• August 29, 2024

Evanston Mansion Renovation – Lower Level

Take a tour this beautiful 128-year-old Evanston mansion before we begin the renovation process. 

Exploring the lower level of multiple rooms – including a hot tub/sauna/steam shower as well as the incredible 100-year old masonry upon which the house was built.

Follow along!

• Episode 1 – Exterior and Foyer
• Episode 2 – Library and Family Room
• Episode 3 – Dining Room and Porch
• Episode 4 – Kitchen and Pantry
• Episode 5 – Stairwell and Landing
• Episode 6 – Primary Bedroom and Bathroom
• Episode 7 – Porch and Third Floor
• Episode 8 – Lower Level
• Episode 9 – Laundry and Guest Bath
• Episode 10 – Kitchen and Pantry After Demo
• Episode 11 – Primary Bath and Closet After Demo
• Episode 12 – Laundry and Guest Bath After Demo
• Episode 13 – Third Floor After Demo
• Episode 14 – Temporary Primary Bedroom

Transcript

We’re here in the historic Lakeshore District, a few blocks from the lake, in front of a beautiful limestone mansion. I thought it would be a great time for us to just take a look at the house in its current condition and talk a little bit about the scope and what we plan to do to make some improvements. So, we are now in the basement, and I’m sad to say, while our clients’ kids are super duper excited that there’s a hot tub in the basement, I think this might be going.

This hot tub is part of a larger bath area, where I have a steam shower, where I could probably have ten of my friends in there with me. And then behind me here, we have a sauna. For now, the plan is to keep both of these, you know, until the owner figures out how they’re going to use this lower-level space, it’s hard to say.

We’re in the lower level. We’re in the family room space. It’s kind of a fun space to see, because what you can see is where foundation and exterior wall meet. So, the brick that you see there is the backup for the limestone that’s on the face of the building. At the time that this house was built, it was built by masons.

You know, the exterior walls, there’s no wood in them, which means there’s also no insulation. So what you’re seeing there is the brick backup. And what’s neat about the pattern is that every five or six courses or so, they change from running bond, which is this, to a roll lock. And so that gives strength and stability to the wall.

What we see below is pretty common in a house of this era, and that is that the foundation is made out of stone. Typical foundations for new houses that we build now, as everyone knows, it’s all concrete. Just thinking about how thick these exterior walls are, and they’re all solid masonry.

So I’m standing in what is going to be the future temporary kitchen. It’s very fortunate for us that this bar here already has a sink. We have a sink here, which is great for preparation. We also have two full-size refrigerators. There is an area over there, which is a little bit lower, that we’re going to think about possibly putting some kind of cooking range, so that we can get all the pieces that we need.

And we really find that when we can give clients a temporary kitchen, it makes the process throughout construction so much easier for everyone involved.