Remodeling contractor in Orland Park, IL

Orland Park's Department of Development Services runs the village's planning, building, private engineering and economic development functions, according to the Orland Park annex of the Cook County hazard mitigation plan. Building permits for remodels and additions go through that department, and we handle the permit and inspections.

Development Services is also the department responsible for floodplain management in the village. Orland Park adopted its flood damage prevention ordinance in November 1989, so a project on a lot near a mapped floodplain gets looked at by the same office that reviews the building plans.

The village stayed a small farm town until the middle of the last century. The county plan records that Orland Park grew 651.9 percent between 1950 and 1970 and another 302.7 percent between 1970 and 1980. Its first formal subdivision, Orland Park Hills, was built in 1957.

The second wave came later. The same plan says subdivisions of 10,000 square foot lots dominated rapid growth from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, and in 2003 alone the village issued 676 residential building permits. Newer building has moved toward townhomes, senior housing and smaller lot subdivisions.

In a house from the 1957 to 1980 stretch you are working with a home that is now roughly 45 to 70 years old. A kitchen remodel there often turns into a wiring and plumbing job as well, because the cabinets come off walls that have not been opened since the house was built.

In a house from the late 1990s or early 2000s the bones are usually newer and the kitchen and bathrooms are simply dated. These projects are more about layout and finishes than about replacing what is behind the walls and on how the rooms connect.

The county plan names 143rd Street, Southwest Highway, Wolf Road, Highland Avenue and residential areas of the village as prone to flooding, and it lists five FEMA repetitive loss properties in Orland Park. The village has stormwater projects listed for the Parkview, Catalina, Caro Vista and Maycliff areas.

Tinley Creek runs through the village, and the plan lists stabilisation of about 2,200 feet of the creek between 86th Avenue and Crystal Creek Drive and 2,800 feet between 151st Street and Oriole Court. If your house is near any of these, sort out sump pumps, backflow protection and grading before you finish the basement, not after.

A 10,000 square foot lot from the 1990s and 2000s boom leaves room for a family room addition or an inground pool, but may not fit both at full size. Setbacks, easements and the drainage pattern the subdivision was engineered around all take a share of the back yard, so we plan the two together from the start.

Older lots from the 1950s to 1970s vary more, and an addition there may run into setback limits sooner. We confirm the current zoning, pool barrier and setback rules for your lot with Development Services at the design stage, before you commit to a plan.