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H|A|G - Hicks Architectural Group

Hicks Architectural Group

On the Boards

On the Boards

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Office Interior Build-Out for Spring 2014 Completion

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.

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Queen Anne Interior Renovation for Summer 2014 Completion

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.

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Third Party Technical Consulting Services for Continuing Residential Developer Clients

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.

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Ongoing Exterior Facade & Parking Deck Condition Assessment and Mitigation Repairs for Watergate Condominiums, Hyde Park, for Summer 2014 Completion

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.

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Ongoing Brick Masonry & Exterior Insulated Finish System Mitigation Repairs for Ashburn Baptist Church, Orland Park, for Summer 2014 Completion

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.

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Residential Masonry & Roof Mitigation Repairs for Various Chicagoland Private Homeowners, for Winter 2013-Spring 2014 Completion

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.

Institutional Masonry

Institutional Masonry

After determining the extent of the exterior distress, H|A|G provided restoration and repair services for the aging home of the Catholic Theological Seminary.

Careful attention was made to restore the building to resemble its original appearance. Our work included:

  • The design of mitigation repairs and replacement of damaged areas of existing masonry.
  • The design of mitigation repairs to salvaged terra cotta, saving the owner from requiring costly replacement pieces and maintaining the best aesthetic for the work.
  • The design of replacement steel support shelf angles and associated flashings and weeps.
  • Preparation of construction documents for competitive bidding and permitting.
  • The determination of construction mock-ups to review material matches for replacement materials and establish quality standards for the work.
  • Construction observation services to routinely check, review, and record the quality of the work during the construction period.

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Small Condominiums

Small Condominiums

H|A|G has successfully completed various wall inspections, Condition Assessment Reports, and phased masonry mitigation repairs for numerous vintage residential buildings in and around Chicagoland for over 35 years.

Many of the buildings we’ve worked on were built in the 1920s, including Sheridan Square Condominiums (pictured at right), a 1924 Tudor Revival on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Masonry & Balconies

Masonry & Balconies

As part of our inspection of Terrace Square Condominiums, a multi-floor test area of distressed exterior face brick was removed at one building for multiple reasons. The condition of the masonry was inspected by our team and digitally photographed to record the current construction of the wall. We observed a latent construction defect that created a common source point for water infiltration through walls of this type. Masonry materials were collected for laboratory testing, confirming that the original brick was sound.

With this information, our team (including consulting engineers from The Structural Shop) developed a prototypical method to match and most efficiently repair conditions of this type in future work for the buildings. Repair work involved replacing the existing multi-wythe header brick assemblies with standard running bond face brick set onto flashed steel shelf angles.

Balconies

As part of our investigation, we discovered that many resident balconies were originally designed in ways to allow water to prematurely age the precast concrete structures and steel guard rail assemblies and enter the buildings. Railings were found to violate current building code strength and picket spacing requirements.

After sounding the undersides of 270 balconies with visible distress, our team determined fifteen balconies to be imminently hazardous. These required demolition and the design of long-lasting replacement balconies to closely match the appearance of all the remaining balconies. For this, our work included:

  • An investigation to determine the source points of balcony distress.
  • The design for the replacement of deteriorated ornamental steel components and new code-compliant guard rails.
  • The design for the replacement of concrete structural and non-structural components.
  • The design of new sloped balcony topping slabs, to drain rainwater out and away from the building walls.
  • The design of a new topside balcony waterproofing system and wearing surface.
  • Construction observation services to monitor the quality of the repair work.

Download Masonry Case Study PDF
Download Balconies Case Study PDF

Pitched Roofs

Pitched Roofs

H|A|G performed similar work at two townhome complexes, including mitigation repairs to shingle roofs at 12 townhomes with irregular roof geometries. This included fixing original “latent defects” in the original construction, which caused premature aging of construction materials and water damage. For the five town homes at Balmoral Courts Condominiums, the damage was demonstrated to be so extensive as to warrant the replacement of all roofs with the correct detailing.

The Hicks Architectural Group’s work also included:

  • Removal and replacement of poorly operating roof ridge vents, eave vents and “smart” vents.
  • Removal and replacement of poor flashings for vent stacks and chimneys.
  • Removal and replacement of deteriorated plywood roof sheathing with new fire rated plywood sheathing.
  • Installation of additional modified bitumen roofing materials and flashings (in order to make weak portions of the roofs with irregular geometries watertight).
  • Installation of additional waterproofing underlayment at eaves, skylights, chimney crickets, and valley flashings.

Download Timberlake Case Study PDF
Download Balmoral Case Study PDF