About Home Remodel Advice
Independent editorial resource for homeowners in Chicago’s western and northwestern suburbs.
📋 Our Editorial Standards
Every article we publish meets three standards before it goes live. First, all cost estimates and pricing reflect actual project costs in the Chicago western suburbs — we never use national averages or generic ranges. Second, every permit guide references the specific requirements of the municipality it covers, verified against current village codes. Third, all material and construction recommendations account for local conditions: DuPage and Cook County clay soil, 80–100 annual freeze-thaw cycles, and the specific building stock common to each suburb we cover.
Our content is written and reviewed by experienced professionals who actively work in this market. We don’t publish filler, and we don’t pad articles with generic advice you could find anywhere. If we can’t add genuine local value to a topic, we don’t write about it.
✍️ Our Contributors
🔨 Mike Dalton — Construction & Outdoor Projects
Mike brings over 30 years of hands-on construction experience across Chicago’s western suburbs — from Addison and Schaumburg to Elk Grove Village and Hoffman Estates. He covers general remodeling, outdoor living spaces, contractor hiring, and project planning. Mike’s articles focus on what things actually cost, what mistakes to avoid, and how to evaluate contractors for our specific climate and conditions.
🎨 Sarah Chen — Kitchen & Bath Design
Sarah is a design consultant with over 15 years of experience helping western suburbs homeowners transform their kitchens and bathrooms. She balances aesthetics with budget reality and resale value — because the right design choice for a $350,000 Schaumburg split-level is different from the right choice for a $600,000 Naperville colonial. Sarah’s articles cover layout planning, material selection, and how to get the most value from your investment.
🧱 Stan Kowalski — Concrete & Flatwork Specialist
Stan grew up on Chicago’s northwest side and started pouring concrete with his uncle’s crew in Niles and Park Ridge as a teenager. Twenty-five years later, he’s one of the most technically focused concrete contractors in the western suburbs. While other contractors do concrete as part of their general work, Stan lives and breathes it — driveways, patios, stamped and decorative concrete, garage floors, sidewalks, and concrete repair. His articles go deep on mix designs, finishing techniques, base preparation for DuPage County clay soil, and the technical details that separate a 10-year driveway from a 30-year driveway.
📰 HomeRemodelAdvice Editorial
Our editorial team writes from the homeowner’s perspective — covering cost guides, contractor hiring advice, seasonal maintenance planning, and the practical questions that come up before, during, and after a remodeling project. These articles are researched using local data, verified against municipal records, and reviewed by our contributor team for accuracy.
🔍 Transparency & Disclosure
We believe in being straightforward about how this site works. Home Remodel Advice partners with PHI3 Construction, a licensed and insured general contractor based in Addison, IL, serving Chicago’s western and northwestern suburbs for over 30 years. When we recommend that readers connect with a contractor for estimates or consultations, we direct them to PHI3.
This partnership does not influence our editorial content. Our cost estimates, material recommendations, and permit guides are based on market data and professional experience — not on what’s convenient for any single contractor. We’d rather give you honest advice that helps you make a great decision, even if that decision is to hire someone else.
📍 Communities We Cover
We publish content covering 29 communities across Chicago’s western and northwestern suburbs, including Addison, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Bartlett, Batavia, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Downers Grove, Elk Grove Village, Elgin, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, La Grange, Lisle, Lombard, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Orland Park, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, St. Charles, Wheaton, and Wheeling.
📬 Get in Touch
Have a question about a remodeling project? Want to suggest a topic? Found an error in one of our guides? Reach us through our Contact page.
If you’re ready to talk to a contractor about your project, request a free estimate — no pressure, no obligation.