Kitchen remodeling in Evanston, IL

A common request in the Ridge and Lakeshore houses is to take down the wall between kitchen and dining room. In a frame Victorian that wall may be carrying the floor above. Evanston's residential code amendments require construction documents from an Illinois licensed design professional for alterations involving structural work, so a bearing wall removal comes with drawings from an architect or engineer, not a sketch.

That is not a delay if it is planned. The drawings go into the same electronic submission as the rest of the permit, and the City reviews building, zoning and any preservation questions at the same time.

Evanston amends the residential code so that any wall containing plumbing, mechanical piping or ductwork must have structural members at least five and a half inches deep. Moving the sink to an island is one thing. Moving it to a new interior wall means that wall is framed in 2x6, and a range hood duct run through a wall gets the same treatment. In a narrow two flat kitchen, those extra inches are worth drawing before the cabinets are ordered.

South Evanston's Oakton district is a good picture of the 1913 to 1940 stock: Chicago bungalows, Foursquares and brick two flats on lots as narrow as 40 feet. Kitchens in these houses tend to be compact. Pushing the kitchen out the back is an addition and runs into lot coverage and the 30 foot rear yard, so most of these jobs stay inside the existing walls and win space by moving doors and the refrigerator, not the exterior.

Inside work is outside the Preservation Commission's reach. A new kitchen window or a back door that can be seen from the alley is not. In the Lakeshore, Ridge and Northeast Evanston districts, or on a landmark, that change needs a Certificate of Appropriateness before the building permit is issued. Like for like repair is treated as routine maintenance, but the City still wants the application submitted with the permit, with page two explaining why it qualifies.

Before issuing the permit the City wants the total estimated construction cost, the name of every contractor on the job, and worksheets signed by the electrical, plumbing and HVAC contractors. Every one of them must be registered with Evanston. Standard building permits are quoted at four to six weeks, and plan revisions at ten to fifteen business days, so a layout change after submission costs real time. Inspections are booked two business days ahead and the registered contractor for each trade has to be there.