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Design

04 Mar

Posted at 18:39h in Angel Investor, Architecture, Communication, Contractor, Demolition, Design, Finance, Flooring, General Contractor, Hardwood, HVAC, HVAC Contractor, Integro, Integro Rehab, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mechanical, Mediation, Mistakes, Negotiation, Plumbing, Project Management, Project Manager, Project Scheduling, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Schedules, Scheduling, Small Business, TIle, Tiling by

We are so close to being done with Kenwood! SO CLOSE...

24 Feb

Posted at 18:34h in Angel Investor, Architecture, Clawfoot Tubs, Communication, Contractor, Design, General Contractor, Investment, Investor, Project Management, Project Manager, Real Estate, Rebuilding Exchange, Rehab, Renovation, Residential Rehab by

I'd be lying if I said there weren't a lot of dreams crushed in the Kenwood house. I watch HGTV and DIY and those guys that build tree houses and am inspired to salvage EVERYTHING. When I walked into Kenwood last spring, one of the...

26 Jan

Posted at 18:24h in Architect, Architecture, Communication, Contractor, Design, Electrical, Finance, Flooring, General Contractor, HVAC, Inspections, Investment, Mechanical, Project Management, Project Manager, Project Scheduling, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Rough-Ins, Schedules, Scheduling by

Well, so far it has been an eventful New Year. I was gallivanting through Switzerland and Alsace for 2 weeks enjoying 50 degree weather, immaculate views, and my new engagement!   [gallery ids="1632,1633,1634,1635"] My second day home in 0 degree weather, I couldn't wait to see how the...

05 Dec

Posted at 17:59h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Audio Visual, AV, AV Consultant, Communication, Contractor, Demolition, Design, Electrical, Electrical Contractor, Finance, General Contractor, HVAC, HVAC Contractor, Inspections, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mechanical, Mechanical Contractor, Mediation, Mistakes, Plumbing, Project Management, Project Manager, Project Scheduling, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Rough-Ins, Saving Money, Schedules, Scheduling, Shim, Shims, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

So, I locked myself out of the Kenwood house today. Not my brightest moment. The very front door no longer has a key, we've been locking the 2nd front door behind it. The 2nd front door was removed apparently. I was knocking on the door as a...

30 Nov

Posted at 17:53h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Communication, Demolition, Design, Flooring, General Contractor, Inspections, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Shim, Shims, Small Business, Staircase, Stairs, Stairway, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

Ahh, Thanksgiving week - excess amounts of turkey (no matter how realistic a size we buy), wine, cider, cheesy stuff...

21 Nov

Posted at 17:45h in Angel Investor, Architect, Architecture, Cement, Communication, Demolition, Design, Finance, General Contractor, Inspections, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Plumbing, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Rough-Ins, Small Business, Staircase, Stairs, Stairway, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

Another exciting week at the Kenwood house! As you saw last week, the concrete set beautifully. The plumbing inspector gave us final approval (thanks to my investor) and we're back on a moving freight train. Wesley and Sebastien are back in the house (yeah!) and...

17 Nov

Posted at 17:33h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Design, Finance, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

If it seems quiet regarding the Kenwood house, that's because it has been. Very quiet. Why, you ask? Two words: Plumbing inspection. What do I mean, you ask? One word: Failed. So, here's what happened. First, in the City of Chicago, you need to allow a minimum...

18 Oct

Posted at 17:24h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Demolition, Design, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Saving Money, Small Business, Venture Capital, Workplace Politics by

Robert, my GC, is still on vacation this week which creates a stressful dynamic in the renovation process. There were quite a few responses to questions that started with "I think what he meant is...

13 Oct

Posted at 17:21h in Angel Investor, Architect, Architecture, Communication, Demolition, Design, Finance, General Contractor, Human Resources, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Politics, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Uncategorized, Venture Capital, Workplace Politics by

The Kenwood house is moving like a freight train right now. We're on our second week jacking up the floors - this is not something that is done in a day, the house is a century old so we have to inch up the floors...

02 Oct

Posted at 17:14h in Angel Investor, Architect, Architecture, Communication, Demolition, Design, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

After biking home from the Kenwood house today, I decided to move the car into our brand new spankin' parking space behind my building. As I was pulling out of our parallel parking spot on the curb, a car at the stop sign decided he...