Tom Lopatosky – The Home Improvement Expert

Painting

Surfactant Leaching

As New England Summers gradually move forward and the calendar advances, there is a phenomenon that occurs with painting outside which is often a head scratcher when it is seen and can lead to various forms of panic. Annually we tend to receive at least ...
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Interior

Interior Peeling Paint

While it is certainly not unusual to see peeling paint on the exterior of someone’s home, it is a bit less common to see peeling on the interior of the home. It would even be safe to say that seeing peeling paint on the exterior ...
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Exterior

Mill Glaze

Peeling paint can be one of the more unsightly things a homeowner has to contend with. Not only is it unsightly at first glance, but once discovered, the peeling paint has the tendency to draw the homeowner’s eyes to it like a magnet every time ...
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Leaking Problems

Roof Leak Frustrations

  Recently we had a Client that reached out to me, who was extraordinarily frustrated over a situation they were having with a leak. At one point over the past several months, we had done a repair around a pipe that was penetrating through their ...
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Asbestos

Where is Asbestos Found?

  Asbestos is a natural mineral made up of delicate and flexible fibers that are impervious to heat, electricity, and corrosion. These qualities are what have made asbestos a “go-to” building material prior to society eventually figuring out how harmful it actually was. If your ...
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Bulkheads

How Do You Replace a Bulkhead (aka Cellar) Door?

  Depending upon where you live in the country, if you were to ask someone if they had a ‘bulkhead’ on their home, they may provide somewhat of an odd stare back at you. Bulkheads are a term used to describe an entrance to the ...
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Uncategorized

Is it OK to Powerwash a Roof?

A question that has been asked of us quite often over the years is whether or not it is ok to powerwash your roof.  The answer is: Sort of.  In terms of actually POWERwashing the roof, as in using a ton of pressure, I believe this should NEVER ...
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Uncategorized

What Makes a Home Considered “Historic”?

    Somehow over the years we have developed a reputation of being a type of “expert” in working on Historic Homes.   I have no idea how this happened.   The same way I suppose that if you search the term, a video of ...
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Hardwood Floors

How to Get Pet Urine Smell Out of Hardwood Floors…

    You may or may not fall into the category of folks that are faced with a certain head-scratching dilemma which can be the bane of existence for some.    Even if you are not personally experiencing this, there is a strong chance you know someone that ...
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Informational

How Long Do Toilet Wax Rings Last?

    Before answering the question of ‘How long does a toilet wax ring last?’,… it may be helpful to know what the heck a wax ring has to do with your toilet in the first place…  A wax ring for your toilet is pretty ...
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Carpentry

What is a Drip Cap?

  Door, window, and water table (aka skirtboard) areas are parts of your home that are potentially prone to water infiltration if their installs are not conducted correctly. Compounding their already natural vulnerability as a possible location of allowing water into your home (due to ...
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Deck Care

What is the Best Waterproofing for Wood??

  If there is natural wood in one form or another around the exterior of your home, at some point in time you may have wondered, “What is the best way to go about making sure it is protected from moisture damage?”  Perhaps you are one of those folks that ...
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Uncategorized

What is a Lavette??

“Lavette.” Sounds fancy, doesn’t it?   If you have had home improvements done to your home in the past or even just planned on a future home improvement (daydreaming while scrolling through pictures of others’ home improvement projects, etc.), there is a good chance that ...
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Uncategorized

What is Hardware Cloth?

One item that we were asked to help out with at a recent job was to replace the screening that had been in place behind a Client’s attic gable vent windows.  Typically, the screening that is used behind these windows when they come from “the ...
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Uncategorized

What is the Single Thing You Can Do to Help Sell Your Home – FAST!!!???

  I preface this all by solidly stating that I am NOT a Realtor. Nor do I claim to be anywhere near an expert in the Real Estate field. That being said, I have been working on homes in Southern New England since 1995 and ...
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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!!!

Print Media Features & Published Pieces

Pro Talk Podcasts