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Tuesday Tip – 2 for Exterior Painting

Ahh summertime – time to knock out those pesky exterior painting projects. In my case, I have three & the trim around the garage door is first on my list. Yep I started scraping & then decided, just to be safe… Yep if’s it’s red it’s lead – drats. Granted it was built a few […]

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Filed Under: Tips & Tricks July 16, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Wacky Weds: Not a green roof?

I was driving the other day & it seemed like there was a contest on one street for who had the greenest roof… The winner was: We have covered everything from hot roofs to cool roofs and even shown a few pics of true green roofs but sorry folks – that isn’t a green roof. […]

Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday July 3, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

2018 IECC – Officially Adopted in Illinois

Today Illinois starts it’s new fiscal year ushering in higher gas prices along with a ton of other fees & taxes. Also effective today, all newly permitted building work will have to follow the 2018 IECC as adopted. For those permitted before this date, you still fall under the 2015 version. Below are the final […]

Filed Under: Building Codes July 1, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Monday Musings: Electrify This…

#ElectrifyEverything or should I rephrase it as; Gas or Electric is fast becoming the new Paper or Plastic it seems… I couldn’t help but shake my head at the newest headline on one of the forums I frequent “The problem with Gas Stoves” with a single simple minded comment with a link to a piece […]

Filed Under: Myth or Misconception June 17, 2019 By SLS 5 Comments

Wacky Weds: A gutter used inside?

I have heard of people using gutters inside but I sure didn’t expect to see this, especially in a commercial building. Got to say the drain line setup was top notch but the work done on the metal framing… must have been a plumber

Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday May 29, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Wacky Weds: Got a shoehorn handy

In auto mechanics many gripe about the engine being built around the part you need to remove… but in a house? Yep the water heater is not only jammed tight against the return duct, but the water meter sticks out in front of it by about an inch. The Gas line doesn’t run straight up […]

Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday May 8, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Wacky Weds: Nice Door

Talk about doing a double take: When I asked the homeowner what happened they essentially said that it happened right after the temps hit the -20° mark, it was pristine till then… I got to say it looks like it was maintained  (UV coating appeared good) & while they were right that the temps played […]

Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday April 10, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Monday Musings: Paper or Plastic?

Growing up I remember all the groceries being packed in paper bags. Then a really stupid question started to be asked – Paper or Plastic? For a while paper bags still were the favorite but then people started hearing about all the deforestation that was going on & plastic started becoming more popular. Pretty soon […]

Filed Under: Myth or Misconception April 8, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

Wacky Weds: Can Fiberglass ever be…

I sense a Monday musing coming out soon but in the meantime, I have to ask… If you look on the other side of this wall, it is an honest to god “” install, but as you can see by this picture this would be considered ““ – while some might argue “” that would […]

Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday March 6, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

2018 IECC – Illinois Adoption Delayed

UPDATED: For those following along with the Illinois adoption of the 2018 IECC (Energy Code) you might have noticed that it has gone strangely quiet especially as they were supposed to take effect March 1st per the EEB Act. Well as of this moment it appears that the “official” date will now be May 1st. […]

Filed Under: Building Codes Tagged With: Illinois Energy Code March 4, 2019 By SLS Leave a Comment

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    UPDATED: For those following along with the Illinois adoption of the 2018 IECC (Energy Code) you might have noticed that it has gone strangely quiet especially as they were supposed to take effect March 1st per the EEB Act. Well as of this moment it appears that the “official” date will now be May 1st. […]

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