3711 Non-DOB-permitted "rehab" compared to 3701 original

Because of its original design as rental apartments – not as condos – plumbing shut-off valves may be accessible only from an adjoining unit. If a sudden leak occurs in one apartment, it may be necessary to turn off water by entering the unit next door: "Call the super!"

"Rehabs" that do not meet Chicago Department of Buildings codes and which remove shared shut-off valves leave neighbors at a huge disadvantage! Leaks in a 55-year-old building are frequent, and there may be no quick, easy way to shut off water!

In the meantime, units nearby on the same floor – and especially those on the floors below! – suffer major water damage.

Shut-off valves serving adjoining apartments are accessible under the kitchen (or bathroom) cabinets in one or the other of the units.

(The large, round, black object below the kitchen sink is the garbage disposal "InSinkErator.")

In this photo, original shared valves are toward the right and actually are located within the common element between condo units.

Water supply lines (hot and cold) and drain line enter and leave common element space between adjoining apartments.

Access holes for shared hot and cold supply valves are toward bottom. These valves serve the kitchens in both 3701 and 3703 next door.

A closer view of water supply lines (hot and cold) and drain line.

What may seem to be sloppy plastering is the result of the building-wide hot- and cold-water risers replacement project several years earlier. Risers were replaced by cutting into common element areas from the hallway. Connections farther back within the 8-foot-deep common area, however, required crowded work from under existing kitchen cabinets.

Access holes for hot and cold water supply valves are toward the bottom.

(Gaps left in the plastering allow cigarette smoke and other air pollutants to circulate between nearby apartments.)

A closer view (bottom) of the hot and cold valve access holes.

The large gap around the drain pipe (top) allows smoke, pollutants, and (conceivably) viruses to circulate among nearby apartments.