Current Construction Projects News

We have sprayed the closed cell insulation at our new construction in Morton Grove.

We have sprayed the walls with Rub-R-Wall, which has a warranty not to leak for the life of the foundation.  After the Rub-R-Wall product has dried, we installed insulation on the foundation walls.

We have removed the forms and while we let the concrete cure, we will install the steel beams.

The foundation walls are being poured at our new construction spec home in Glenview.

We are installing the limestone around the windows, the chimneys and the stone on the back side of the house.  We are using buff colored Valders Stone from Eden Stone in Wisconsin.

The owner has selected a Cosmo 42″ gas fireplace made by Heat and Glo.

Footings are an important part of foundation construction. They are made of concrete with rebar reinforcement that has been poured into an excavated trench. The purpose of footings is to support the foundation and prevent settling.

ThermoSeal 2000 closed cell insulation is applied as a liquid spray which expands approximately 15 times its initial mass and cures within seconds into a semi-rigid mass. Fills all building cavities completely sealing all cracks, crevices, and voids where air loss and infiltration are most common.  It is designed to make homes more energy efficient, stronger, healthier, quieter and more comfortable.

We have started excavation of our new construction spec home at 937 Echo Lane in Glenview.

We have demolished the existing home and will begin excavation for our new spec home at 937 Echo Lane in Glenview.

We have the construction fence up and the permits are ready.  Once the water is shut off we can start demolition  next week.

The insulation and wire mesh has been installed on the slab floor.  The hydronic tubing has been installed for the radiant heat in the basement slab.  We are now ready to pour the slab at our new construction.

Adding gravel and leveling out the basement slab at our new construction.

The rough framing has been completed in Lincoln Park.  The rough HVAC, plumbing and electrical work can begin along with the roofing.

Drying in the roof means making it so that water falling on the roof does not penetrate and enter the house.  Since we are going to install Davinci synthetic slate on the roof, a special self adhering membrane underlayment is installed on the roof.

In preparation of backfilling the foundation walls, we are cutting the steel shoring down and are protecting the foundation wall with straw and the ground with blankets so that nothing freezes.

After we poured the concrete, blankets were put over the foundation walls to keep the warmth in and to allow the concrete to cure in the cold weather.  Once the concrete had cured, the blankets and forms were removed and straw was put around the exterior foundation and blankets were put on the interior ground next to the foundation.  This was done so that the ground doesn’t freeze and we will be able to do the underground and slab plumbing work.

We have set up the forms that frame out the foundation walls at the new construction in Lincoln Park.  We are ready to pour the concrete. 

The purpose of the footings is to support the foundation and prevent settling.  They are first framed with wood and then the concrete is poured and smoothed out.  The foundation walls will be built on top of the footings.

Since the houses are so close in Chicago, we had a settlement surveyor come out to set up control points on the neighbors house.  These control points will be measured again after the foundation has been back filled to show that there was no settlement of the buildings next to the construction site.  We then we used steel beams to shore the banks.  The shoring (steel beams) supports the dirt so that it doesn’t collapse into the newly excavated foundation.  Once the shoring has been installed, the excavation can be done without having to worry about the banks collapsing.

After the framing of the 2nd floor ceiling joists the roof rafters and plywood are installed.

We have installed the radiant tubing over the wire mesh in the basement and are now pouring the concrete for the slab.

All of the building materials have been donated.  Now it is time to knock down the walls and remove the construction debris so that we can start excavation.

The roof and 2nd floor have been deconstructed and broken down in the materials that will be donated.  The next step is to deconstruct the first floor and the basement.

The owners have decided to have their home deconstructed instead of demolished.  Deconstruction is the process of taking down the house in the reverse order of how it was built and then donating the building materials to charities like Habitat for Humanity.  Deconstruction is done by hand instead of using heavy equipment to preserve the materials.  The cost is a higher than having the house demolished, but there are tax deductions for the donations that help offset the higher costs.

The second floor deck is has been built at Mango in Morton Grove.

The underground plumbing has been completed and inspected.  Then crushed gravel was spread evenly over the whole basement floor and the insulation/vapor barrier has been laid over the gravel and taped.  Then we installed a concrete reinforcement mesh on the top.  Now we are ready for the radiant heat tubing to be installed.

We are raising the interior first floor walls at Mango.  The walls are built on the ground and then lifted into place and nailed.

We are framing the first floor walls at the new construction at Mango.

The framing has started and the framers are working on the first floor decking.  Once the first floor decking has been completed they can start to build the walls.

We are installing the steel beams and columns at Mango so that we can start framing the new construction.

We are applying the Rub-R wall product to waterproof the foundation walls.  When the Rub-R wall product is used, the company warrants all the areas covered by the Rub-R wall product not to leak for the life of the foundation.   For more information about this product, you can go to http://www.westsiderubrwall.com/

We have installed horizontal and vertical rebar inside the form walls before we pour the concrete to make the walls stronger and are pouring 4000 PSI concrete.

The forms were lowered into the basement and now they are being installed so that the concrete foundation walls can be poured.

We will be starting construction on a home in the New Trier school district. It is not too late to make some changes during construction.  More information coming in the next few weeks.

Drain tile is a corrugated pipe with small slits covered with a fabric sleeve.  The drain tile is then covered with gravel.  The slits let water enter the pipe and the fabric sleeve prevents larger soil objects to enter the pipe.  The purpose of the drain tile is to collect the water around the basement foundation and divert it to the sump pump pit and then it is pumped out of the house and away from the foundation.

We had the inspection from the Village of Glenview on the footings prior to pouring the concrete and got the green light so we poured the concrete.  The next step will be to frame the foundation walls and schedule a pre-pour inspection.

We have completed the Pergola and all the patio furniture has been moved back.  The trim on the columns is a great touch to dress up what would have been plain wood columns and add some dimensions to the pergola.

We are waiting for the water to be disconnected at the street and the City of Chicago permits, once we have that done we will be at full speed ahead to get the foundation poured before the winter sets in.

The plumber, electrician and HVAC contractors have started to do the rough in work.  This means that the lines for plumbing, electrical and HVAC are brought into the house and into each room but the final connections are not made.  After all the rough in work has been completed, the Village of Glenview will come out to inspect the work.

Demolition has been completed and excavation has started on our new construction in Morton Grove.  During excavation, the banks need to be protected so they don’t collapse so plywood and steel is used to shore the banks.  The shoring is covered with heavy plastic to protect the banks from any erosion by heavy rains.

The framing has been completed on the pergola.  The last step will be to trim the columns and do the paint touch ups and caulking.  Then schedule the final inspection with the City of Park Ridge.

The masons have rebuilt the walls after the posts/columns have been anchored to the footing. The next step will be to frame the Pergola and then add the finishing trim.

We have torn down the first house and will start start tearing down the second house this coming week.  It is amazing how a house can be demolished in about a day and it takes many months to build.

The architectural plans were approved by the City of Park Ridge and we have started construction.  The first step is for the mason to cut the existing stone walls to allow for the pergola columns to be secured to the concrete foundation.

Now that the framing has been completed we can start working on the roof, rough electrical, rough HVAC and rough plumbing.

Now that the foundation has been completed and the slab has been poured, we can start framing next.

We will be starting demolition of two houses that will become one new custom home in Morton Grove in the next couple of weeks.  More pictures to follow during the construction of the new house.

Residential Remodeling Construction Project • Monterey Dr., Glenview, IL

America’s Custom Home Builders transformed an unfinished basement in this Glenview house that was bare concrete walls and floors into a beautiful, functional living space.  We created a home theater area with projection screen and surround sound, full kitchen with island for seating, guest suite, bathroom with shower, family room and finished storage room with closets and shelves.

In Glenview, the Rub-R-Wall product has been applied to the foundation walls. This product is great and gives a lifetime warranty against water leakage for all the areas covered by the product.

You can see the product at http://www.westsiderubrwall.com/. The steel has been installed and we are now ready for backfill.

Next up measuring for steel and rubber waterproofing of the foundation walls.

Our addition in Chicago is nearing completion, we have installed the cabinets and are starting to paint. The landscaping has been done and there is only the deck left.