have worked closely on a number of design/build projects over the years they have the ability to read one another in a precise manner that produces precise results.

Infineon Raceway, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards and the River Terrace Inn, a 107-room hotel in Napa are some of the high-profile projects that TEP and LeDuc & Dexter are currently working on. TEP also works on design/build plans for apartments with LeDuc & Dexter. "The advantage here is that we can help LeDuc & Dexter get out a bid quickly and accurately. With the engineered drawings they can see all the plumbing lines and every sink, bath and toilet. There may be additional piping that is necessary and they get an exact amount in the engineered drawing."

Recently, TEP and LeDuc & Dexter have begun working on some exclusive custom homes that require complicated plumbing systems for radiant heating and cooling. We will visit some of those residential projects in an upcoming newsletter.