Articles by Scott Secor

For contractors, taking high-quality photos at jobsites can be highly beneficial.

Today, we still get calls about older systems. The potential customers often think their house or building is the oldest we have ever seen. I suppose people think every other building on their block has removed the old steam or hot water system and replaced it with something more modern.

On this job, I was reminded of how this “cutting edge” system that was installed fifty years ago is now considered "old school."

Approximately twenty years ago, we got a call from someone who owned three identical apartment buildings in a nearby town. His name was Leonard. He recently visited an annual building-owners trade show and heard that we knew how to fix and properly adjust outdoor reset controls. Leonard called us, and we made an appointment.

Explore the power of hands-on learning in the heating industry as seasoned experts share their insights on effective teaching. This editorial reflects on the impact of memorable seminars, the importance of understanding theory, and the art of listening in nurturing the next generation of skilled technicians.

We almost never charge for “add-ons” when doing large contract jobs. We are very thorough when we do estimates, and try to include everything we can think of. As a matter of fact, we have bid and won over a dozen jobs that specifically excluded “change orders.”

On large jobs, we sometimes hire subcontractors to help us out. Other times, we will do all of the work in house. Often, we rent tools that make the job easier.

A plumber recently asked us to inspect a home with issues related to radiant heating. The homeowner, Ronny, runs a company that builds commercial office buildings, and the plumber handles the plumbing work.

I suspect manufacturers have had annual price increases since they began producing the items we need. So far this week we have been informed by one of our suppliers that the condensing boiler we use most often is going up by six percent.

This has been busier than normal heating season. I suppose this winter was colder than most in the last decade. For the first time in years, we had to make numerous repairs to frozen pipes. There were many late nights and weekends that required me or my men to work extra hours. I’m sure we were not alone.