Home Improvement Education

Ceiling

Why Are Some Porch Ceilings Painted Blue?

Many moons ago, when I first started off in the contracting trade, one of the projects we took on was the exterior painting restoration of a cool, old farmhouse in Northern RI. I remember vividly as we worked on this project in the sweltering late ...
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Doors

The Differences Between a Wood, Steel, or Fiberglass Entry Door

We are VERY fortunate in that we are called upon to replace A LOT of entry doors every year. The spectrum across the different types of doors we replace varies greatly. Sometimes we are called to replace an old wooden entry door that has served ...
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Exterior

What is a Finial?

Working on people’s homes day in and day out admittedly provides me quite the advantage when having conversations with folks about their differing projects. Not that I am actively seeking some type of superior home improvement edge for when discussions occur centering around home items ...
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Carpentry

What Causes Pressure Treated Wood to Rot Out?

One of the main reasons why pressure treated wood is used in areas of construction that may be more susceptible to moisture exposure than others, is that it is much more resistant to rot than other wood used to build things, whether on the framing ...
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Carbon Monoxide Detector

What Causes a Carbon Monoxide Detector to Go Off?

There are few things more unsettling than a carbon monoxide detector going off in your home. Unlike a smoke detector, where the reason why the alarm is going off is quite obvious (typically visible smoke/steam), carbon monoxide detectors are set off by an invisible/odorless/tasteless gas. ...
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Cleaning Painted Walls

What is a Parapet Wall?

There are some facets of modern homes that although one might not realize it, have had drastically different uses at other points in time. Perhaps there is no better example of this than the parapet wall. When one sees a parapet wall on their home, ...
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Exterior

What Temperature Does it Have to be to Fix Your Roof?

It is not unusual for me to be quizzed by folks as to what temperature it is ok to paint on the exterior of one’s home. Many may think this is a valid question as even the most novice of homeowners would realize that 25 ...
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Drywall

How Long Should Plaster Cure Before Painting It?

If you have ever done or looked into doing any type of painting project around your home (whether on the inside or the outside), the chances are that you have heard the warning that surface preparation is the key to a successful paint job – ...
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Exterior

How to Stop Paint on Galvanized Metal from Peeling

One of the more challenging types of paint failures to combat is that of peeling paint on galvanized metal. Galvanized metal is steel or iron that has had a zinc-based protective coating applied to it in order to neutralize the formation of rust on its ...
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Carpentry

Whatever Happened to ‘Bleaching Oil’?

When many folks think of New England, amongst the wide variety of picturesque imagery, can often be found the stereotypical New England beach house. These days, beach houses have often developed into edifices that could very well be said to make the average McMansion jealous. ...
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Exterior

What is a Juliet Balcony?

Every so often I hear terminology relating to a home or some type of construction that admittedly makes me stop and think, “Where have I heard that before?” Recently I was asked by a Client for a bit of advice on a project involving a ...
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Carpentry

What is Putty Used for in Construction?

When nailing up a piece of wood, composite, or other miscellaneous material, often one of two things occur. If you are nailing with some type of pressurized nail gun, there is a hole on the backside of the nail head that is formed. If something ...
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Basement

What is Parging?

New England is a part of the country where the majority of folks have some type of basement. Contrasting from a good portion of the rest of the country where most people’s homes are built on “slabs” (most often to lessen the chances of flooding, ...
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Chimney

Painting Chimneys – The Ultimate Roll of the Dice

If you were to take a stroll down any street in a densely populated residential area, depending of course upon where you are strolling, you may notice varying degrees of people who have the chimneys on their home painted. While I am known to say ...
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Exterior

The Difference Between a Gutter and a Downspout

In any industry, there are items that people not within that industry may mix up terminology for. When this occurs, the person whose industry is in the middle of this verbal confusion will most often become quickly perplexed. An example of this may be say ...
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OUR HISTORY

LOPCO Expert

While looking for a way to pay his way through college, Tom Lopatosky started LOPCO Contracting in 1995. Since then, when Tom began the company with less than $100 in his pocket, LOPCO has grown to become the Home Improvement Contractor of choice for a wide number of people throughout Rhode Island and Southern New England. Tom learned many valuable lessons as he grew the business while attending college. Ultimately Tom (in the year 2000) graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree with a Concentration in Marketing, a Bachelor’s Degree with a Concentration in Finance, and a Minor in Computer Information Systems from Bryant University (Bryant College at the time) in Smithfield, RI. 

Prior to earning his degrees, Tom graduated from Classical High School in Providence, RI (where Tom won the ‘Al Morro Award’ for Football in 1994). After High School, Tom left for the University of South Carolina to pursue his dream of playing football. Soon after his mother passed away in 1997, he relocated back to RI and completed his college career at Bryant. Tom continued to play minor league football for 9 years and was part of 4 championship-playing football teams. 

As the demands of the company grew, Tom decided to retire from football in 2006 and focus on LOPCO full time.
Under Tom’s leadership, the company culture of striving to overdeliver on every project they undertake has led to much repeat business and their clients are often very happy to tell their friends and families about their experiences with LOPCO. This has helped tremendously as LOPCO has sought to further increase their customer base. Tom’s long-term goal for the company is “To lead LOPCO Contracting in continuing to paint and build the way to social consciousness while becoming the largest painting and repair company in New England.”

Tom lives in East Providence, RI with his girlfriend Leslie and his daughters Tamara & Ivelisse. Tom has held a variety of titles over the years including President of LOPCO Contracting, Regional Board Member of the PCA’s (Painting Contractors Association) Northeast Council, President of the RI Chapter of the PCA, Board Member of RIBA (Rhode Island Builders Association), and Building & Property Trades Advisory Committee Member for MTTI (MotoRing Technical Training Institute in Seekonk, MA).

Tom has been a RIBA member since 2008 and a member of PCA since 2006. In 2013 Tom received the PCA’s National “Humanitarian of the Year” Award, a “40 under 40” Award from Providence Business News, and his BNI (Business Network International) Warwick peers voted him “Member of the Year”. Tom has been involved with BNI for a number of years as well as quite a few other networking organizations.

In 2006 Tom was inducted into the Classical High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Over the years Tom has been a contributing writer and/or columnist for ExpertBeacon.com, RI Local Magazine, ShopInRI Magazine, The Jewish Voice, The Rhode Island Echo, The RI Wave, the East Providence Reporter, and The Smithfield Times and also has had weekly Home Improvement Tips that have run on the radio (630AM & 99.7FM WPRO in the RI area) and on television (WPRI 12 in the RI area). 

Tom is Roman Catholic and is a firm believer that success is often correlated with a person’s faith, not necessarily a particular religion, but faith in a greater power. 

Roman 12:12 is his favorite Bible verse which reads, “”Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” Tom is very involved with his Church (St. Adalbert’s Church in Providence, RI) – Tom served as Chairperson of St. Adalbert’s Church’s Polish-American Festival for 6 years – and really tries to make it a point on attending service at least once per week (Tom also spends 30-45 minutes in prayer prior to beginning each day).
As a fun sidenote, Tom made it as a Semi-Finalist in the second season of “The Apprentice” (the round right before the finalists are on the show!).

Tom has been featured on the Real Estate Radio Network, the ‘Discover Rhode Island’ TV show, and on The Strongpreneur Nation Podcast. Today, Tom has his own weekly Home Improvement radio show on 630AM & 99.7FM WPRO in the RI area – ‘PROTALK Home Improvement’. Tom feels VERY fortunate to have been involved with a number of terrific community organizations over the years, such as: Amos House, Children’s Wishes, Clinica Esperanza, Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island, Habitat for Humanity of RI – Greater Providence, The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, The Town of Johnston, RI Police Department, Junior Achievement of RI, One Neighborhood Builders (formerly Olneyville Housing Corporation), Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, YouthBuild Providence, and YMCA of Greater Providence. Two of the biggest community initiatives that Tom has been involved with are being a lead organizer of ‘Clean Day’ on the Woonasquatucket River Greenway for nine years and a lead organizer for YouthBuild Providence’s annual ‘Build-a-Bed’ event for four years.

In addition to LOPCO, Tom also owns Cheer UP Athletics – an All-Star Cheerleading Gym located in East Providence, RI – and The Smithfield Times. Tom is an avid New York Yankee, University of South Carolina (ALL of their sports!), and Providence College Basketball fan. Tom’s extensive experience and overall industry knowledge have made Tom one of the most sought-after experts in the Home Improvement Industry. Remarkably, Tom is often even called upon by other contractors to help them through challenges in their businesses (often speaking at National Industry Conferences). Because he has made it a focus to delve into and solve problems that others in the industry simply want nothing to do with, Tom has become an invaluable resource for homeowners near and far. With all being said, it confidently is safe to say that Tom Lopatosky truly is – The Home Improvement Expert!!!

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