Chicago Building Types: What You Own and What It Needs

Chicago building types come down to a handful of shapes: the two-flat, the three-flat, the greystone, the bungalow, the courtyard building and the storefront with apartments above. Each one carries the same City maintenance duties, and each tends to show its age in a different place. Know which you own and you know where to look first.

This guide is for owners, landlords and buyers who want a plain map. We describe the types by how they are built and what we commonly find on them. We don't make claims about who built what and when, because that history isn't something we can source here. If you want a quick answer by type, jump to the table further down.

Why does your building type matter?

Because the same weather hits every Chicago building, but not every building takes it the same way. A brick two-flat has a wall of masonry, a flat roof behind a parapet and wood porches at the back. A bungalow has a roof that sheds water over the walls differently. A courtyard building has long wall runs and a shared yard. A storefront has a shop below and apartments above, and often two different owners' worth of problems.

What the building is made of tells you what fails first:

• Brick walls fail at the mortar joints, then at the brick face, lintels and the top of the wall.
• Stone fronts fail at sills, steps and joints.
• Wood frame fails where water sits: porch posts, stair treads, siding at the base.
• Flat roofs fail where they meet the parapet and where water ponds.

The type is also a clue about who your neighbors are, what's attached to what and where a problem in one building becomes a problem in the next. For attached buildings, see demolishing an attached Chicago building for how party walls get treated when they're touched.

What does the City require of every building type?

The same thing. Chicago's maintenance rule for existing buildings applies whatever the shape. Title 14X says the exterior of a structure must be maintained in good repair, structurally sound and sanitary. The unsafe conditions it names include masonry joints that are not weather resistant or water tight, veneer, cornices, trim and facings not properly anchored, and exterior stairs, decks, porches and balconies, including guards and handrails, that are not structurally sound or properly anchored (Title 14X).

For porches in particular, the same title says exterior stairways, decks, porches and balconies must be maintained structurally sound, in good repair, properly anchored and capable of supporting the imposed loads (Title 14X).

What does that look like on a real building? The owner gets cited for what an inspector can see from outside. Most violations on occupied buildings start from a 311 complaint, because the Department of Buildings reviews every complaint at the start of each business day to decide which need an inspection (City of Chicago). Anybody can report a problem building through 311, including porch safety, construction without a permit and vacant buildings (Department of Buildings).

One exception people ask about. The City's Exterior Wall Program, with its required reports on facades, applies to high-rise buildings, which the City's rule defines as more than 80 feet above grade. A typical two-flat or three-flat isn't in it. But every existing building of any height still has the 14X maintenance duties, and an inspector can cite loose masonry, a parapet, a cornice or a lintel after a complaint (City of Chicago). For a full picture of how violations happen, see our Chicago building violations guide.

Chicago two-flats and three-flats

Chicago two-flats

A two-flat is a building with two dwelling units, usually one over the other, with a shared entry or two separate ones. Many are brick with a flat roof, a front stoop and a wood back porch with stairs to the yard. Many have a basement unit or a storage basement below.

What we commonly see first on brick two-flats: open or sandy mortar joints, loose brick near the roofline, parapet coping that has lost its seal, and rear porches with soft posts or loose guards. These are the exact items the City names in Title 14X, which is why they come up on inspections.

Two-flats are the building where the owner often lives in one unit and rents the other, which makes decisions about repair and timing a family budget question. We cover the details in what a Chicago two-flat is and what it needs from you, how a two-flat is laid out and when a brick two-flat starts failing. The most common City items are in common violations on two-flats.

Chicago three-flats

A three-flat adds a third unit, normally another floor, and with it a taller wall, a longer back porch stack and a bigger roof area. A stack of three porch levels means more posts, more landings and more guards that count.

What goes wrong first is usually porch related: the upper levels, which are the hardest to inspect and the easiest to ignore. The City's maintenance rule treats every level the same (Title 14X). Our piece on what goes wrong first on Chicago three-flats walks through the items to check, and our porch guide covers the rebuild side.

Chicago greystones

A greystone is a masonry building with a gray limestone front, often with a bay, a raised entry and stone steps. The sides and rear are often brick. The stone front is what sets it apart.

Greystones need care that a plain brick wall doesn't. Stone sills crumble, joints open and the limestone can scale. If a building is landmarked or proposed for landmark status, the "no permit" exemptions may not apply to it (City of Chicago). Before repairing the front of a greystone in a landmark district, ask the Department of Buildings and the Department of Planning and Development what review applies.

See what a Chicago greystone is and what it needs, greystone versus brownstone for the naming question, tuckpointing limestone on a greystone and crumbling limestone sills.

Chicago bungalows

A bungalow is a one and a half story house, usually brick, set on a standard lot with a low profile and a gable or hip roof, often with a front porch or a bay. The shape is compact and the walls are plain.

What we commonly see: shingle roof wear, chimney tops and flashing, mortar joints and basements. The brick is simple, but the roof is the big item over time. We aren't going to say when or where bungalows were built, because we can't source it here. For care and typical problems, see what a Chicago bungalow needs over time, the bungalow belt and shingle roof replacement on a bungalow.

Courtyard and mixed-use buildings

Chicago courtyard buildings

A courtyard building wraps its units around an open yard or court that faces the street. That means long runs of wall, shared walkways or stairs, and a lot of masonry seen from inside the court as well as from the street.

What the shape does is spread the exposure. Every wall faces a yard, so a failure at one end of the court can affect the entry, the stairs and the neighbors' windows. We covered the shared responsibility questions in Chicago courtyard buildings: shared walls, shared problems. A building like this is almost always a multi-unit owner or association question, so ask who is responsible for what before work starts.

Mixed-use storefront buildings

A storefront building has a shop at street level and apartments above, usually in a brick building with a flat roof. The ground floor has its own front, windows and doors, and its own tenant.

The ownership picture gets complicated: a commercial tenant below, residential tenants above, and an owner who answers to both. A general contractor license is needed for most construction work in Chicago, including work that is exempt from a building permit (City of Chicago). Whatever the building, make sure the contractor you hire is licensed. See Chicago mixed-use storefront buildings: what owners face.

Frame buildings and workers cottages

Not every Chicago building is brick. Wood frame buildings, including frame two-flats and small cottages, have a different set of weak points: siding, trim, porch framing and the base of the wall where moisture lingers. Brick faced buildings hide wood framing behind the face, and a frame building shows it.

For how frame and brick two-flats compare on upkeep, see frame versus brick two-flats. For the small cottage form, see what is a Chicago workers cottage. We describe both from what owners commonly see. For age and date questions, check with the Department of Buildings or your title records.

Common brick, face brick and the mortar that holds it

Whatever the type, most of what you see is brick and mortar, and the mortar is the part that's supposed to give.

The National Park Service's guidance on repointing historic masonry says new mortar must be softer, as measured in compressive strength, and more vapor permeable than the masonry units, and no harder or less permeable than the historic mortar. The joint is the sacrificial element: the mortar should relieve stress, not the brick (NPS Preservation Brief 2). Mortar that is too hard damages the brick it was meant to protect. The same brief points to lime rich mixes for historic masonry, and to removing old mortar to a depth of two to two and a half times the joint width (NPS Preservation Brief 2).

That's the guidance behind the problem we see so often, where a hard, gray repair sits in a soft old wall. See Chicago common brick: what it is and why it's soft, common brick versus face brick and the mortar mistake that ruins Chicago brick. For tuckpointing itself, see our Chicago tuckpointing guide.

Quick reference: type by type

Warning signs, by type

Some signs mean call a pro now. They apply to most of the types above:

• Brick that is loose, hollow sounding or flaking near a roofline, window or the front of the building.
• Mortar you can scrape out with a key.
• A porch that moves under foot, a post that feels soft at the base, a guard or handrail that wobbles.
• A stain that grows below a window, a bulge in the wall or stair step cracks in the brick.
• A parapet that leans or has lost its cap.
• Water coming through the wall after rain.

Loose masonry can fall on people, not just on the lawn. One reported example is a July 2016 incident where bricks fell from a two-family home in North Lawndale and injured two passersby (ABC7 Chicago). A news report on a church facade collapse says City records cited the owner for failing to keep exterior walls in good repair (CBS Chicago). We bring those up not to scare anyone but to say that what hits the sidewalk becomes the owner's problem fast.

Our brick self-inspection checklist and spring porch safety checklist turn those signs into a walk-around you can do yourself. You can do the looking. The fixing is for a licensed contractor.

When to call a contractor, and what to ask

Ask for someone who knows your type of building. The questions that matter:

1. Is the contractor licensed in Chicago for this work? Confirm it on the City's lookup.
2. Does the work need a permit? Many repairs do. The City requires a permit before most construction, demolition and repair work, with a limited exemption list (City of Chicago).
3. What is the repair actually going to look like? Matched mortar, replaced bricks, new posts, flashing.
4. What are the cost drivers? Access, height, extent of failure, scaffolding and public way permits.

You can compare the answers across contractors. And if you already have a City notice, start with the violation guide.

Where to go next

Which building type are you?

• Owner living in one unit, renting the other: start with the two-flat guide and the exterior repair budget.
• Buying or inheriting: read our landlord and buyer guide first.
• Brick problem: see our brick and masonry guide.
• Porch problem: see our porch repair guide.
• Roof problem: see our flat roof and shingle roof guide.

Akats is a licensed and insured Illinois contractor, minority owned and family operated, with masonry, concrete, roofing, porch, demolition and excavation crews in-house. We work in English and Spanish. See our services for what we handle, then request a free estimate or call 312-339-9627.

Common questions

This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.