Garage Renovation Gets Major Lift in Historical Oak Park

Garage renovations in towns that preserve the historical aesthetics of the area are challenging tasks for today’s garage builder. Such renovations involve a great deal of on-site management, lots of office time, a list of guidelines and processes that must be followed and implemented. Overall, the process can be very time consuming.

A recent project involved renovating a garage in the historical district of Oak Park, Illinois. Built in 1917, the garage modeled its older home, which had been built just 9 years before. The home owners worked with Blue Sky Builders, Inc., experts in custom garage construction, to get the job done. The major challenges they faced included the following:

• The new garage had to keep features of the old garage.
• Historical preservation had to be kept in mind during the construction at all times.
• Stucco, a difficult material, was a key feature that needed to be incorporated into the garage in order to match the house.
• Garage windows needed to be positioned away from the staircase being installed so that no one was too close to them when walking up and down the stairs (nothing could accidentally crash through windows).

One of the key things the project involved was working with the Oak Park Historical Preservation. In order to make sure construction of new homes, garages and garage renovations maintain the overall historical aesthetics present in Oak Park, the Oak Park Historical Preservation sets up specific guidelines to make sure that these projects are completed accordingly. The organization values the look and feel of the area, which is why they ask others to consider the importance of preserving the town when constructing.

Blue Sky Builders, Inc. worked hard with the Oak Park Historical Preservation, going over various guidelines and making sure the new garage matched the character of the previous garage. Rebuilding the garage required picking up all the important features of the old one, including the high quality stucco, the right trim, overhangs and pitch for the dormers and more. In addition to these features, the garage would be built higher than the previous one and include a full walk-up staircase, a unique feature for garages since many just have pull-down staircases.

When asked about the garage construction project, CEO Rick Newtoff explained, “We enjoy working on historical garage renovations, which, being lengthy and detail-oriented projects, many builders don’t typically take on. These types of projects challenge us to go above and beyond historical renovation and to consider every detail of the garage including its size, and in this case, the type of staircase and stucco material involved. We are really the only garage builder that can do this while saving the homeowner money, since we aren’t general contractors that look to ‘get in and get out’ of a project.”

Final specs of the garage are as follows: 32 by 24 ft hip garage with two 12ft hip dormers. The height of the garage is 19 ft and features a full floor with stairs.

Below you can view before and after pictures of the garage in Oak Park:

Before:

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