Evanston Historic Landmark Renovation

This construction project was completed in two separate stages to allow the owners to remain in their home during the process.

Stage One – Interior Renovation of the Second Floor

During previous remodeling, the house had been divided into two apartments. A major portion of our job during the first stage was to convert the house back into a single family residence. We started by demolishing the rear exterior stairs and existing kitchen to make room for the new master bathroom. Then we also built a master bedroom with two closets, partially renovated a second bathroom, and added some Marvin windows and doors.  We finished by carefully restoring the old interior trims and existing doors and repairing and refinishing the hardwood floors.

Stage Two – First Floor Renovation and Exterior Renovation

Our focus during the second stage of remodeling was to bring back the wrap-around front porch and repair structural damages.  With help from Foster Dale Architects Inc., the owners obtained approval for the project design for the City of Evanston’s Preservation Commission and moved to the second floor to allow us to demolish 80% of the first level.

We installed new steel beams and columns, reconstructed the front porch and living room, and rebuilt parts of the walls and roof after discovering structural damages in the family room area. Then we created a new back porch and a new kitchen with custom cabinetry, a mahogany island, as well as a mahogany hood. After repairing and refinishing the existing hardwood floors and adding new quarter sawn oak and Brazilian cherry floor sections where necessary, we rebuilt the stairs to the second floor.

During the second stage, we also replaced most of the existing plumbing, renewed and reconfigured the existing hot water heating system, and installed a new Space Pac air conditioning system. On the home’s exterior, we replaced damaged siding and trim, installed new roofing, and rebuilt and tuck pointed the chimneys. The front porch received new fir flooring, columns and railings, and we finished by giving the whole house a new paint job.

[view slideshow]

front porch - before

dining room - before

framing & new steel

drywall installation

master bedroom

master bathroom

dining room

new oak & brazilian cherry stairs

restored woodwork @ hall

new kitchen with mahogany island & hood

custom cabinets @ kitchen

restored woodwork & custom built-ins

remodeled living room with new trimwork

renovated front porch

restored oak door & new french door

bluestone patio

new back porch

renovated house & restored front porch