Remodeling contractor in Bolingbrook, IL

The Building Division at 375 W. Briarcliff Road handles building permits, contractor registration and certificates of occupancy. The village says permits are needed for renovations, additions, alterations and repairs before work starts, whether the owner or a contractor does the job. Applications and plans go in through the village's online permit portal.

Every general contractor and subcontractor has to be registered with the Building Division under Chapter 10 of the municipal code before a permit is issued. We register before we pull. The village's permit tip sheets say review takes 15 to 20 working days for a complete application, and inspections need 48 to 72 hours notice.

The village's own history page tells it. In the early 1960s Dover Construction laid out the first tract just north of old U.S. 66 and beside Illinois Route 53. The first model homes were on Rocklyn Court, and the first families moved onto Avondale Court, west of Route 53 and north of Briarcliff Road.

Three tracts followed, sold from 1961 to 1965 as Westbury, Colonial Village and King's Park, all part of the original Bolingbrook Subdivision. The village notes that buyers often found the finished house did not match the model, with no carpet or floor tile in some rooms unless they paid extra. Those first houses are now more than 60 years old.

In a house from the original Dover tracts, any kitchen or bathroom that has never been fully redone is working with materials from the early 1960s. Opening the walls there often means bringing wiring and plumbing up to date as well, and that is permitted work in Bolingbrook.

For permits that involve plumbing, such as basement finishing and room additions, the village asks for a letter of intent from the licensed plumber on business stationery, signed by the licence holder. If the plumbing company is not incorporated, the letter has to be notarised. We collect that paperwork with the application.

The village's basement tip sheet has some specific rules. A bedroom is not allowed in a basement whose average finished floor sits more than three feet six inches below the average outside grade. Any basement bedroom needs an egress window with at least 5.7 square feet of opening and a sill no higher than 44 inches, and the window well needs 9 square feet of clear area.

Ceilings must be at least 7 feet, dropping to 6 feet 8 inches under beams or in hallways. Plastic vapour barriers are prohibited, there must be a one inch air space between insulation and the outside wall, and batt insulation must be R13. The village maintains storm sewers in the right of way, but drainage problems entirely on private property may be the owner's responsibility, so deal with water before you finish.

Room additions are reviewed against Chapter 54, the zoning ordinance, for setbacks, height, maximum lot coverage and minimum open space, and against Chapter 30, the development code. You need full plans and a plat of survey that shows the distance from the addition to the lot lines and nearby structures.

The coverage limits are tight. In the R2 district, everything on the lot, including the house, garage, raised decks, sheds and any pool, may not cover more than 30 percent of the lot, or 35 percent in R3, and at least half the lot has to stay landscaped. If you belong to a homeowners association, its permission goes in with the application. Placement questions go to the Planning and Zoning Division.

A pool and anything attached to it, such as a deck or filter, must be at least six feet from any side and rear lot line, or ten feet from the rear on a double frontage lot, and cannot extend into the corner side yard. A pool 24 inches or more deep needs a fence at least 48 inches high around it or around the whole yard. Planting does not count as a barrier.

The village says, for life safety, the pool must not be within 18 feet vertically or 10 feet horizontally of overhead ComEd wiring, or within 5 feet horizontally of underground ComEd wiring. Filters and pumps need ground fault protection. A pool in an easement needs letters from every utility company allowing it. The village's own sample survey on the pool tip sheet shows a brick and frame split level.