Where we work
We stay close to home so we can be on site every day and get back quickly if anything needs attention after the job. That means Joliet first, then the neighboring towns below. Here is what we tend to find in each one.
Home base, and two cities in one. Near downtown and up on the bluffs are bungalows, foursquares and Victorians, some built with the local limestone that gave Joliet its stone-city reputation. Those homes bring plaster walls, galvanized pipe and small closed kitchens. Out west, the subdivisions built in the 1990s and 2000s are where most basement finishing and builder-kitchen updates happen.
Across the DuPage River from Joliet, Shorewood grew quickly over the last few decades, so most homes are two-stories and ranches from the 1990s on. Plenty of them still have unfinished basements, and the original hall baths are hitting the age where tub units and vanities need replacing.
Just north of Joliet, with a lot of mid-century ranches and split-levels plus newer townhomes. Split-levels have their own puzzles: half-flight stairs, lower levels that sit partly below grade, and small baths with a window right where a shower wall wants to go.
One of the fastest-growing towns in Illinois through the 1990s and 2000s, so the typical house is a two-story from that era with a big unfinished basement, often with a bathroom rough-in already in the slab. Kitchens here usually keep their layout and get new cabinets, counters and lighting.
The historic downtown along the I&M Canal has older homes with real character, and the newer neighborhoods to the east look a lot like the rest of the suburbs. Older Lockport homes often need the plumbing and electrical brought up to date as part of any kitchen or bath job.
A mix of 1950s and 1960s ranch neighborhoods and newer subdivisions farther west. The older ranches are great candidates for opening the kitchen to the living room and turning the single bath into something more usable.
East of Joliet along Route 30, with a lot of newer construction and families who have outgrown the main floor. Basement family rooms, home offices and second bathrooms are the common asks here.
Southwest of Joliet where the DuPage River meets the Des Plaines. Mostly newer single-family homes, and like a lot of river towns, it pays to look hard at drainage and sump capacity before finishing anything below grade.
Spread across Grundy, Kendall and Will counties, with mostly 2000s-era subdivisions. Bathrooms and basements are the usual projects, and the work is typically straightforward because the plumbing and wiring are modern.
A small village tucked between Joliet and Channahon with older, modest homes. Jobs here are often practical: a bathroom that needs to be redone right, a kitchen that needs more counter space, or a basement made usable.
Not on the list? Call (815) 546-9894 anyway. Projects a little farther out are often worth the drive. Or start with what you need: bathrooms, basements or kitchens.
Reed comes out, measures, and puts the price in writing. No pressure, no sales pitch.