Lan Mar Contracting Ltd. - Produits, offres, nouvelles

Hate to use the “W” word, but winter is fast approaching. Sure, being situated on the West Coast of Canada Nanaimo is blessed with a fairly benign climate, but even here the mercury can dip, and (horrors) it can occasionally snow. So while there’s still time to prepare for the onset of winter what steps can homeowners take to prepare their properties for the unavoidable? Here are a few simple steps you can take to make your home more comfortable and energy efficient during the long dark months ahead.
The Home’s Heating System
The source of your indoor comfort and the biggest drain on your finances, your home’s heating system is something that needs to be attended to – especially as you’ve probably been neglecting it since late spring. One simple thing to do is to replace your furnace’s air filter, in accordance with the replacement schedule set out by the manufacturer. If your home has electrical baseboard heating then take the easy step of vacuuming the vents and all around the heaters prior to turning them on for the first time. While you’re down there also make sure no paper or children’s toys are wedged into unseen corners or crevices. If you have ceiling fans check which way they are spinning. During the summer months you want your fan to blow cooler air down into the room – during the winter you want the fan to draw the warm air upward. This is especially important in homes with high ceilings.
Checking for Perimeter Leaks
Your home, regardless of age, is not air tight. No matter the cost or design there has to be a movement of air into and out of the home. But excessive movement translates into drafts, cold spots and unnecessary expense. A use of caulking and weather stripping is probably one of the easiest and most economical ways of heading off this energy drain. By some estimates a poorly sealed home can be responsible for up to 15 per cent of its heating costs. Always check around doors and windows to feel where the cold spots are. Older single pane windows might have to be replaced with newer energy-efficient ones, requiring the services of quality home builders like Nanaimo’s Lanmar Contracting. Other simple fixes around the home include making sure the fireplace damper is closed (until you want to use the fireplace of course), and sealing electrical conduits and plumbing vents with caulking if gaps are allowing air to flow through to the outside.
Don’t Forget the Insulation
Having the correct level of attic insulation might be the best investment you can make to ensure your home is comfortable during the dark days of winter. This is especially true for older homes which could have been constructed employing blow insulation or other dated building techniques. While this can be a do it yourself project, it might be simpler in the long run to hire a professional to remove old insulation and then replace it with rolls of the modern fiberglass type. Weather stripping around attic hatches and doors is another quick fix to stop the unwelcome flow of air though your home. By taking a few simple and in many cases economical steps now, the coming winter months will be comfortable and more affordable.
Contact Lan Mar Contracting for your next renovation in Nanaimo.

The old expression goes: “They don’t build them like that anymore!” If that expression is applied to the construction of older homes then that could be a good thing. For Lan Mar Contracting the restoration and renovation of existing properties accounts for nearly 80% of the construction projects completed. For Lan Mar’s owner Oscar Lanoo the renovation of an older home is actually a form of historic preservation. “By updating an older home we end up with something that is better than it was before. Character homes often have leaky single pane windows, are short on insulation and probably have rot or other damage,” he explained.
“By bringing an older property up to code we create something that is more enjoyable for the owner. An updated home is more energy efficient, more comfortable and a more welcome part of its neighborhood. It’s far better to bring an old home back to life than it is to tear it down. That’s a piece of local history that is gone forever.”
The history of the City of Nanaimo goes back more than 150 years. The community is home to a large number of unique and beautiful character properties, many more than a century old. But the years have not been equally kind to all of the city’s character homes. Years of neglect, design trends introduced over the decades, the effects of weather and many other factors can see a once proud home fall into disrepair. By embracing a classic home and recognizing its charms, and then introducing modern materials and building techniques a property that once was considered a neighborhood eyesore can become a local treasure. A restored home typically features updated electrical wiring and plumbing systems, thermal windows, higher R-Value insulation, contemporary siding and hardware, new paint and often a refreshed landscaping scheme. Numerous local examples of this form of residential “Lazarus Effect” can be found throughout the city – many thanks to Lan Mar Contracting.
When a classic charmer is updated to 21st Century standards it becomes a usable, living link to the city’s colorful past. Contemporary materials and building techniques allow character homes to remain part of the community’s residential mix for decades to come. Older homes are witnesses to local history; their faces can be seen in old photographs and remembered in fading memories. By maintaining and preserving them for the enjoyment of future generations part of that history remains alive and tangible – something that can be touched and experienced. That is a gift for the ages that would not exist except for the efforts of inspired homeowners and talented renovation specialists.

Lan Mar CoAn active and growing part of the Nanaimo construction industry, Lan Mar Contracting has seen many changes to its business and to the community at large since it first opened its doors. In a recent interview company founder Oscar Lanoo reflected on his firm’s beginnings, and visualized the direction it will be taking in the future.

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Oscar Lanoo of Lan Mar Contracting has seen a lot of changes since opening his doors more thanlogos
30 years ago. “When I moved here from Ontario in 1980 I opened a painting business as that’s what I had been doing there. But gradually over time we became more involved in the actual construction of properties until today that’s the bulk of what we do,” he explained. “What I do is anything from a single room to a $10 million project and everything in between.”
A builder of residential and light commercial projects, Lan Mar Contracting works equally with designers and architects, or custom builds homes to plans brought to them by clients. “Someone comes to us with a plan they have found in a plan book or on the web and says this is what they want,” he says. “We then work with them to customize it to meet their specific needs. Often there are many considerations that come into the final design, such as the shape or composition of the lot, the unique requirements of the customer, zoning and that sort of thing. Ideally in the end we come up with something that satisfies everyone’s needs.”
While new home construction remains an important part of Lan Mar’s output, renovations and updating projects are becoming increasingly important. “Nanaimo has a large number of unique older homes which are very appealing to buyers because of their design or other features. But homes built in the past were not always the most comfortable. Increasingly we are handling updating or renovation projects. It’s a way of preserving some of the city’s most unique properties by making them livable and fully up to code. Today a full 80% of the work we do involves updating or renovating existing properties.”
“It’s a way of preserving some of the city’s most unique properties by making them livable and fully up to code. “
While often visually appealing on the outside, classic homes can be drafty and more expensive to heat than properties constructed to more contemporary designs. A major residential updating could include replacing such components as wiring and plumbing, insulation, windows and doors, exterior siding, paint (inside and out), fixtures, furnaces and ductwork, kitchens and bathrooms. “Kitchens in the past were typically quite small, without provision for today’s appliances. A modern kitchen is really the heart of a home and has to reflect that with cupboards and increased counter space, dishwashers and other appliances, eating bars and even sunrooms and solariums. When putting a new kitchen into an older home we usually expect it to take up far more space than it did originally. But the end result of all this work is a home with classic charms, yet modern conveniences and comfort making it the best of both worlds.”
But Lan Mar Contracting doesn’t focus solely on major projects, small scale tasks such as decking, garages, stairs, single room makeovers and other relatively minor upgrades are also frequently completed. “I like the smaller jobs, the ones we can put together in a relatively short time and move onto the next. It really is a case of us taking on any job, big or small. That’s not a slogan but it could be. Over the years it’s safe to say that we’ve completed hundreds of different jobs throughout Nanaimo and beyond.”

When pressed, Oscar gives no signs of wanting to slow down, even after being an active part of the Central Vancouver Island construction industry for more than 34 years. In the future he envisions his contracting firm continuing to do what it does best, but perhaps with his son in an ever greater leadership role. “I really do love what I do, and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else,” he said. “But I’m increasingly more interested in being involved in management and coordination than I am in swinging a hammer. But I still like to do that to, so I won’t be putting my tools away any time soon.”ntracting an Evolving Business