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Need a Plumber? Handy Man?
Pizzeria? (hey, we need one of those too). Check out these service
providers that have been used by others in your community. Keep in mind
that BlockX.org and the Block X Condominium Association do not warrant,
represent or endorse any of these
services and/or products, they just come to us as recommendations from Homeowners like
you (our lawyer made us say that :-) Have someone you'd like to
recommend? Click here.
Also, if you have a specific
area of expertise, hobby, or home based business, feel free to toot your
own horn. Your neighbors will appreciate it.
Click here.
Current categories include:
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Recommend A Service Provider |
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Almost Anything Requiring
A Handyman |
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Preventative Maintenance Inspections
& Handyman Services |
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Phoenix Rising offers Handyman
Services to Homeowners. They will work with you to get the job done, and
bill you directly. To place a request,
contact us now.
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Art |
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Carrie Secrist Gallery |
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One of our newest Homeowners, Carrie
Secrist, is also the proud owner of the Carrie Secrist Gallery, located
at 835 West Washington Boulevard. To find out about current and upcoming
exhibitions, call 312-491-0917, or visit the gallery on the web by
clicking here . Carrie graciously hosts our Association meetings at
the gallery, providing Homeowners the perfect opportunity to peruse the
collections. |
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Baked Goods |
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Cookies By Kay |
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Kay Vanasco, our resident
entrepreneur in Unit 143 has a start up business called "Cookies by Kay"
in Chicago. She offers home baked, hand cut and artistically decorated
sugar cookies, individually wrapped in cellophane packages with pretty
ribbon ties. These are perfect for any party or celebration and even
great as gifts. They come in a variety of shapes but she can also
design a custom cookie by creating a new cookie cutter. Other products
include gourmet cookies in oatmeal or chocolate chip varieties which are
oversized to be a real gourmet treat, fantastic for picnics, tailgating
and entertaining. Keep an eye out for the Cookies by Kay web site at
www.cookiesbykay.com. It will
be available soon. In the meantime, you can get pricing information via
email at
cookies@cookiesbykay.com or at
cookiesbykay@aol.com .
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D'Amatos |
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Located at 1124 W. Grand Avenue
(Grand and May), D'Amatos is considered to be one of the best (and
most authentic) Italian bakeries in Chicago. They make incredibly simple
and fresh breads - the kind that will leave crumbs of joy all over your
kitchen. The pizza bread and canollis are also personal favorites. And
should you be expecting guests, or visiting, this is the place to get a
string tied box of fresh assorted cookies by the pound, just like the
old days. They're open weekends too, but call ahead to make sure
733-5456. |
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Fulton Street Baking |
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First off, this is not a retail
establishment, so it's a gamble in terms of timing and availability. But
if you get there in time, and can convince them to sell you a loaf or
two, you'll find bread heaven is so close to home. Located just west of
Fulton/Damen on the south side of Fulton (look for the yellow doors),
Fulton Street Baking is a major supplier to Chicago's restaurants. Their
sister company, Windy City Baking, is also located onsite, and are the
manufacturers of those enormous cello-wrapped muffins you see in
convenience stores (they actually taste good when they're fresh out of
the oven). We've been thinking of combining Block X homeowner's orders
into a standing order, so that we can all be assured of fresh bread for
the weekend. |
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Cleaning Service |
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Soledad Moreno |
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By far the most impressive cleaning
service we've ever experienced. It all begins with a crew of three
descending on your home and cleaning everything -- we mean everything!
Ongoing cleaning, scheduled at your convenience, is attended to by a
crew of three as well. Soledad leads the charge and is very pleasant,
conscientious, detail oriented and reasonably priced. English is her
second language, Spanish is her first, but her language skills are
improving every day. When you call, mention "Sharyl and Moshe" and
she'll have a sense of where you live. You can reach Soledad on her Cell
at (708) 790-4227 or at her home number (708) 222-8834. |
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Dry Cleaning And
Alterations |
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Morgan Street Dry Cleaners |
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Located on the south side of Madison,
a few blocks east at Morgan, they are miracle workers, particularly
skilled in the arts of alterations and relining jackets. Thanks to a tip
from a Homeowner, I was able to give my favorite leather jacket a new
lease on life with a new warmer lining. The rugged leather look that
took years to acquire lives on. |
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Flooring - Hardwood and
Tile |
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Mr. Floor |
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From simple repairs, refinishing, or
completely new installations, call Dimitry at Mr. Floor (847-674-7500).
They've done a great job with our hardwood floors, and we're getting
them to quote on some tile and radiant heating to keep our feet warm.
Their showroom is located at 3828 Oakton St. in Skokie, IL. |
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Garage Doors &
Maintenance |
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Underground Parking Garage Remote Controls |
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Remote Controls for the Underground
Parking Area can be ordered from the distributor. For security reasons,
you must first contact the
Property Manager. |
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Doors In Motion |
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For Building 5 Homeowners who have to
maintain their own garages, this is a great company to know about. Very
impressed with their emergency response capabilities. Call
1-800-960-7617. If you're calling, check with your Building 5 neighbors
to see if anyone else needs service, they may give an additional
discount that will help offset their minimum fee. |
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Automatic Garage Door Closer |
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Another essential product for
Building 5 Homeowners. The AutoCloser is a device that monitors your
garage door position. Should it open on its own, or be left open
accidentally, AutoClose will automatically close it after 2, 3, 4 or 5
minutes (you set the time). No more worrying. Get it at
http://www.smarthome.com/7137.HTML or by visiting
www.smarthome.com and searching "AutoCloser".
The cost is approximately $79 and Keith Simmons, our Building Engineer, may be able to
help you install it (ask for a quote).
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Gardening |
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Brickman Group - The Association's
Landscapers |
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Mike Beltz (Project Director) and
Katie Kula (Maintenance Superintendant), along with the rest of
The Brickman
Group, manage the care and maintenance of our Courtyard and
surrounding landscaping.
They are available to answer your gardening
related questions, and to assist you in enhancing your green space.
Plants and other gardening materials can be purchased through Brickman,
and delivered when the ground maintenance crews are on site. You can
reach Mike via email ( mike.beltz AT brickmangroup.com ).
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Garden Centers |
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Our favorite garden centers are
Pesche's in Des Plaines,
Lurvey's in Park
Ridge, and Gethsemane's at Clark/Ashland (pricier). Pesche's is HUGE and well worth the drive in the spring.
Lurvey's is where the professional's shop, and is an inspiration staffed
with very friendly folks. Both Pesche's and Lurvey's have water garden
departments, though Lurvey's has worked hard to win over our loyalty.
And if your plans call for decorative rocks, stone or gravel, no one
beats Schwanke
Stone a few blocks away from Pesche's in Des Plaines. Other
homeowners report the little garden center on the north side of
Randolph, just east of Block X to be fairly priced. Another personal
favorite are the shops at the Garfield Conservatory (just drive west on
Lake Street under the El Tracks and you'll see it on your right). |
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Water Gardens |
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Water Gardens are America's fastest
growing landscape feature. You can observe Moshe's latest foray into
Water Gardening in front of Unit 508 (this is actually our second pond
since moving to Block X). The current pond is home to nine fish; Creamsicle, Junior, Annette, Shabunkin, Chunkster,
Lavan, Fin and Gill. And yes, they live outdoors throughout the winter (fish are
cold blooded and can't tell the difference between February and August
-- their metabolism simply speeds up or slows down as necessary). If
you're interested in a water feature, be it a fountain, pond, or pondless waterfall, drop Moshe an e-mail (Moshe
AT BlockX.org).
To see a great example of an urban water garden, visit the courtyard of
Block Y, and relax on one of their teak benches. |
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Granite
Countertop Sealing |
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Phil Albee |
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Did you know that granite countertops
need to be sealed on a regular basis to maintain their good looks? Save
the elbow grease and give Phil Albee a call at 773-407-5458. Service is
good and at the last quoted rate of $2.75, quite reasonable. |
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Groceries |
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Gourmet 47 |
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Yes, there's a Dominick's down
Madison, and a White Hen on Racine, but in-between and for something
completely different, there's Gourmet
47 at 112 N. May Street. Family owned and operated, they've made a
significant investment in our neighborhood, and we strongly encourage
all residents of Block X to support them for many good reasons - not
least of which is a great variety of imported products and ready made
food items.
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Heating & Air
Conditioning |
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Thermo Heating |
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For all your Heating, Air
Conditioning, and Humidifier needs, call Rodger Boguese of Thermo
Heating at (847) 922-3630. Roger lowers his rates as the number of Block
X Homeowners that use his services increases. |
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Homeowner's Insurance |
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Allstate |
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We've had good experiences with
Allstate Condominium Insurance provided by Steve Fejes (call him at
773-404-2200). There are two things you need to keep in mind when
arranging for a Condo Policy. The first is that all Block X Homeowners
are required to carry "Unit To Unit" coverage, which protects you and
your neighbors from incidents originating in your, or their, units. You
also need to provide proof of this coverage to Vanguard, the Management
Company or face a monthly fine. The second consideration is that the
Association's insurance deductible is set at $5,000 all of which can be
charged back to the Homeowner. This means that Homeowners are still
responsible for the first $5,000 of most any claim amount, if they make
a claim against the Association. Fortunately, Allstate (not sure about
other insurance carriers, but you should ask) offers an Extended
Condominium Coverage that will take care of the $5,000 deductible saving
you the potential expense. |
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Interior Design |
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George Paciga |
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Block X's own
George Paciga can provide you with an array of design services to make
your house a designer home.
As a special offer to Block X
residents, you can receive a No Fee Initial Consultation, by calling
George directly at (312) 666-0607.
George's design services include:
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Functional and aesthetic space
planning.
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Meeting with clients to understand
their objectives and formulate a distinctive design plan.
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Color, proportion, furniture
placement, and accessories to reflect your lifestyle for home or
office.
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Plans may include wall and window
treatments, lighting schemes and floor treatment.
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No fee initial consultation. $80.00
hourly in home consultation fee.
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Locksmith |
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Security Center |
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Steve Clare of the Security Center
services the locks for the Block X Condominium Association. If you need
the services of a locksmith for your own lock, you can call Steve at
(773)-525-1001. His rates are reasonable and he's always on call.
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Painting |
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Andy Mikulski Painting |
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A great team of painters that will
descend on your home and get the job done quickly and reasonably. They
did our three level unit in one and a half days -- two coats including
ceilings!! Call Andy at (847) 312-4100. |
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Pet
Care |
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Clean Dog
Dog Grooming |
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John Standley of Clean Dog comes
recommended by the owners of Chicago's fluffiest white Samoyed, Everest,
the K9 equivalent of Farah Fawcett circa 1970 (really, his fur is that
puffy). John can be reached at 312-563-1582, and is located at 535 North
Ashland Ave (just north of Grand Ave on the East side of the street) Chicago, IL
60622.
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Urban Tails
Dog Walking |
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Recommended by a dog owner at Block
X, Urban Tails provides
Dog Walking and Pet Sitting services. Call them at 773-592-1235. |
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Pizza |
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Need A Recommendation |
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As a pizza aficionado, I've yet to
have a great pizza delivered. We've grown so desperate, we've taken to
making our own from scratch.
Recommendations to date include:
a) Tomato Head - 945 W. Randolph -
312-226-1616
b) Pat's Pizzeria - 638 S. Clark - 312-427-2320
c) Salerno's Restaurant - 1201 W. Grand - 312-666-3444
d) Santullo's - 1937 W. North - 773-227-7460
(we're just outside of their delivery area, but if we ALL call...)
Keep the recommendations coming.
When we don't make our own, Pat's is the fallback in our house, but I've
yet to try Salerno's and Santullo's. I've got my fingers crossed. |
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Plumbing |
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Weinberg Plumbing |
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These are the folks most called on to
handle Block X plumbing work. They have excellent emergency response
capabilities. Weinberg Plumbing can be reached at
(773) 821-4414. |
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Sandwiches |
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Jerry's |
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Husband-and-wife team Mark Bires and
Mindy Friedler, along with a motley crew of magical sandwich elves, make
Chicago's BEST sandwiches right in our neighborhood. Don't be confused,
the shop is named after Jerry Garcia, and both the ambience and
sandwiches are equally creative. Located at 1045 W. Madison Street just
east of Block X. One flat price enables you to customize your sandwich
to your tastes from a wide assortment of meats, cheeses, condiments and
more. They also have salads and home baked desserts. Call ahead for big
orders at 312-563-1008. Best of all, they cater! |
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Security Systems |
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ADT Security Offer
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We've negotiated a special Block X
deal for an ADT Residential Security Package. To take advantage of this limited time offer, call Bob
Scroggins of ADT at 630-218-7526. Ask about the Block X Special Deal.
Once installed, be sure to notify your insurance company that you now
have a monitored alarm, and most will reduce your annual premium.
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Windows |
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Window Warranty Replacement Program |
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There is a
website that contains the
warranty information for the windows at Block X.
Stock Building
Supply now owns Seigels, who bought EVCO. They have a folder of
information on Block X, and will order your new windows at no cost under
the above warranty. Contact Dave Van Vuren at 1.312.666.9100.
You'll be asked
for a serial number on the windows. If you can not find the serial
number, you will be asked for for the size of the pane of glass.
The replacement
windows are free under warranty, but you will need to pay for
installation (see two installers below).
Windows and Doors are a Homeowner
responsibility, and if replaced, need to exactly match the existing
ones.
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Window Installation |
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There are currently two installers
that have been recommended by Homeowners like you:
1) Daniel Chesney can be reached at CDC
Construction at 630-774-2517. Thanks to the Homeowner for her effort and submission.
2) Mark Kwasny of MK Installations
can be reached at (708) 785-1492
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