We were lucky enough to have a mild January in Chicago, but February and early March were not as kind. We’ve been held up for a few weeks with freezing temperatures and snow, but as spring slowly crawls back we are making progress. Our mason spent two weekends sand blasting the exterior and the results are mind-blowing; who knew the building was made of red brick!!

Below are a handful of photos during and after sandblasting. Of all the work we have done to date, this has to be the most noticeable change. Good bye to the last 120 years of soot and grime!

We were blessed with a break in the Chicago January weather. We are taking advantage of this January heat wave and getting as much work done as we can before the temperatures drop below freezing again. At Week 08 we have the basement fully demolished and 90% of the demo in the second floor unit complete. Why is it taking us so long to demo, you ask? Two words: selective demolition. We are carefully removing the plaster ceiling without damaging the structure; removing the lath and plaster on the walls without scratching the doors or trim; and repairing the brick work while minimizing the damage to the hardwood floors.

We have yet another full dumpster ready for sorting and processing by Ravenswood Disposal Services, Inc. RDS will pick up, sort and recycle our construction and demolition waste. They are able to divert any scrap wood, metal, paper, cardboard, gypsum, and stone products from landfill. We are working to salvage, donate, or restore as much as possible in the house, but not everything can be saved. Materials that are at the end of their useful product life are sent to RDS for processing. At the end of our project RDS will send us a formal report outlining the construction and demolition debris diverted from the landfill.

http://www.ravenswooddisposal.com/