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SkillsUSA & some guy named Mike Rowe… The recap

This is my third year making it to SkillsUSA for the National Championships and I guarantee you it won’t be my last. While many conventions & events seemingly get stale that doesn’t seem to be an issue here especially with so many stories to tell – whether it is a carpenter leading his team from […]

Wacky Weds: Propane as a Refrigerant?

This is an infrared shot of a propane tank I used in a class seeing if they could understand what they saw. I got to admit after going over the basics they did pretty good. Ahhh but what about the title, well would you believe that some HVAC companies are using propane as a refrigerant for […]

Wacky Weds: Maintenance shmaintenace

Seeing I was spending the week at SkillsUSA I wasn’t sure I would have a Wacky Wednesday piece, but leave it to a hotel I stayed at in St Louis to give us a free be. Obviously changing out the air filter is not part of the maids duties… Of course part of the issue […]

SkillsUSA 2013 – the day before

So how do you complete a bathroom remodel in 5 days, build a house in 7, or pull off a 35 Million Dollar contest involving over 6,000 students from over 50 states in basically 4 days and make it look easy? Well the answer is pretty much the same, logistics & a lot of hard […]

BS4D: Ventilation Strategies

Let me start off with one quick key point to keep in mind, ventilation is not about energy savings; rather it is about the building occupant’s health, safety, & comfort. Yes, the choices one makes can play a factor on energy costs & savings but that should not be ones primary focus when choosing a […]

Wacky Weds: Be Firewise not ignorant

Below are some quotes from a recent newsletter I get. One reason why I get this newsletter is the gentleman in question has some really great pieces & information that he does provide. Unfortunately in this case, whether it was because of , his never experiencing one, or his just plain not knowing any better […]

A big win for Builders & Remodelers: ENERGY STAR’s latest update

If there is anything that will throw a contractor in a tizzy, it is delays or additional costs. Nowhere is this time factor more of an issue than with production builders. Not only can that delay throw a monkey wrench into that one house’s schedule, but others as well. Well ENERGY STAR ® (ES3) did […]