June | 2016 | IT STARTED ON SAWYER

Though we are still some time away from finishing this project, the 2nd floor apartment is close enough that we have listed it for rent! We have listed the apartment on several advertising websites and have a few showings scheduled for next week. We’re renting this unit in the middle of the winter, which for Chicago gets a little more difficult. The rental market here is very cyclical, so ideally we would have been able to get this unit on the market in the summer time to get the best rent possible. We’re still quite hopeful that we’ll find a good tenant as I think the unit has turned out beautifully. Hopefully we’ll be done with most of the loud construction by the time the new tenants move in.

Speaking of the 2nd floor unit, a few quick items we scratched off the list this week were 1) Installed new replacement glass in the refinished built in china cabinet; 2) installed the kitchen hood over the stove; and 3) installed trim work over the old decorative fire place.

Down in the 1st floor unit, our tile contractor was back to install the back stairwell and backdoor landing tile. We also started picking out paint for various spaces and we started painting the powder room on the 1st floor. We will ultimately hire a professional painter to finish this unit, but we’re short on cash so if we can get some of this work done ourselves, it will help. In select closets, we have started to install the adjustable shelving system. We have a general idea of what each closet will be used for, but the added flexibility will come in handy. Finally, our countertop contractor was back on site to install our back countertop. We are hoping to go with a carrera marble on our island, but its in high demand, so it maybe a few weeks before we can get our hands on an appropriately sized slab. The countertop that did arrive is a dark grey Quartz counterop (think Caesar stone) that lines the top of the cabinets along the kitchen wall. We chose this stone because it is very durable, especially with spills and heat, so it will make a great prep surface while cooking.

Quartz countertop getting installed in the 1st floor kitchen

Back landing tile installed

2nd floor china cabinet gets new glass

Stairway to the basement gets tile

Flexible closet system

2nd floor gets kitchen hood

2nd Floor fire place gets decorative wood detail added

Painting 1st floor powder room

Going into this project, we knew (or thought we knew, but learned a hard lesson) that the project would require a lot of time and energy. The state of disrepair the building was in prior to our purchase had caught the eye of the city inspectors and the house made it on the Chicago’s demolition list. This meant that an inspector at one point came out and deemed that the house was structurally deficient and was in danger of falling apart and causing collateral damage, therefore the city had begun the legal process in demolition court to get the building leveled. We have had two court dates to date, both in which we had our lawyer meet with the judge to tell him that we are new owners and are under going a complete rehabilitation of the building. This week, we have scheduled with the demolition court inspector to walk the property to show him that we have made enough progress that the building is no longer a danger to our neighbors and so it can be taken off of the city’s demo list. Upon inspection, we got our sign-off! We’re not 100% clear yet, because it is conditional upon us receiving all MEP inspection sign-offs, but we no longer have the threat of demo looming in the background. Having this cleared also eliminates the liability for our eventual refinance with the bank, so its just another step that gets us closer to a completed project!

This week, we made more progress on bathrooms, lighting, and HVAC. Starting with the HVAC, early in the week our contractor delivered and installed the hot water furnace and a domestic water storage tank. Throughout the week, he then piped the equipment together, using a heat-exchanger (which keeps our domestic water a separate loop from our basement slab loop) and a re-circulating pump to help move the water through the slab. He also installed an expansion tank which gives the water somewhere to go when it changes in volume due to temperature changes. The system isn’t complete yet, but its getting very close.

Our tile contractor was back to install tile in the powder room on the first floor. He also applied the final sealer over the other bathroom showers to add in some extra protection from dirt and soap scum. Also in the bathrooms, we had a glass contractor come and install the glass in all bathroom showers throughout the building. The glass marked the final step for these showers and I think they turned out really well!

The few other items this week; our wood stripping contractor was back in action, this time working on the significant amount of original woodwork in the first floor dinning room. We also had a few more light fixtures installed, including our mini glam chandelier in the powder room. In the kitchen, we had our farmhouse apron sink installed (amazing how heavy these things are!). Finally, we had a number of small miscellaneous items worked on in the second floor apartment, including installing the door knobs on the interior doors.