One unit, one plumbing stack
A Lakeview kitchen and bathroom in a pre-war two-flat usually share the same waste stack. Remodelling both at once means that wall is opened once, inspected once and closed once. Done a year apart, it is opened twice.
Lakeview, Chicago
Remodeling in Lakeview, Chicago
Revive 360 Renovations designs and builds kitchen, bathroom, flooring and whole-home renovations for Lakeview homeowners — vintage greystones and two-flats, condo units, walk-ups and newer construction alike. Our office is on N. Halsted Street, in the neighborhood itself.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Neighborhood
Lakeview, Chicago
Typical housing
Pre-war greystones & two-flats
Permits issued by
Chicago Dept. of Buildings
Our office
N. Halsted St., in Lakeview
Lakeview, Chicago
Renovating Homes in Lakeview
Lakeview covers a wide stretch of Chicago’s North Side, running from Diversey Parkway up toward Irving Park Road and east to the lakefront — and the housing changes block by block. Southport and West Lakeview hold rows of frame cottages and brick two- and three-flats. Lake View East leans toward vintage courtyard buildings and mid-century high-rises closer to the water. Around Northalsted and Wrigleyville, greystones and walk-ups sit next to newer infill construction.
Most of that housing predates the Second World War, and it shows up in the same places: a kitchen closed off behind a wall, one bathroom serving the whole unit, narrow hallways, original hardwood under three layers of finish, and rooms sized for how people lived a century ago rather than how they live now.
That is where most of the work sits. Opening a galley kitchen into the dining room. Reworking a small bathroom so the layout stops fighting the plumbing. Refinishing floors worth saving and replacing the ones that are not. Painting plaster properly instead of covering the cracks. Revive 360 Renovations runs design and construction through one team, so the drawings and the build do not come from two different companies.
Your Building
Find your building, and you will find your project
In Lakeview the era of the building sets the shape of a whole-home project long before anyone opens a catalogue. These are the four we work in most.
| Era and building type | What you find inside | What a whole-home project becomes |
|---|---|---|
| 1890–1915 — greystones and brick two-flats | Long, narrow floor plates. Kitchen at the rear by the back porch, one bathroom off the hall, a bearing wall to the dining room, and original plaster and trim worth keeping. | Opening up the rear of the unit, reworking the single bathroom, and usually the project where structure and electrical get resolved together. |
| 1915–1930 — courtyard buildings and six-flats | Compact units around a shared court. Plumbing stacked vertically between units, radiator heat, small kitchens and smaller bathrooms. | Layout-driven work inside the existing footprint, with the association review running alongside the city permit rather than after it. |
| 1930–1970 — mid-century walk-ups and lakefront buildings | Concrete or block construction closer to the water. Lower ceilings, soffits carrying services, and bathrooms with no exterior wall. | Ventilation and soffit routing drive the design. Less structural work, more coordination with the building itself. |
| 1990–today — infill construction and condo conversions | Newer framing, modern electrical service, and layouts that are already open. It is the finishes that have dated rather than the building. | A finish-led project: cabinetry, surfaces and lighting, with comparatively little happening behind the walls. |
Inside The Building
What you are actually working inside
Cut through a pre-war two-flat and the six things that decide a whole-home project in Lakeview are all visible at once. Everything marked in red is shared with somebody else.
Scroll the drawing sideways →
- 1
The waste stack runs the full height
Kitchen and bathroom on every floor tie into the same vertical line. It is the single reason doing both rooms together costs less disruption than doing them a year apart.
- 2
The wall between kitchen and dining
In most of these buildings it carries load. Removing it is a beam, an engineer’s letter and a permit — not a demolition day.
- 3
The service panel
Usually in the basement and usually sized for a different century. If it is going to be upgraded, the first project is the cheap time to do it.
- 4
The back porch is the loading dock
Cabinetry, stone and skips all move through it. Its condition and width set the delivery plan before the start date.
- 5
The unit below
Anything opened in the floor is visible from someone else’s ceiling. Access to that unit gets arranged in advance, not on the day.
- 6
Original joists and plaster
Joist direction decides where a wall can go, and plaster decides how much making-good follows every service run.
In Lakeview
Room-by-Room in Lakeview
What the work actually involves here: the housing stock, who issues the permit, and what the budget turns on.
Kitchen Remodeling in Lakeview
Lakeview kitchens sit at the back of long, narrow floor plates in buildings that are a century old. We open them up properly — structure, risers, permits and association approval included.
Read more →Bathroom Remodeling in Lakeview
Lakeview bathrooms are small rooms in hundred-year-old buildings with shared plumbing. We rebuild them properly — waterproofing, ventilation, association approval and all.
Read more →
What We Do
Remodeling Services for Lakeview Homes
Most projects here combine more than one of these. Each links through to the full service page.
Kitchen Remodeling
Full kitchen remodels, from opening up a closed-off layout to cabinetry, countertops, tile and the plumbing and electrical work behind them.
View service →Bathroom Remodeling
Bathroom remodels that make small, older layouts work harder: waterproofing, tile, vanities, fixtures and shower or tub replacement.
View service →Custom Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinetry built and fitted to the room rather than the other way round, including scribing to walls that are rarely square.
View service →Walk-In Shower Installation
Replacing an unused tub or a dated enclosure with a level-access shower, properly waterproofed and tiled.
View service →On Site
What makes remodeling here different
These are the conditions that decide the sequence and the contingency on a whole-home job in Lakeview. We plan around them rather than discover them.
The panel is a whole-home decision
An older unit here often runs on a service sized for far less than a modern kitchen and bathroom together. If the service is going to be upgraded, it belongs on the first project rather than paying the same electrician to come back.
One approval, one scope
Associations in Lakeview review the scope, the insurance certificate and the work hours. A whole-home scope is a single review cycle. Room by room, it is a new submission and a new wait each time.
Living through it, or moving out
In a walk-up or a condo unit there is rarely a second bathroom to fall back on. Whether you stay in the unit through the work changes the sequence, the dust containment and the schedule more than the finishes do.
Floors run through the whole unit
Original hardwood runs continuously from the front room to the back. Refinishing it in one pass gives one colour and one grain direction throughout. Patching room by room almost never matches, and the join is always visible.
Access is planned, not improvised
Narrow lots, shared entries, walk-up stairs and permit parking. On most Lakeview blocks how cabinetry and stone get in, and how debris gets out, is settled before the start date rather than on the morning of it.
Permits
Which permit does your project need?
The question every Lakeview homeowner asks first, answered before you commit to anything. Follow your own project across.
Scroll the chart sideways →
This is the route, not a ruling. Scope decides it and the city has the final say, so we confirm which branch your project sits on in writing before any money is committed.
Where It Goes
Where the money actually goes
No two Lakeview homes price the same, so this is an order rather than a number: the lines that pull hardest on a whole-home budget here, largest first.
Cabinetry and built-in joinery
The largest single line on almost every whole-home project here. In pre-war rooms that are rarely square, boxes are scribed and fitted rather than dropped into place, and that fitting is part of what you are paying for.
Labour and project management
Trades, supervision, and the sequencing that stops one trade waiting on another. In an occupied unit with a shared stair this line carries more weight than it would on a new build.
Structural and behind-the-wall work
Beams where a wall comes out, stack and service work, and the engineering that has to be signed off before any of it can be priced properly.
Surfaces: stone, tile and flooring
Countertops, bathroom tile, and refinishing the original hardwood. Material choice moves this line further than any other decision on the list.
Fixtures, appliances and lighting
The part most homeowners picture first, and the part with the widest spread between one specification and another. It is also the easiest line to adjust once the rest is locked.
Permits, protection and insurance
City permits, association certificates, stair and floor protection, dust containment. The smallest line on the list, and the one that is never worth cutting.
This is the order these lines typically fall in on a whole-home project in Lakeview, not a breakdown of your project. Your figures come from a site visit and a scope, and nowhere else.
Coverage
Where we work in Lakeview
Lakeview is not one place. These are the parts of it we are in most often.
Southport CorridorWest LakeviewLake View EastNorthalstedWrigleyville
Recent Work
Recent Projects in Lakeview
Work completed by Revive 360 Renovations in this area. Every project links to its own page and photos.
Lakeview, Chicago
Marshfield St., Lakeview — Kitchen & Flooring
Complete Kitchen & Flooring Renovation
View projectPlanning a Renovation in Lakeview?
Tell us about the property and what you want to change. We will set up a consultation, walk the space, and come back with a scope, a schedule and a price.
FAQ
Lakeview Remodeling FAQs
What kinds of Lakeview homes does Revive 360 Renovations work on?
Most of Lakeview's housing is pre-war: greystones, brick two- and three-flats, frame cottages, courtyard buildings and walk-up units, along with condo conversions and newer infill construction. We also work in the mid-century and newer buildings closer to the lakefront. The building type mostly affects how we plan and stage the work, not whether we take it on.
Can you renovate a condo unit in a Lakeview association building?
Yes. Condo work in Lakeview usually comes with an extra layer of planning: many associations set approved work hours, ask for insurance certificates, and want the scope reviewed before demolition begins. Those rules vary building to building, so we ask for your association's requirements early and build the schedule around them from the start.
What should Lakeview homeowners sort out before starting a renovation?
Three things save the most time: your building's rules if you are in a multi-unit property, a realistic scope for the space you actually have, and clarity on whether the work needs a City of Chicago permit. Structural, plumbing and electrical changes often do; cosmetic updates usually do not. We go through all three before pricing the job.
Which remodeling services are available to Lakeview homeowners?
Full kitchen renovations, bathroom renovations, flooring including refinishing original hardwood, and interior painting, plus the carpentry, tile, plumbing and electrical work those projects involve. Many Lakeview projects combine two or three at once, since opening up a kitchen usually means touching the floors, walls and finishes in the rooms around it.
How do I start planning a Lakeview renovation with Revive 360?
Send us the basics: the unit or house, roughly what you want to change, and your timing. We will set up a consultation, walk the space, flag anything about the building likely to affect scope or schedule, and come back with a plan and a price. Our office is on N. Halsted Street, so getting to Lakeview projects is straightforward.