Building Restoration

Preservation of Historic Chicago Homes & Offices

Restoration architectural drawings are developed to illustrate vintage details to be replicated for the physical construction of components on a building. These drawings may include elevations, partial details, plans, sections, technical notes to successfully communicate the ideas to a contractor.

Furthermore, restoration is the reconstruction of vintage structures to their former appearance or an improved state. This includes updating and modernizing the building for today’s standard of living. Hierarchy decisions are made during the selection of building’s artifacts for conservation. Each piece is investigated to determine the amount of restoration or reconstruction necessary to make it whole and original. Extracted samples of existing mortar from the masonry joints are sent to laboratory for analysis. This aids in the selection of new mortar to match existing mortar. Restoration many times uses less resources and energy. Building materials are reclaimed, reused, and/or refurbished for future generations to enjoy their aesthetic beauty. The effort of the architect is to develop detailed construction restoration or preservation drawings based on the building’s original style.

US-BES has substantial understanding and experience in the inspection and renovation of the exterior of buildings and structural components dating from the industrial revolution to the present time. Whether they are landmarks, vintage, or contemporary buildings. The materials used for these buildings varied and detailed construction components are technically complex. The exterior walls and roofing systems manufactured, assembled, and designed to withstand the environmental weathering of climate. Sampling enables us to understand the forces of airborne pollutants, freezing-thawing cycles, high and low temperature swings, ultraviolet degradation, and snow loads.

It is critical to have a clear understanding of the adhesion properties of cementitious products and sealants. Surfaces if not properly sealed will experience failure quickly if the surface is not adequately free of dust and soot accumulations. Rainstorm is mixed with sulfates and carbon, which when enters building joints, it can also migrate into metal components of the building. This will lead to corrosion, water leakage, and possibly mold growth. It is imperative that construction professionals that are well versed in a variety of different techniques and methods in restoration buildings are used.

Our knowledge and experience can manage the comprehensive requirements necessary for the restoration of these buildings.

Preservation architectural drawings are developed to illustrate historical details to be replicated for the physical construction of components on a building. These drawings may include elevations, partial details, plans, sections, technical notes to successfully communicate the ideas to a contractor.

“Rehabilitation is defined as the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.”

— The U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines; National Park Services

Furthermore, preservation is the appraisal method for identifying components of landmark or vintage buildings to update and modernize them for today’s current living use. The architect will take mortar samples to a laboratory to examine the composition of the mortar to create a match. This enables the architect to specify and match the existing mortar with the new. Brick, terra cotta, limestone, or other materials are sent to material supply houses for comparison and to match the existing in-kind with the new. The selected material is later written into the architectural specifications for the preservation contractor to following during reconstruction. The architect’s design team also explores the components of the structure to determine, from a conservation viewpoint, what is salvageable, reusable, reversible, or if replication is necessary to ensure the building’s elements are represented in its original architectural state. The architect’s effort is to use affordable and efficient state of the art conservation, restoration, preservation, and replication techniques that adhere to the owner’s budget.

US-BES understands that preservation is important to community wellbeing and historical heritage. It’s a very effective method of ensuring sustainably in construction. There are fewer materials and resources used when there is an existing building. Besides the benefits to environmental savings, historic and vintage buildings are generally more durably built, use superior materials, include complex detail than can be accomplished affordably within current construction market cost. When weighing the cultural value and conservation significances, there is no substitute than the original. Once a historical or a vintage structure is destroyed, the community loses a piece of its heritage. There is no feasible or practical method to replacing in-kind design within a reasonable construction budget.

US-BES provides a complete menu of historical preservation services, historic structure reports, existing assessment reports, detailed preservation plans, as well as design services for conservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reuse projects.