What brought you to the trades? “My father Jack. He used to bring me along when I was young to help him.” Favourite thing about the job: “You are always meeting new people, and there’s always lots of variety in the work.” Time behind the wheel per day: Up to four hours. Kilometres logged per day: 20 to 400 Service vehicles: Dodge and GM cargo vans and half-tons Any area you like to get dispatched to, and why: “The further north the better. I am not big on city tr affic.” Recent job: “Restoule Provincial Park, which is south of North Bay. We installed a comfort station with washrooms, laundry facility, general exhaust, and seven Buderus domestic hot water solar panels that supplemented three Bosch 300,000 BTUH instantaneous water heaters.” WINTER WORK Were there any interesting challenges working up north? “Cold weather was a challenge as it started in November and went through the winter. The general contractor devised a plan for temporary heat that involved us installing floor heating in the new concrete slab (about 1,100 sq. ft.) and utilizing a portable diesel-powered boiler. These boilers are usually used for ground thaw applications. This allowed them to pour the slab when it was negative 22 degrees outside and kept the project warm throughout the winter. The floor tubing was abandoned in the slab after the cold weather left.” What often gets overlooked when estimating a project? “Allowing enough labour to install the system correctly.” What have you seen, on the efficiency front, that can be improved? “I see a lot of residential and some commercial hydronic sys-
tems that have been installed with all the latest technologies. Most of them are not insulated to maximize efficiency and very few have proper filtration or chemical treatment to protect the equipment so it can run more efficiently. And proper system balancing is key.” What advice can you offer to make hydronic installs go smoother? “Pre-job planning, consisting of a thorough review of shop drawings, labour hours allowed, and cut sheets for equipment with everyone involved.” Favourite tool in your toolbox: Milwaukee Sawzall
Favourite car: Magnum P.I.’s red Ferrari 308 GTS
Golf, walk or ride? Walk Any complimentary rounds of golf after plumbing Mad River Golf Club? “No, no free rounds of golf at all.” Favourite local haunt for lunch: C.W. Coops in Angus, Ont., for chicken wings
Favourite band: Alexisonfire
Favourite food: Bacon Last book you read: The Snow Ball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
Best concert you ever attended? AC/DC, For Those About To Rock
If you were granted one wish: “I would wish for a cure for cancer to be found.”
Favourite movie: Red Dawn
Biggest pet peeve: “Government waste.”
Favourite fishing spot: Key River, Georgian Bay
What radio station do you listen to during the day? Rock 95, Barrie
Spinning tackle or fly-fishing? Spinning tackle
One place in the world you would like to visit? “Machu Picchu mountain in Peru. It looks amazing!”
Best place to go camping: Restoule Provincial Park Tent, or tent trailer? “We did a decade in the tent, but have recently upgraded to a travel trailer.”
If you could have lunch with any celebrity, who would it be? Warren Buffett One word that describes you: Quiet
Favourite sport: Hockey. “I play goalie.”
The best advice somebody has given you is: “Live each day to the fullest.”
Favourite outdoor activity, aside from hunting, fishing and camping: Golfing
If I had a million dollars... “I wouldn’t be self-employed.”
Favourite golf course: Tangle Creek Golf Club, Barrie
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a... “plumber.”
Favourite golfer: Tiger Woods W H A T
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