Dormers gone bad . . .

[Suzy Q]

Somebody correct me if I am wrong

[tony la]

Those two homes were joined together about 10 years ago.  It was owned by two families.  The city originally gave them a hard time but they faught it.  I think they had to prove hardship which was common back then.  I believe the mother or father was in a wheel chair and need access to both homes.

[tony la]

Those two homes were joined together about 10 years ago.  It was owned by two families.  The city originally gave them a hard time but they faught it.  I think they had to prove hardship which was common back then.  I believe the mother or father was in a wheel chair and need access to both homes.

[Ted]

The postlady said it's one family, who combined them years back, and it's supposedly been in the paper (Trib, Times) before.

  There was an article in the Trib a few years back about a lawyer and his wife buying the house next door and combining the two houses into one larger house.  I remember Lori Theilen of the Berwyn Historical Society being quoted in the article as well about the preservations of bungalows and how combining the houses may not be a good precedent.

   I do not know if that was the house you saw, Bonster, but there was an article in the Trib on the combining of two houses into a single building.

Ted

[Bonster]

I think they did a good job of preserving them, considering...they kept within the lines of the house, single roof, and similar dormer in the middle.

[Ana]

Wow, I go by those houses almost everyday and I never noticed.  The big cactus always catches my eye.  It just looks like there is a garage somewhere in between both in back.

[mrs. scoon]

I never noticed it either.  It doesn't look all that bad.

[apatriot]

Board members please.  You must remember that with all these posted pictures of nightmare domers, the CITY enabled them to do it.  Before even one more dormer goes up, the CITY MUST do something to stop the madness.  The City should look at your home, your block, your plans, your construction materials, YOUR COLORS !!  If allowed to go on, people will come here to ride up and down the blocks and get a good laugh.  We don't want that.  There simply has to be a better system for reviewing plans for dormers or any other alterations that could make the home a laughing stock.  Maybe in order to rein in these wild nightmare dormers the City should approve only various styles.  I have seen some very nice dormers on bungalows.  It would take a group of people with TASTE to sit down and select a smattering of styles that are appropriate for bungalows, for the Georgian, for frame homes, or any other various exisiting housing stock we have.   

[OakParkSpartan]

Or a quick visit to the Chicago Bungalow Initiative to purchase plans for $10 which are very appropriate to the home...

[Bonster]

Board members please.  You must remember that with all these posted pictures of nightmare domers, the CITY enabled them to do it.

That's pretty much understood.  As berwynson noted in post 9 (PAGOTA), the city's been allowing such desecration for many, many years.  This is more of a mockery of home owners' bad taste when adding on.  As I noted, many of the bad ones could be made to look 10x better by simply choosing better siding!

I have to agree with Bear that if one cannot keep within the lines/style of their house, it's time to move and buy a bigger house!   



grammar correction

[Bonster]

Jury's still out on this.  Normally I dislike when porches are enclosed, but here's one where they enveloped the entire front of the house when modifying it, creating a bit of uniformity.  Note they also used the same siding up around the gable to match.  Interestingly, it appears they reused or found matching face brick to side the reoriented stairs.  Not a mod I would do (so close to the damn sidewalk!), but it was done right.

[Bonster]

I can't tell if they added more to the front to create this large porch (including moving the gable forward), or lost part of the living room. 
It sits slightly closer to the sidewalk than the others, but the lines where the face brick meets the sides suggest they lost some of the living space.
What do you think?

[Ana]

I think that one was originall built that way.  I could be wrong but I can't see where the brick is different or where they would have changed the original style.  I've seen other bungalows that look very similiar.

[Bonster]

I could be wrong but I can't see where the brick is different or where they would have changed the original style. 

Right, the brick doesn't look different (where the face brick meets the side), which led me to think they could have chopped the part where the living room usually extends out. 

You're probably right, though.  I don't think someone would be willing to lose space just for a large porch?  Then again, with some of the mods we see, ya never know!

[Bonster]

I wonder what this looks like inside in the mornings...

[Artanis1215]

Great, some asshat thinks it looks good, but wait til there is a fire and one of Berwyn's finest has to get into that house. 

[apatriot]

That's bad.  Now see, someone HAD to get a permit to do that.  Why did the City let them do that ?  The City is responsible.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

I wonder exactly what the zoning laws are regarding pop-a-tops and other such aberrations.  Do they just have laws regarding the square footage or is there anything about aesthetics (probably not from most I've seen).  Has there been any changes to the laws in the last 5 to 10 years?  I can certainly understand people wanting to expand their living space (which is why we moved to our present home) but at what cost.  Perhaps they should put a sign out in front of homes (for a zoning hearing) that want to build an addition so that neighbors can see exactly what they're doing and present their objections if they have any.  I can imagine some of the more unsightly ones can and do affect their neighbors resale value.

[Bonster]

I can certainly understand people wanting to expand their living space (which is why we moved to our present home) but at what cost.

MRS. N you did the right thing (and now apparently for the right reason)!

As Bear previously stated,

Can anyone recommend a company that does 2nd story addition/ dormer?

I would suggest buying a bigger home in Berwyn instead of doing that

.

There are methods to dormering/additions which can preserve the home's integrity, but if one is unwilling to do so they should buy a larger home.  If they can't afford to, get some contraceptives.

re: zoning hearings involving neighbors, other cities do do that...I was watching Naperville City Council meeting on Ch. 19 (yes, they televise them), and one of the topics debated that evening was such for someone looking to expand their garage out to the property line to create a three-car.  I don't remember the details why the neighbors didn't like it (think the soffit would hang over the property lines), but there was definitely a hearing which involved the neighbor's opinions.

[MRS. NORTHSIDER]

Talk about poor building decisions - in my area there are two homes where the gutters look like they actually meet but since they are both over 110 years old I guess we can't blame the city.  3433 and 3435 Home (sorry I hope I don't offend anyone).  Can you imagine the open land back in those days?  I guess it was either relatives really pissed off at one another or their was still an active tribe of Indians around to protect against.