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1400 N. Lake Shore Drive

Just East of Lake Shore on Schiller

Location: Chicago, IL

Approximate Value: <$100,000

Scope: Furnish and install walls for a ramp, new stairs, and planting areas within an existing courtyard.

Challenges: Primary challenges were a tight site, need to locate our pieces within existing structure and to align certain features with existing elements, and deliver a good looking, highly cost-effective product. And of course, as you excavate you encounter little surprises. GC did not want the concrete sub to deal with the complexities of a stepped footing. We ended up designing a slab footing and connecting our walls to that. All in all, there is a lot of hidden complexity that it is not obvious when you look at the finished project.

Architect: Alko Construction & Development - Corey Zussman (773) 529-9240

General Contractor: Alko Construction & Development - Peter (773) 529-3200

Click a photo below for a larger version:

Site before we startedExisting (and relatively new concrete) may not be square, better check and adjustLots of embeds in the slab we designed.Panels in the yardLifting jigs let us avoid lifting inserts in the exposed top surfaceDay 1 - having joints align requires a lot of measuring and thinkingDay 2Day 2Where the reveals stop is about where the cast in place new sidewalk or ramp will beCompleted job