New Construction in Lincoln Park Chicago

We are now ready to install the quartz countertop.

We are installing the cabinets, doors and trim.

We have installed the stairs and the trim around the doors, windows and floor is being installed.

The limestone has been delivered so that we can continue with the brick work in Chicago.

The next step will be to prime the walls and start the finish work.

The flooring has been delivered and now needs to sit and acclimate for minimally 5 days before it can be installed.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.