Brick/block construction with Renaissance Stone window and door surrounds and parapet capstones on front and side evelations. Split Face Block construction rear elevation in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood
Bob Kelly, provides comprehensive exterior evaluation and analysis of masonry construction and flat roof construction on buildings of all shapes and sizes, from single family homes, to Chicago's 3-flats, to 22 unit mixed-use condo buildings to high rise condo buildings and commercial buildings.
As a moisture intrusion specialist with over 35 years of experience fixing historic and contemporary masonry buildings in Chicago and onChicago's North Shores, Bob also provides building evaluations for buildings with Stucco and Dryvit exteriors, as well as traditional frame buildings.
Bob has over 15 years experience specifically evaluating and fixing relatively new masonry buildings constructed with Split Face Block and Pre-Cast Concrete details. He invented WickRight Passive Ventilation®. WickRight vents, custom flashing profiles and innovative repair designs have dried out over 100 wet buildings in the Chicago area, Milwaukee, Tampa and California.
If your building has persistent leaks, call us to schedule an evaluation.
Saturated split face block parapet wall in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood
Since 2012, Bob has concentrated specifically on evaluating and repairing new masonry buildings, mostly located in Chicago. We refer to these buildings built between 1990-2022 as "new" because "old" masonry typically only requires periodical maintenance.
Most of the buildings experiencing severe moisture intrusion issues are constructed with Split Face Block, Rock Face Block and basic concrete block. All of these blocks are called CMU (Concrete Masonry Units) in the construction industry. Many of these buildings have a brick facade with block structural wall on the front elevation and CMU on the side and rear elevations.
Many of these buildings also have Renaisance Stone or Pre-Cast Concrete decorative details on the front elevation. Historically, these details were natural Limestone. Limestone does leak, but it filters water slowly. Water runs through Renaissance stone freely – right into your home.
If you have white stains on your walls or mysterious leaking in your home, schedule an evaluation today – 312-720-1467
Saturated concrete block wall
Rilem Test for porosity of wet masonry wall in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. This wall needs to be sealed.
"My split face block building was just sealed with elastomeric paint. It looks like the guys did a good job, but the walls are wet and bubbling. What's going on?"
Good question. One reason why that brand new, extremely expensive sealant application is bubbling, is that water was already trapped in the wall.
Imagine that your south facing wall has the sun beating down on it. After a week of 90º heat, the water trapped in the wall has transformed into moisture vapor. When water turns into vapor it expands up to 1600 times – which means it's either going to push the elastomeric paint off the wall (bubbling) or join you for dinner or both.
If WickRight passive ventilation is installed on the parapets, the moisture vapor has an easy exit. Its physics. It works every time. And it continues to work for the life of your building.
When we're hired to diagnose leaks in masonry buildings, we use moisture meters to determine the approximate percentage of moisture contained in walls. We also use Rilem testing, which gives us a good idea of how porous the walls are, indicating that there is either no sealant, inadequate sealant or the sealant has eroded and is no longer effective.
We look at all the usual leak suspects first:
And yes, of course, we will check the roof and all things roof-related.
We provide easy to read, plain English reports and estimates for the repairs that are needed. If your leak source isn't one of the above, rest assured we will find it. If your leak source happens to be a source we haven't encountered in the last decade, we will figure out how to fix it.
We evaluate the condition and estimate the remaining useful life of residential and commercial low-slope roofs (flat roofs), specifically the following roof membrane types:
Having regular roof evaluations performed is important for reserve planning. Roof replacement is expensive and all roofs have a limited life, typically 15-30 years depending on the membrane type and how it has been maintained.
We determine the condition of all the roof components, including the membrane, seams, sheathing, all roof to wall connections and roof termination, ventilation and penetration boots and pitch pans.
We provide easy to read, plain English reports and estimates if repairs are necessary.
WickRight provides comprehensive Structural Engineering Services for buildings with structural damages due to moisture intrusion. Many residential buildings in Chicago are built with the trusses, joists or TJIs embedded in masonry pockets in the the exterior brick or block wall. It is a common building practice that can cause building collapse if multiple support units are compromised.
WickRight prefers to reinforce trusses, rather than replace trusses if possible. (Damaged TJIs must be replaced.) However we have several 365 Construction Tent contractor customers that prefer to replace trusses and start new. There are pros and cons to both scenarios.
Reinforcing trusses is typically less expensive than replacing trusses and can be accomplished from the top down -- meaning that all the work is done from on top of the roof. Replacing trusses requiring removal of the entire roof system and tenting to protect the structure. Depending on the number of floors, building owners or tenants will need to relocate until the work is completed.
We are fixing Chicago's Wet Building Crisis. Working with home inspectors, we are educating building owners on building science, how to stage repairs and save their building while saving money at the same time.
We prefer to reinforce water damaged trusses rather than to replace them. When feasible, we install our patent-pending truss bracket, which saves our customer's substantial costs on materials and labor.
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Buildings need to be flashed to protect from moisture intrusion and vented properly to exhaust trapped moisture vapor. WickRight Passive Ventilation® protects and vents buildings, reduces mold growth and improves indoor air quality.
Our masons are the best in Chicago, bar none. They understand old and new materials and provide superior sealant or elastomeric application so you receive the full benefit of sealant, and the full sealant manufacturer's warranty.
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WickRight General Contracting LLC
16365 W. Arlyd Rd., Prairie View, IL 60069
(312) 720-1467
Chicago Licensed Contractor #TGC-065264
IL Licensed Roofer #104017524
Fully Bonded & Insured
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WickRight General Contracting serves
Chicago
and the following neighborhoods:
Albany Park,
Andersonville,
Avondale,
Belmont/Craigin,
Boystown,
Bucktown,
Buena Park,
Edgewater,
Edison Park,
Forest Glen,
Gold Coast,
Goose Island,
Hermosa, Humbolt Park,
Hyde Park,
Jefferson Park,
Kenwood, Lakeview,
Lincoln Park,
Lincoln Square,
Logan Square,
Magnificent Mile,
Margate Park,
Near North Side,
Near West Side,
North Center,
North Park,
Norwood Park,
Old Irving/Irving Park,
Printer’s Row,
Old Town,
Ravenswood,
River North,
River West,
Rogers Park,
Roscoe Village,
Streeterville,
The Loop,
Ukrainian
Village,
Uptown,
West Loop,
West Town,
West Ridge, Wicker Park,
Wrigleyville
WickRight General Contracting also serves the following Chicago suburbs:
Arlington Heights,
Bannockburn,
Buffalo Grove,
Deerfield,
Deer Park,
Des Plaines,
Evanston,
Glencoe,
Glenview,
Highland Park,
Kenilworth,
Lake Bluff,
Lake Forest,
Libertyville,
Lincolnshire,
Lincolnwood,
Long Grove,
Morton Grove,
Mount Prospect,
Niles,
Northbrook,
Northfield,
Oak Park,
Park Ridge,
Prairie View,
Skokie,
Vernon Hills,
Wilmette,
Winnetka
WickRight Passive Ventilation® and WickRight Vapor Release Systems® are a line of United States Patented products owned by WickRight, Inc., including WickRight Metal Coping Vent™, WickRight Capstone Vented Drip Edge™, WickRight Vented Receiver Clip™, WickRight Roof Vent™, WickRight Hip & Valley Vent™, and WickRight Perimeter Vent™ owned by WickRight Inc. WickRight Passive Ventilation®, WickRight Parapet Vent® are registered trademarks of WickRight, Inc. WickRight™, WickRight Vapor Release Systems™, WickRight VRS™, WickRight Metal Coping Vent™, WickRight Capstone Vented Drip Edge™, WickRight Vented Receiver Clip™, WickRight Roof Vent™, WickRight Breathe-Weep™, WickRight Hip & Valley Vent™, WickRight Perimeter Vent™, Buildings Breathe Right™ are trademarks of WickRight Inc.
365 Construction Tents™ are a United States Patented product owned by WickRight Inc. 365 Construction Tents™ is a trademark of WickRight Inc.
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