Hicks Architectural Group
Hicks Architectural Group provides ongoing property maintenance and capital improvements for this three-story retail property located along Chicago’s “Rodeo Drive.” Over two years, we’ve provided owner inspection services, assessment reports, design, bid, and permitting documents for roof replacements and an entry court renovation, as well as code-compliant emergency electrical upgrades.
Hicks Architectural Group acted as the Owner’s Agent, coordinating work between the design architects, building ownership, and building contractors for this 3,000 square-foot condominium second-level expansion.
Hicks Architectural Group is a trusted expert source of high-end residential construction review and observation. Here are just a few examples:
Acting as the Owner’s Agent, we coordinated and reviewed all aspects of a new three-story, 7,000 square-foot home construction in Lincoln Park. Also in Lincoln Park, we provided contractor benchmark inspection services for a custom mansion.
In Lakeview, our monitoring on a new three-story 6,000 square-foot custom home resulted in the rejection of poorly designed partially constructed masonry exterior walls, which were required to be demolished and reconstructed correctly.
For a Glencoe home renovation, we performed routine construction observation for the owners to monitor work quality and administer building contractor draw request payments.
Many residents of this 560-unit, eight-building residential complex constructed in the 1970s were reporting leaking exterior walls, and large areas of face brick were observed to spall brick “crust.”
Our team surveyed the interiors of 75+ units to immediately address items for short-term repairs, made up-close, hands-on inspections of all buildings, mapped the locations and types of deterioration onto “Façade Maps” of all elevations, removed, laboratory-tested and analyzed the key areas of suspect face brick, and prepared a comprehensive Condition Assessment Report of our findings to meet the highest industry standards of care for the owner.
As part of our investigation, we discovered that the original balcony design allowed water to prematurely age the precast concrete structures and steel guardrail assemblies, and also enter the buildings. Imminently hazardous balconies were identified and our team designed matching replacement concrete structural repairs, balcony waterproofing systems, finishes and new code-compliant guardrails, and monitored the quality of the repair work.
A small business with 3-4 employees is moving into a “vanilla box” 1,200 square foot commercial space in Lincoln Square. HAG has completed design and construction documents for a casual, contemporary interior-on-a-budget to provide characterful daytime workspace and evening seminar/workshop facilities.
This 6,000 sq ft “Orange Listed” Chicago Landmark mansion in Wicker Park has been gutted, altered, and segmented so many times over its 120+ year life that the original interior has been destroyed. HAG was requested to reunite the disparate interior and the beautiful Queen Anne exterior to create a comfortable, classic single family home. Currently, we are developing accurate 3D computer models to plan room layouts and demonstrate the future “feel” of the renovation.
HAG performs regular benchmark inspections for high-end residential builders, helping them to accurately pinpoint new construction deficiencies prior to the completion of work. Recently completed: the interior-side inspection of the roof, exterior walls, and building systems to confirm the watertightness of the building’s construction and suitability for insulation and drywall installation.
Over a seven-year relationship with this building (built circa 1971), HAG has become this owner’s go-to expert for a variety of building diagnostic services and mitigation repairs. Currently, we are preparing bid documents to direct concrete repairs on the aging exterior facades, roof parapets, and multi-level garage interior to further extend the life of the property.
Built circa 1990, this church has been plagued with a variety of interior water damage. After a close visual inspection of the exterior and a review of a few targeted construction openings, HAG prepared a condition assessment report of our findings. Phased exterior mitigation repairs, started in 2013, will conclude in 2014.
HAG is proud to have assisted these homeowners, diagnosing their water leaks, prescribing repairs, reviewing contractor bids, inspecting the construction and signing off on the quality of these completed projects.