How a Chicago Porch Rebuild Works, Start to Finish

A porch rebuild in Chicago goes in a set order: look at what you have, decide repair or rebuild, draw it, permit it, build it, inspect it, close it out. Skip a step and you pay for it later. This is the sequence we follow, with the City's rules at each step, so you know what to expect and what to ask for. We do not promise timelines here, because permit review and weather set them.

Step 1: Is it a repair or a rebuild?

Everything starts with the call on the existing porch. If the framing is sound and the problem is boards, pickets or a few posts, it may be a repair. If the posts, beams, joists, ledger connection or footings are failing, it is a rebuild. The deciding walk is on the framing, from below. For how to make that call, read repair or replace a Chicago porch.

The distinction matters for the permit. DOB says a permit is always required to repair or replace structural elements such as columns, beams, foundations, stringers and floor joists, with plans by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer. A residential porch less than 6 feet off the ground with no more than 50 square feet of landing is exempt from needing a permit to repair or replace (DOB Porch and Deck Safety). Most rear porches on two-flats and three-flats are well past that.

Step 2: Who draws it?

A structural rebuild needs drawings sealed by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer (DOB). The drawings carry the load calculation, the connection details and the footings. This is where the numbers get decided, including the live load. DOB states 100 pounds per square foot for porches and decks, but its 2019-code training slides show 60 psf for a porch serving a single dwelling and 100 psf for porches that are exits for more than one unit (DOB). The designer confirms which applies to yours.

The City's 2011 porch guidelines are useful background, with guards at 42 inches and footings 42 inches below grade, but they are 2011 guidance citing pre-2019 chapters (DOB guidelines, May 2011). Your designer works to the current code and confirms with DOB. More in do you need drawings to rebuild a porch.

Step 3: Which permit?

The two paths:

• Express Permit. Covers repair of existing structures, including replacing up to 50 percent of an existing single-story porch of conventional materials, and in-kind replacement. With drawings it can also cover replacing wood with steel, upgrading railings to current guard height and opening size, and reinforcing members to current structural minimums.
• Plan-based permit. Needed for new structures, structures larger, smaller or in a different location or configuration, rebuilding or legalizing something built without a permit, replacing steel with wood, and enclosed porches.

Both from City of Chicago Express Permit rules. Whether a full rebuild fits Express is a conversation to have with DOB or the designer. See Chicago porch permit: when you need one.

Step 4: Who is allowed to build it?

A City of Chicago general contractor license is required for most building construction, alteration and repair work (City of Chicago). Ask for the license number, ask who is pulling the permit, and look the permit up on the City's records. If the work puts a dumpster, scaffolding or materials in the alley, street or sidewalk, that needs a separate permit from the Chicago Department of Transportation (City of Chicago).

Step 5: What happens on site?

The order on a typical rear porch rebuild, in plain terms:

1. Protect and clear. The old porch is emptied, access is set up, and the public way is handled.
2. Take down the old structure in a safe sequence, usually top level first.
3. Footings. New or repaired footings go in to the depth the drawings call for. We do not state a depth here: the 42 inch figure is 2011 guidance, so the engineer sets it.
4. Posts and beams. Lumber rated for ground contact where it touches ground. The wood preservation standard's category for ground contact is UC4A, and some thin lumber is treated only for above-ground use (AWPA). Cut ends get preservative (AWC DCA 6).
5. The ledger. The deck guide DCA 6, written for single-level decks, calls for a treated ledger, continuous corrosion-resistant flashing with a drip edge, and lag screws or bolts with washers, turned in rather than hammered (AWC DCA 6). Multi-level porches are engineered, so your drawings rule.
6. Joists, decking and stairs. Framed to the drawings.
7. Hardware. Hot-dipped galvanized, stainless, silicon bronze or copper fasteners, and galvanized or stainless connectors, because plain steel corrodes in treated wood (AWC DCA 6).
8. Guards and handrails. Installed to the current code height and opening size, and firmly fastened. See porch railing height in Chicago.

Step 6: How does inspection and closeout work?

If you have no open porch violations, you request the permit inspection through DOB's online permit inspection appointment form. If you are in Circuit Court, a court inspector handles follow-up. In Administrative Hearings, bring the permit and before and after photos to the hearing (DOB Porch and Deck Safety). The steps for after the work are in how to get your porch inspected after a repair.

Keep the permit open and moving. An Express permit expires if the first inspection is not passed within 540 days of when work may begin, and DOB says it does not have legal authority to reinstate an expired permit (City of Chicago). Confirm current rules with DOB.

What if the porch was built without a permit?

Then the rebuild is a legalizing project. The Express Permit does not allow legalizing or rebuilding something built without a permit, so it needs a plan-based permit (City of Chicago), and anything bigger, different or previously unpermitted needs plan-based review (DOB). That is more steps, not a dead end. Start by asking the designer to measure what is there.

Who does what?

Ready for a walk-through? Our porch crew gives free estimates and handles the permit and the inspection. For the full picture, read the Chicago porch guide. If cost is the first question, see what drives the cost of a back porch rebuild.

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.