Old Chicago Construction

We bought a home built by Dan Kattner of Old Chicago Construction Inc in the spring of 2005. Within just a few years of residency, it became clear that Mr. Kattner employed substandard materials and workers in the building of our home. Within the first five years, we have had to replace the following, at major expense: 1). The shower pan was improperly installed, with a nail driven through the liner. It began leaking through the floor to the ceiling below. It had to be taken out, reinstalled and retiled at a cost of thousands to us; 2) the wiring was improperly done in the fuse box, which led to something called «arching» (sp?) according to the electrician. The result was a series of major power surges, which blew out two TV’s, a stereo, our furnaces (twice, before we found the source of the problem), and our alarm system; 3) the front porch was improperly constructed. The workmen failed to pour concrete underneath before building the steps (instead, they tried «pushing» the concrete under the steps after they were constructed). In addition, the ground was not treated for termites and the wrong kind of wood was used. The result was rotting steps and posts that have had to be rebuilt; 4) the frames around the back and garage doors were made with untreated lumber, causing them to rot, attract termites, and need to be replaced. The majority of these problems represent code violations in addition to shoddy craftsmanship. Add to that the fact that he furnished the house with low quality appoliances, causing us to need to replace the dishwasher and refrigerator after only a few year’s use, and you get the picture of a builder who tries to get by on the cheap by cutting corners, using incompetent workers, and providing insufficient oversight to those workers. Invest in a bulldog of an inspector if you are considering buying a home from Dan Kattner at Old Chicago Construction, and proceed very cautiously.