I'm Steve, founder of Purpose Design + Build, and the two kinds of work I'm talking about most this year are the ones that sit at opposite ends of a Chicago house: the brick on the outside and the bathroom on the inside. If you're weighing a bathroom renovation in Chicago or wondering whether your mortar has another winter in it, this is how I think about both, and what the national numbers say about what they're worth.
One thing first. We have never seen more joy than the day we finish a bathroom renovation. People walk in, turn on the shower for the first time, and just stand there. It turns out the national data backs that up.
Summary
- In the National Association of Realtors 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, homeowners gave a bathroom renovation a Joy Score of 9.8 out of 10, one of the highest of any project.
- The same report puts a kitchen upgrade at a perfect 10, and a complete kitchen renovation at 9.7.
- On resale, Realtors estimated a bathroom renovation recovers about 50% of its cost and a complete kitchen renovation about 60%.
- Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report found a minor kitchen remodel recouped 112.9% of its cost nationally, and eight of its top ten projects were exterior work.
- Masonry is mostly repair on the North Side. Done properly, tuckpointing is preservation, not patching, and it protects everything behind the brick.
- Every project starts with an estimate, a ballpark range within two business days.
Bathrooms: The Room People Feel Most
A bathroom is a small room with a lot going on: water, tile, glass, plumbing, ventilation and a vanity that has to work every morning. When one is done right, it changes how the whole day starts, which is probably why homeowners rate it the way they do.
A full bathroom on our portfolio shows what that looks like: the room taken back and rebuilt with a frameless glass shower, patterned floor tile, stacked wall tile and a wall-hung timber vanity, with the fixtures and finishes specified as one scheme. That last part matters. A bathroom reads as finished when the tile, the metal and the wood were chosen together, not one at a time from three different stores.
Kitchens and baths are full renovations on a real timeline, not one-week installs, so for these I book an in-person visit after the estimate. Nothing gets built until you approve.
What a Bathroom Renovation Is Worth
Here is what the two national reports homeowners and Realtors lean on actually say.
- Joy. The NAR 2025 Remodeling Impact Report scored projects by how happy homeowners were with the finished result. Bathroom renovation scored 9.8 out of 10. A kitchen upgrade scored 10, and a complete kitchen renovation 9.7.
- Resale. In the same report, Realtors estimated a bathroom renovation recovers about 50% of its cost when the house sells, a complete kitchen renovation about 60%, and a minor kitchen upgrade about 60%.
- Kitchens. Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report put a minor kitchen remodel at an average cost of $28,458 and a value at sale of $32,141 nationally, which is 112.9% of cost recouped.
These are national averages from surveys, not quotes and not a promise about your house. What a project adds at sale depends on your market, your building, the scope and the finishes. The honest way to read them: a bathroom is the room you do because you'll love living with it, and it happens to help at sale too.
Masonry: The Work That Protects Everything Else
Most masonry on the North Side is repair before it is anything else. Mortar is the sacrificial layer, softer than the brick on purpose, and when it goes, water gets into the wall and a cosmetic problem turns structural.
So we do it the slow way. The old mortar is ground all the way out of the joint and repacked, not smeared across a joint nobody opened. Done properly, that is preservation rather than patching, and it holds for around twenty years. Individual brick can be chopped out and replaced where it has already split. Parapets are what stop a building crumbling at the roofline, and where the ground meets the house we seal the seam so water cannot wick in.
What to Check on Your Own Building
- Look at the mortar between the bricks. Crumbling, sunk back from the face or discolored mortar means water is getting in.
- Mortar that looks puffy and smeared over the brick face is usually a past cheap repair, where nobody ground the joint out first.
- Check the parapets at the roofline and the seam where the house meets the ground. Those are where water does the most damage.
Patios, Pavers and Stairs
On new concrete and paver work, we design the surface first, then set slope and drainage so water runs away from the building instead of back at it. That covers patios, parking pads, walkways and front stairs. Curb appeal is where the national numbers are strongest, too: in Zonda's 2025 report, eight of the top ten projects by return were exterior work.
The masonry page has the full scope and current price ranges.
How a Project Starts
It starts with an estimate. You tell me about the project at /estimate, and I send a ballpark range within two business days. The next step is a paid design consult, and for bathrooms, kitchens and bigger masonry jobs I book an in-person visit. Nothing gets built until you approve. The process page lays out the steps in order.
Permits and Licensing
Purpose Design + Build is a licensed General Contractor with the City of Chicago, license TGC146780, Class E, and pulls its own permits. Bathroom work usually touches plumbing and electrical, and changes like those need a permit, which gets sorted out before any work starts. The City of Chicago Department of Buildings is the place to look up requirements for yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a bathroom renovation add value to a Chicago home?
It can help at sale, but it rarely pays for itself on resale alone. Realtors in NAR's 2025 report estimated a bathroom renovation recovers about 50% of its cost nationally. Homeowners rated it 9.8 out of 10 for joy, which is the bigger reason most people do it. What it adds to your house depends on your market and the scope.
Should I renovate the kitchen or the bathroom first?
It depends on which room is failing and how long you plan to stay. On national averages, a minor kitchen remodel has recouped more of its cost at sale than a full bathroom renovation. If a bathroom has a leak or failing tile, fix that first, because water damage gets more expensive the longer it waits.
How do I know if my brick needs tuckpointing?
Look at the mortar joints. If the mortar is crumbling, recessed, discolored, or you can scrape it out with a key, water is getting into the wall. A site visit tells you how much of the wall needs work.
How long does tuckpointing last?
Done properly, with the joint ground all the way out and repacked, it holds for around twenty years. A surface smear over old mortar does not.
Which neighborhoods do you work in?
Andersonville, Edgewater, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Ravenswood, Old Town, North Center, Roscoe Village, Rogers Park, and the North Side generally. The full list is on the neighborhoods page.
If there's a bathroom you've been putting up with or a wall of brick you've been watching, send it my way through /estimate. HMU if you've got design ideas.