Logan Square Two-Flat
A 1911 two-flat with one outlet in the kitchen and no dishwasher line. The owners had two bids that differed by $41,000 and neither had opened a wall.
$118,400Contracted and paid
9 weeksOn site
4 days earlyAgainst the contracted date
2025Chicago, IL
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Survey to close-out, in the owners' own sequence.
The brief
The owners had lived with the kitchen for six years and had two bids in hand that differed by $41,000. Neither had opened a wall. They wanted a dishwasher, an island they could sit at, and a number that would not move.
What the survey found
One outlet served the whole room, on knob-and-tube wiring that was still live behind the chimney breast. The 1911 floorboards under two layers of vinyl were sound. The stack was where the drawings said it was, which is rarer than it sounds and saved about $30,000.
What we did about it
New kitchen circuit and a 100A subpanel. Sink and dishwasher kept on the existing stack. Original boards lifted, numbered, relaid and finished. Shop-built fronts on stock carcasses, which is where the money went instead of into moving plumbing.
“They found the wiring on the first day and priced it that week. The bid we nearly accepted would have found it in month two.”
The site log.
Nine weeks, five written entries and a photo log every Friday. This is the short version of the file the owners received, with the wiring find on page one.
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Day 1
Survey
Two people, one day. We opened 300mm of plaster beside the chimney breast and found knob-and-tube wiring feeding the whole kitchen circuit, live, insulation perished.
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Week 2
Scope
Priced against the survey rather than the drawings: full rewire of the kitchen circuit, a new 100A subpanel and the waste line kept exactly where it was.
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Week 4
Demolition
Original 1911 floorboards under two layers of vinyl, sound enough to keep. That decision paid for the new cabinetry hardware.
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Week 7
Second fix
Cabinetry set, counters templated. The dishwasher line ran to the existing stack, which is why this kitchen cost $118,400 and not $150,000.
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Week 9
Close-out
Punch list walked with the owners on a Tuesday morning. Four days ahead of the contracted date, and the warranty documents handed over in one folder.
Two-flats hide their wiring, not their charm.
If you own one in Logan Square, Avondale or Humboldt Park, the survey will find what is behind the kitchen wall before you commit to a layout.