Located in rural British Columbia, Lesley McGlenen has a much greater impact on the skilled trades than her small company would lead you to believe.

Online, McGlenen goes by @ThePipeWench. She’s a plumber, gasfitter and hydronic professional. Most of her work is residential, but she dabbles in commercial work from time to time. From her shop in Scotch Creek, she travels to jobsites around Shuswap Lake, typically venturing up to two hours from home.

McGlenen’s father was a general contractor when she was young. She’d lend a hand where she could, cleaning up and helping on jobsites. Eventually, a plumbing contractor noticed her work ethic and offered her a job. She enjoyed the job for a while before trying her hand at cabinet making, all the while picking up skills that would aid her journey in the trades.

Eventually, plumbing called her back and she endeavored to finish her plumbing apprenticeship. Today, 17 years later, she’s sole proprietress of Pipe Wench Plumbing, Ltd.

“I love this trade, and the variety it provides,” said McGlenen. “I’d get bored if I did the same thing day in and day out. The diversity of work creates a few challenges, but they’re not overwhelming. Different people, places and the occasional challenge keep me on my toes.”

She loves the job so much that she felt a calling to help other women become part of the skilled trade workforce.

A heart for women in the trade

“I want to impact and empower women to see the trades as a viable career,” said McGlenen. “There’s no proper direction in school. School systems aren’t asking young women what they really want to do. Even if they did, few would say they want to be plumbers, pipefitters or HVAC techs because the awareness isn’t there.”

McGlenen’s father didn’t push his own kids—two daughters and a son—toward the skilled trades because from personal experience how it can be hard on the body.

“Because the school system doesn’t present the trades as a high value career path, young men and women alike are left to find their own way. The big difference is that the skilled trades are more intimidating for potential female apprentices.”

“I hear comments from time to time that young women are afraid of sexual harassment on a jobsite full of men,” said McGlenen. “I’ll admit, I’ve encountered some of that, but it’s always been a ‘bad apple’ scenario. The vast majority of men I encounter at work are very respectful. The ones I worked with early in my career were great guys.”

“There’s one other thing to consider,” she continued. “As sad as it is, women will face harassment in any job. Harassment isn’t exclusive to the skilled trades and it shouldn’t hang over the trades like a dark cloud. And it goes both ways. Men face harassment in the workplace from women, too. Harassment should not be a deterrent from this industry, and the fact that it’s still perceived this way shows a lack of knowledge and poor communication on our part.”

There’s a trade shortage in general, and women represent only two percent of the field—that alone represents a huge opportunity and room for improvement.

Because women in the trades are still such a rarity, McGlenen believes it’s important for women who’ve found their path as trade pros to speak openly about the broad range of possibilities.

“Women represent half the global population, yet we’re a tiny fraction of the skilled trade industry,” she said. “Why aren’t women jumping into the industry? Why do we feel our only path to success lies in a college education? It’s lack of representation, and that’s what I want to change.”

Taking it to the turf

After moving to Scotch Creek in 2020, McGlenen, an avid golfer, planned to host 30 of her friends at her local golf course. Then an idea struck her.

“I had this big group of women coming to golf, so why not make it a benefit tournament?” she said. “So, I made it official.”

In 2023, the first annual Babes GDGT (Goddamn Golf Tournament) was held at the Talking Rock Golf in Chase, BC, which benefitted the Women in Trades program at Okanagan College. “Funds raised at the golf event helped provide what women in the program need, including making the transition from the program to employment.”

“The goal of the event is to help women achieve the highest level of success possible in their selected skilled trade field,” said McGlenen. “We had 78 women at the golf tournament last year. That was a perfect number. Any more would have been too much for the first year, since I organized that event myself.”

McGlenen draws similarity between the trades and the game of golf. Both are arenas in which women often feel intimidated.

“I think it’s important for women to find excitement and challenge in golf – just as it is in the skilled trades,” she explained. “They need to make an initial push to overcome any hesitation they feel. I use golf as a business tool. Men do it, but women less so. The game can offer great networking opportunities. It’s just a matter of stepping out of your comfort zone.”

Intersecting interests

In 2022, McGlenen was signed into one of Taco Comfort Solutions’ Monday Night Live training sessions when Mike Miller, with Taco Canada, brought up the AHR Expo, suggesting that those in attendance meet up for a round of golf in Las Vegas.

So began the Taco Ryder Cup, in which a US team and a Canadian team go head-to-head on the golf course.

“It was great to meet Lesley in person and play golf with her, especially after seeing her on so many of our online training sessions,” said John Barba, Director of Training at Taco and an accomplished golfer. “She plays very well. For the record, Canada has beaten us both times, but neither of those losses were my fault! Lesley won both her matches and I won both of mine!”

“Meeting the Taco trainers and so many of the people I’d seen on social media was so much fun,” said McGlenen. “I became a part of their learning community during COVID and it’s been invaluable since.”

The COVID lockdowns increased the need for online training for tradespeople across North America, but for McGlenen, the remoteness of her shop means that she needs to look online for training opportunities anyway.

“It’s nearly a three-hour drive for me to get to a training session hosted by a rep or wholesaler, and if I want factory training, it requires airfare. Instead, I just sign in to the “Taco After Dark” or “Taco Tuesday” training sessions. I can learn a lot from Dave Holdorf, John Barba and Rick Mayo without leaving my office. The availability of Taco’s tech support crew and the training I’ve received online gives me the confidence to tackle things I may not otherwise undertake.”

Taco appreciates what McGlenen is doing for the trade, so they’ve stepped up as a key sponsor for the 2024 Babes GDGT event. Mechanical Hub has also stepped up to help support GDGT this year with sponsorships.

Babes GDGT moving forward

The next Babes GDGT (@BabesGDGT) golf event will be held at Talking Rock Golf on June 8, 2024, and it’s already sold out with 128 golfers, and more than a few on the waiting list.

Unfortunately, Okanagan College’s Women in Trades Program was recently cut due to lack of provincial funding. But there are other schools in BC with similar programs.

“The fact that the program was cut illustrates how important it is for the trades to present a compelling and attractive pitch to women,” said McGlenen. “We hope to raise twice as much money this year, and we’re taking a close look at how best to support women in the trades with the funds we raise in June.”

In McGlenen’s battle to increase the skilled trade workforce, she’s quick to remind all tradespeople, not just women, that there’s more than enough work to go around. “Me against you” is the wrong mindset.”

“I hope that offering a new perspective, and enthusiastic advocacy for the trades will help to shift the demographic of tradespeople in Canada,” she continued. “There’s so much opportunity!

“With broader awareness of the trades, especially among women, it could lead to a win-win for all—from home and business owners to everyone in the trades,” she said. “We need to collaborate and develop better processes. It’s realistic and achievable, and I’ll do everything I can to help.”

Like most add-ons and accessories, the boiler fuel conversion kit is another easy to forget item that stretches out the installation. In the third and final installment on Alta gas-adaptive technology, we’ll cover why fuel conversion is necessary, what was required to accomplish this in the past, and how simple it is to set the Alta up for either natural or LP gas.

As with most things in life, it’s best to start with the basics. Propane has roughly twice the BTU/ft³ when compared to natural gas. As such, the technician was historically required to replace or adjust certain gas train components to configure the boiler to operate safely, reliably, and efficiently with the selected fuel. Take cast iron boilers for example. The main orifices, pilot, and sometimes even the gas valve were replaced when transitioning from NG to LP, or vice-versa.

On 5:1 turndown condensing boilers such as the U.S. Boiler Alpine, technicians are required to adjust the throttle screw, and then set up combustion appropriately by tuning the boiler with an analyzer, and on occasion adjust the offset screw as well. On other 10:1 high efficiency, condensing products, a venturi replacement was required to switch from NG to LP, or vice versa. After the venturi replacement, combustion tuning is still required to verify optimal combustion settings.

With the Alta boiler, this conversion process is dramatically reduced to two easy steps, with no component replacement or kits required.

When purchasing a boiler, fuel selection is certainly a primary consideration, and there are a few options when ordering a boiler. Some models are available from the factory set up either for natural gas or propane, while others are shipped set for natural gas and must be converted to operate with propane in the field. The latter is true of all Alta boilers, but lucky for you, fuel conversion on the Alta is super simple!

To convert an Alta from natural gas to LP, the technician must turn the fuel screw on the gas valve 1/4 turn to the LP position. Note that on the fuel screw position one is for natural gas, position two is for LP.

Next, simply follow the process listed in the manual to make adjustments on the control.

At this point you may begin looking around for your fuel conversion kit, but as the Alta boiler begins tuning itself for optimal combustion you can simply sit back and relax.  The Alta’s gas adaptive system will ensure that your boiler is set for the highest efficiency operation, and all you need to do is press a button.

Is this the end of the gas analyzer?! Don’t put yours up for sale on eBay quite yet. Once your Alta boiler has completed the tuning sequence, we recommend a combustion check just to be sure there is nothing wrong with the venting, combustion air intake, or any other field variables.

So as you prepare for this week there will be hundreds of things to worry about.  Are the boiler installs natural gas or LP? Who cares? Skip the conversion kits.  Just put in an Alta by U.S. Boiler Company and it will take care of itself.

By Kolyn “Coach” Marshall

No matter where we go these days it seems as if there’s always someone trying to upsell us on something.

Truth is, the art of upsell is nothing new. Walk into a fast food restaurant and you’re asked if you want to super-size it. Go to the theater and you’re asked if you want to make your popcorn a combo deal. Heck, even Amazon’s in on the program.

Ubiquitous upsells can be awfully annoying, especially when it’s something you know a lot about. But, what if it’s something you know nothing about? Or, better yet, didn’t know to even ask?

This last question is where I find a lot of potential radiant buyers.  They simply don’t know enough about what’s out there to ask.

This is where you—Neighborhood Radiant Installer—come into play.

It’s your opportunity to throw out the option of radiant floor heating or snowmelting. Sounds easy, right? Well . . . sort of.  In order for you to be able to effectively talk about radiant, it can be helpful to know what there is to talk about.

Understanding the want

Depending on the audience, say, home or a business owner, the want or need may vary. For homeowners, they may want to be more comfortable. There’s a factor of efficiency or cost savings, but those are typically secondary to comfort. People really don’t like being cold.

Comfort, however, takes on many forms. But, as the Neighborhood Radiant Installer, it’s important to know what comfort means. One aspect is keeping the room temperature between 68 and 70 degrees. The other facet is knowing how occupants interact with the interior space.  The key driver for comfort is floor temperature.

Ever step out of the shower onto a cold tile floor? In that instant it’s pretty easy to connect to what cold is. Oddly enough, our feet dictate our comfort more than air temperature. It’s the main reason why we have slippers and wool socks. If our feet are warm we feel warmer.

So the easiest way to feeling comfortable is to keep the floors from being cold.  Radiant heat does that with most radiant systems maintaining a floor temperature between 75 and 85 degrees.

Business owners tend to have a slightly different goal in mind. Their focus is more on customer safety, especially when the weather turns cold and the freezing rain and snow start to fall. Or:  employee satisfaction, a great incentive in retaining, and attracting, employees.

As for safety, injuries due to slips and falls plague business owners constantly. It’s a seasonal risk, and source of concern.

Radiant snowmelting systems help keep walkways, parking lots, and access ramps ice and snow free all winter long. This means no more early morning labor; shoveling snow is a thing of the past. No more chemical ice melt. This alone eliminates another key concern:  icemelt tends to get picked up by customer’s shoes and tracked inside, eventually taking its toll on the floor.

The upgrade package

So a spark is struck. Warm floors are something that wasn’t expected but is now very much wanted.

How are these once cold floors now warmed? There are two main ways to provide radiant floor heat: hydronically with water, or through electric resistance.

Hydronic systems rely on tubing being installed in the floor and connected to a heat source. Tubing options range from PEX, to PE-RT, to EPDM rubber. Tubing is connected to a series of manifolds, then those manifolds connect to a boiler, or other equivalent heat source.

If the area to be heated is small, say only a kitchen or bathroom, then an electric product may be best; these use electrical resistant wire or cable to generate heat. Wire is embedded in a lightweight concrete or thinset generally under tile or other masonry material. One of the advantages of electric is there is no need for a mechanical room and no need to physically run piping back through a home or facility.  Electrical installations tend to be less invasive but also tend to be reserved for smaller areas.

With both electric and hydronic systems there are options for controls and thermostats. Most of today’s systems incorporate some form of connectivity feature, giving remote access to users.

 Delivering the Goods

Congratulations Neighborhood Radiant Installer! The Enlightened Customer has decided to go with the radiant upgrade. Now what?

Now it’s time to figure out how to get all those tubes and wires where they’re supposed to go.

Hydronic tubing is generally installed in one of two ways, either in a concrete slab or under a frame floor. In a concrete slab, tubing is typically 6, 9, or 12 inches on center with the tubing approximately 2 inches down from the top. In a frame floor, the tubing is secured to the subfloor, often with heat transfer plates. These plates secure the tubing (usually PEX or PE-RT) to the subfloor while providing good conductive heat transfer to the floor.

Electric systems are installed in a similar fashion to hydronic slabs with the difference being the wire is generally installed on top of the floor in ½ inch thinset with tile or other stone material as the finished floor covering.  An electric system is then connected a controller or thermostat.

Both hydronic and electric systems then operate in the same way any forced air system does. The controller or thermostat is set to the desired temperature and the system operates automatically.

Satisfied Customers

So how does our Neighborhood Radiant Installer know the system is working as expected and the customer is happy? It’s simple:  our Honorable Customer won’t be able to stop talking about the most comfortable heat they’ve ever experienced.

Becoming the go-to radiant expert is the best way to keep the future looking warm and bright.

Kolyn “Coach” Marshall, based in Springfield, Mo., is Systems Engineering Manager at Watts Radiant.

When people think of Alaska, they think of cold weather, vast expanses of wilderness and small communities. While they’re correct about the wilderness and weather, there are a few communities in the state that can’t possibly be called “small.”

Anchorage is home to almost 300,000 people, or roughly the size of Cincinnati, Newark or Pittsburgh. But unlike its Lower-48 counterparts, the city stands apart with its weather.

While not the coldest region in Alaska, Anchorage typically experiences between 7,000 to 8,000 heating degree days per year. Cincinnati, for comparison, averages 3,000 to 3,500 heating degree days.

“We install about four boilers per week,” said Thomas Jurancich, plumbing manager at Extreme Heating & Air. The 40-person mechanical company is the largest contractor in the Anchorage area, and likely in the state.

The biggest little state

Like all big cities, Anchorage has its bedroom communities, such as Eagle River.

When Shane Thom founded Extreme Heating & Air in Eagle River in 2009, it was after serving a four-year Air Force enlistment, where he learned the HVAC trade.

“I was in the civil engineering department and left the service as a Senior Airman,” said Thom. “Our primary task was setting up temporary cities, whether in Okinawa, Japan, Texas or Alaska.”

When Shane hung his shingle in 2009, Extreme was strictly focused on HVAC installations. Two years later, he added a plumbing department, and in 2013, he opened the company’s service department, along with their supply house and retail store. They serve all sorts of customers within a 300-mile radius.”

Alaska’s remoteness (from supply chains), vast coverage areas, and the extreme cold temperatures (often dipping below -30°F), are the greatest challenges. Boilers are quite popular, thanks to the severe winter conditions.

Custom residential

“Our plumbing division is the largest segment of the company,” said Thomas Jurancich, plumbing manager. “Boiler work is big business here, both residential and commercial.”

Extreme has great relationships with most of the custom homebuilders in the Anchorage area. One of those, Michelsohn & Daughter, is the source of half a dozen hydronic projects each year. These homes are typically $1 million or more.

“New homes in Alaska with a seven-figure budget typically feature in-floor heat, and maybe snowmelt, too,” said Jurancich. “Both were included in our most recent Michelsohn project.”

The 4,7000-sq.-ft. home includes an art studio and three bay-garage, one of which is large enough to park the family’s RV. In-floor heat is used throughout, and the front walkway accounts for one small zone of snowmelt.

“All told, we have 11 zones here, including the snowmelt and 85-gallon indirect water heater, which is needed for multi-head showers and a giant freestanding tub,” said Jurancich. “We added a Rheem air handler for AC and to circulate environmental air through a Lifebreath HRV, but the only source of heat is the boiler.”

A 180-MBH Alta condensing boiler, made by U.S. Boiler Company, is used to supply all heat to the home and DHW.

“We’ve been installing the Alta since Nate Uson, territory manager at Ridgeline Mechanical Sales introduced it to us,” said Jurancich. “We probably have 200 of them in the field, almost all of which are 180 MBH. New product releases are always a little worrisome with our winters, but the Alta has been exceptional.

Jurancich is quick to admit that the gas-adaptive technology and the rate-based reset features of the Alta—both new to the hydronic industry in North America—felt “too easy.” It took a few installations before the Extreme technicians felt comfortable trusting the technology, but there’s never a second thought anymore.

Hot water is distributed to remote manifolds throughout the house. The radiant zones require 80°F at outdoor design temperature, and the snowmelt zone, isolated by a heat exchanger, calls for 110°F water. Chad Moore, lead boiler installer, and Joe Potter, apprentice, built the entire boiler room in three days.

“The homeowner loves the system,” said Jurancich. “He told me he takes guests into the mechanical room to show it off. I can’t think of a better endorsement of our work!”

Supply chain: end of the road

Jurancich was an outside sales rep for Ferguson before joining Extreme in 2017. This put him in frequent contact with Uson and others at Ridgeline, and that relationship has served them both well for years.

“Shane and Thomas have been great customers, and we’ve done our very best to support them, especially through the pandemic,” said Uson. “Contractors in the Lower-48 had supply chain issues, but not as bad as those in Alaska. We’re at the end of the proverbial road. Extreme has never been one to complain about price. Availability is the key concern here.”

Ridgeline helped ensure that Extreme had boilers to install throughout the supply chain crunches of the past few years. Other times, Extreme reaped the benefits of their own deep warehouse. In 2016, Extreme opened their own supply house and retail store.

“We’re halfway between Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley,” explained Thom. “Alaska is different from other states in that people here are very independent, and there’s a long way to go between supply houses. Some of our competitors buy product from us. So do plenty of DIYers.”

With good manufacturer’s reps, a fleet of roadworthy vans and a stout supply of plumbing and heating products in-house, Extreme keeps a lot of Alaskans warm throughout the winter. And none so much as in their own little town of Eagle River.

Not all residential new construction

In the 1950s, back before the roads in Eagle River were paved, activity in town revolved around the grocery/general store. That building still stands, though it’s been expanded and modified an untold number of times. It’s now a strip mall, housing a tax preparation office, dry cleaner, and more, having been converted to the Eagle River Shopping Center in the 1990s.

Extreme Heating & Air has serviced the facility’s central hydronic system for almost a decade. Doing so has always been a challenge. Its two condensing boilers were a constant source of headache, requiring nearly $10,000 worth of parts over the years. Because the building had been remodeled, changed and retrofitted so many times, zoning was less than straightforward.

In May of 2023, the shopping center’s owner decided to fix the problems for good. Extreme was hired to gut the mechanical room and replace it with a properly sized, newly piped system.

Extreme installed two U.S. Boiler Company Alpine 399 MBH modulating boilers in lead-lag operation. The entire building uses 15 zones of fin-tube baseboard radiation and a 119-gallon indirect tank supplies hot water to each retail space.

“We’re fairly young guys, so we’re always looking for the newest technology to try,” said Jurancich. “Last year, Nate showed us the USB-Connect Bluetooth smartphone app, and the shopping center was the first job we tried it on. We connected the Alpine to the adaptor with a Cat 5 cable and adjusted the flow rates and supply temperatures on my phone. The guys love it for the Alpine and the Alta, so our service manager, Jacob Way, ordered eight more.”

Over the course of three days, four Extreme technicians straightened out the piping issues and replaced the entire mechanical system. The main challenge was that the boiler room was tucked in the back of the building, separate from the retail spaces. After a full season in operation, Extreme has only received good feedback.

“They love the system because it finally works as intended,” said Jurancich.

Steady growth despite challenges

Extreme Heating & Air is growing, keeping pace with the city.

“Our biggest challenges are procuring material and manpower,” said Thom. “We’ve largely resolved our material inventory by dealing with good reps and owning our own warehouse. The manpower struggle isn’t unique to Alaska, by any means, but we’re taking that challenge head-on, too.”

The company recruits in cold climates in the Lower 48, hoping to draw young adventure-seekers to Alaska. There are great opportunities for those looking to relocate.

“We’re booked out for more than a month.” said Jurancich. “Next week we have five combi boilers going into a 5-plex apartment downtown. It’s a good problem to have. Much better than the opposite.”