Message from LeDuc & Dexter

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Vanguard Piping	RESIDENTIAL

LeDuc & Dexter's residential department is using piping products manufactured by Vanguard Piping Systems, Inc. for the first time on a project built by Centex Homes in Ignacio. The project, Sailhouse, consists of 49 single-family homes that range in size from 2,704 square feet to 3,548 square feet in size. LeDuc & Dexter is using Vanguard PEX piping, called Vanex and their water management system or manifold called MANABLOC.

Vanguard's MANABLOC water management manifold with hot (red) and cold (blue) Vanex piping, which shows the flexibility of Vanex and dedicated lines going into MANABLOC for easy shut off. (click image to enlarge)

Jim Kempers, Residential Manager for LeDuc & Dexter sees the benefits that Vanguard offers to his company and especially to customers, "It's quieter than copper piping when water runs through it. It's easier to install because there are fewer fittings, it's a home run system with fewer chances for leaks." Because Vanex PEX is so flexible it requires far fewer directional fittings. Vanex is recommended for hot and cold water distribution and Hydronic heating systems. Vanex is color-coded with blue piping for cold water and red piping for hot water.

Cross-linking is a permanent chemical change that occurs in Vanex PEX and gives it many advantages over other piping material. Aside from its flexibility, Vanex can stretch to accommodate the expansion of freezing water and then return to its original size when water thaws. Although Vanex is highly freeze-break resistant, no material is freeze-break proof. Vanex offers superior chemical and environmental stress crack resistance. Vanex tubing connected with the CRIMPSERT® fitting system is one of the fastest joining systems in the U.S.

The MANABLOC manifold water distribution system consists of highly efficient water management technology. The MANABLOC system services each plumbing fixture with a dedicated water line from the central manifold plumbing control unit. The MANABLOC system equalizes pressure and makes it possible to use multiple fixtures simultaneously without dramatic temperature or pressure changes. The MANABLOC system uses less water and conserves more energy than other systems. Fixture repairs are easier to make because each fixture has its own shut-off valve.

Janeen Smith, manufacturing representative for Vanguard Piping Systems adds, "You can use 3/8" pipe coming out of MANABLOC, so you can often get hot water faster. You can wall-mount the MANABLOC unit in a master bedroom closet for easy access in case you need to turn off one of the dedicated lines, which won't disturb any of the other water lines."

LeDuc & Dexter's residential department is confident that these Vanguard plumbing products will be beneficial to their customers including future homeowners.
 

Flowers Winery & Vineyards	WINERIES

On a sunny, mild autumn day in the coastal mountains high above the Sonoma Coast between Jenner and Fort Ross things are moving forward at Flowers Winery & Vineyards. The expansion that includes a high roofed structure over the existing tank pad and a connected new structure housing 3 barrel rooms plus offices lab, tasting area and large tank area are under construction.

Nordby Construction Superintendent Tom Connick predicts his company will complete the project sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. "We thought there would be a delay during the crush because there were concerns about open tanks in the construction area, but we worked right through the crush, which only lasted 17 days when the grapes all ripened at once. We should be done before it really starts to rain here."

LeDuc & Dexter's commercial department is busy plumbing the office, lab and industrial tasting area, which are situated above the new barrel rooms. "The floor is about 3 feet thick, mostly concrete and insulated to keep the barrel room temperature down," explains LeDuc & Dexter Foreman Ron Romack, "we sleeved through the floor with copper wastewater piping, which we will tie in later. The barrel room will be a real showplace with all of the exposed copper piping."

Elsewhere in the winery, LeDuc & Dexter has installed hose stations for hot and cold water and CO2. LeDuc & Dexter has also installed glycol piping, which is an extension from the original tank area to the new structure that will house new tanks in the future.  "This is a design/build project where we install our piping around the structural forms of a steel building with a lot of beams and girders to consider," says Romack, "It gets creative and sometimes appears Picasso-like as a visual when it's completed."

Flowers Winery & Vineyards with original winery in foreground. New roof for existing tank room is to the left of oak tree and new tank room, offices, lab and tasting area are to right of tree. (click image to enlarge) Ron Romack of LeDuc & Dexter works on copper water pipe in lab area. (click image to enlarge)   LeDuc & Dexter is installing the glycol lines that extend from original tank room to the new tank room. (click image to enlarge) LeDuc & Dexter installed custom hose stations in the new tank room. (click image to enlarge)

Accessible & Accountable	THE COMPANY

Some people are surprised to find how accessible Tom LeDuc and Art Dexter are, and how easy it is to reach them by phone when they call LeDuc & Dexter, "I find it surprising that they're surprised," responds LeDuc. "A lot of people think that because we are the owners of the company that they won't be able to reach us directly. They think that they're probably going to get dumped into voicemail, but we are available, especially to our customers." There are times when LeDuc and Dexter are out of the office and then a caller would get their voicemail, but when they are in the office they can be reached by phone.

"Most of the customer calls come into the managers, Jim Kempers in residential and Bill Zeeb in commercial, but Art and I are always available," says LeDuc, referring to his partner, Vice President & Head of Operations, Art Dexter. "We are really no different than the receptionist, the managers or any of our employees when it comes to helping customers, that's what we are all here to do."

Tom LeDuc (l), President & CEO and Art Dexter (r), Vice President and Head of Operations are always available to talk with customers.