Refinish enclosed rear porch? Do I need permits for this?

[Christian Aillon]

Hey all,

First post here.  I own a 2 flat (3 units)with basement unit on the west side of Chicago.  It's a greystone in decent shape.  I live on the top floor and rent the bottom 2 units.  There is an enclosed rear porch that is unfinished and uninsulated.  The laundry is in the basement so I have to go up and down the stairs to do laundry, enter the garden, access the alley, etc.  Maybe this isn't the greatest use of money but it bothers me immensely how ****** the unfinished rear porch looks.  I'd like to finish it with insulation, electrical, dry wall, treaded stairs, etc.  Does anyone have experience with this?  Would I need to pull permits to do this?  I DO NOT INTEND TO MAKE THIS A LIVING SPACE OR EXTRA BEDROOM.  Best case, I'd put an extra fridge, some plants, storage shelves, shoe racks, etc.  I just don't want to have to look and experience the ugly rear staircase every day, especially in the summer when I am go to the yard daily to grill or play with the kids.  

Any advice or recommendations on experts on this?  Thanks!

[Samuel Pavlovcik]

@John Warren and @Jonathan Klemm thanks for the Mentions.

The City rececntly terminated it's "Eazy Permit" process and replaced it with the "Express Permit" process. Based on the new information provided by the City for what can Qualify; I would say this likely could Qualify for an Express Permit. That being said, they would likely still require Architectural Plans...

The biggest thing with these rear enclosed porches is determining (as based on the City's eyes) if/when they were Legally enclosed, or if they are technically supposed to have remained as an Open porch. We Honestly see this all the time, all over the City, and the fact that you're looking to do it in a Safer way speaks highly. Unfortunately, while that Should make things go more smothly with you through the City, it doesn't always work that way.

A majority of the time, the City is willing to just "Accept the fact" that these enclosed porches exist, and as long as they are maintained in safe conditions you can continue to utilize them. The scope/work you were mentioning about just insulating, finishing, and making it nice would definitely be permitted, as long as the City doesn't decide to come back with a comment saying "Our records indicat this porch is an Open porch, please provide existing photographs"... When they decide to concern themselves with this, they will look at the old Sanborn Maps to see whether the porch was indicated as open or enclosed. The City has their own modified version of the Sanborn maps in their archives which, from what i've heard, have some additional hand-noted information on them, which they will utilize from time to time... To be honest, on over 100 building permits last year in the City of Chicago, with many of them having some form of enclosed porch, I think only 2 were ever mentioned by the Department of Zoning where they brought it up as a "Concern" which led us on a wild goose chase of finding and sharing information, overally causing unnecessary delay to the permit review process and eventually coming to a close (some positive, some negative). In one case, we even had the City tell us the 2-story home we were renovating was only noted as a 1-story home in their records. Fortunately we were able to shut down the rediculousness in that case but it still wasted time...

In the end, I would say if you were to pursue this work with a permit, it woild likely go through with no issues or concerns whatsoever; however, it's not a 100% guarantee. Additionally, the structure for these porches is commonly undersized and may need repair work including but not limited to sistering joists and providing steel angle brackets at the notched beam to column connections. One other potential concern that could arise in the field, is the basement unit in the case where it happens to not be unit which is "Legally Recognized" by the City. You should likely already know this information, but if not there are ways of confirming as well. In the end, a majority of inspectors would likely appreciate the fact that you will end up improving the condition and make it safer; especially if you are not trying to use the space as additional utility space or living space; just as long as the Zoning Reviewer doesn't pick your project to become an issue, or just as long as you are not hiding an illegal unit which an inspector notices once on site...

One final note;

In regards to deconverting your property to a single-family residence in the future; with the Zoning TSL Expansion, many Zoning designations are restricted from deconverting properties away from an existing Multi-Unit condition. If you have a RS-1, RS-2, or RS-3 Zoned lot you would be permitted to do so, but if you have a RT or RM zoned lot you will likely be restricted. You can check yoir Zoning Designation online on the Chicago Zoning Map.