Chicago Two-Flat Exterior Inspection Checklist: What to Check Before You Make an Offer

Front and side walls: the brick

• Face of the brick is solid. No flaking, peeling or popped brick faces (spalling)
• No bulging, bowing or leaning sections of wall when you sight along it from a corner
• No stair-step or diagonal cracks through the joints, especially at corners and around windows
• Mortar is not crumbling or recessed, and does not scrape out with a key
• Repairs look consistent. Patches in a very different color or hardness suggest earlier problems
• White crust on the brick is minimal. When it keeps appearing, it can mean water is getting into the wall
• Brick near the base of the wall is not damp, green or crumbling

Spalling can come from freeze-thaw cycles and salts crystallizing inside the brick. One or two isolated bricks are a small fix. A whole elevation of damage is a budget item.

Windows, lintels and sills

• No rust staining beneath or beside windows and doors
• No sag in the brick line above openings
• No cracks running up from the corners of windows
• Sills are solid, not cracked or crumbling, and shed water away from the wall
• Steel lintels, where visible, are not flaking. They need flashing and periodic maintenance to avoid corrosion

Roofline: parapet, cornice, coping, chimney

• Parapet is straight, not leaning outward, with no open joints at the top
• Coping or cap is complete and tight. Its job is to shed water away from the wall
• Cornice and decorative trim are firmly anchored to the wall
• Chimney is straight, with a solid crown and no loose bricks
• Staining or streaking runs down the wall from the roofline

Flat roof (if you can see it, or ask for photos)

• No standing water. Water that remains 48 hours or more after rain counts as ponding
• No blisters, splits, lifted seams or exposed patches
• Drains and scuppers are open and clear
• Flashing at parapets and penetrations is attached
• Top-floor ceilings and the wall below the parapet show no brown stains or bubbling paint
• You asked the seller for the age of the roof and what permits exist, because the City says a permit is required for any work on low-slope roofs

Back porches and stairs

Porches are the part of a Chicago two-flat where the code is most explicit. The standard is that exterior stairways, decks, porches and balconies must be structurally sound, in good repair, properly anchored and capable of carrying their loads. The City's porch guidelines call for guards at least 42 inches high.

• Posts are straight, sit on solid footings, and show no rot or splitting at the bottom
• Joists and beams below the deck are solid, with no soft wood when probed lightly
• The porch is firmly attached to the building. No gap or pulling away at the wall line
• Stair stringers, treads and landings are solid, with no bounce or give
• Guards and handrails are tight, not wobbly, and tall enough
• Fasteners are not rusted away, and decking is not warped or rotted
• Nothing about the porch looks added without permission. Structural porch repair or replacement always needs a permit

Foundation, grade and drainage

• Downspouts end away from the walls, and a well-built downspout discharges at least 4 feet from the wall
• Soil and paving slope away from the building
• No horizontal cracks, bowing or large cracks at the foundation walls
• No water marks or efflorescence at the base of the wall
• Window wells are clear and drain

Gangway, sidewalk and public way

• Sidewalk in front of the building is not heaved, cracked or missing pieces
• No loose brick, mortar or debris on the sidewalk or in the gangway
• Alley side and garage show no obvious structural issues

Records to ask for

• Permit history. The City's records search shows permit, inspection and violation records by address
• Any open violations or enforcement cases. The City's own data portal says its dataset should not be relied on for real estate transactions, so ask your attorney and title company to check for cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Department of Administrative Hearings
• Dated receipts for any recent masonry, roof or porch work, and the contractor's name
• Any notices or complaints the seller has received

What to do with what you find

Red flags, walk away or reprice and get a pro in before you decide: leaning or bulging walls, loose brick over a walkway, a porch that moves, an open violation or court case, a roof that has water pooling with ceiling stains below, or work that looks unpermitted. Masonry can fall on people: in 2016 bricks fell from a Chicago two-family home and injured two passersby.

Yellow flags, get a quote before closing: open joints, spalling in patches, cracked sills, worn flashing, soft coping, lintel rust. These are normal for older Chicago brick, but you want a written scope and a number before you commit. We do not guess at cost here because every building is different.

Green: a few cosmetic items. Note them, photograph them and plan for them.

Do not let the seller's "the inspector found nothing" end the exterior review. Ask a mason or contractor to walk the building with you. Read our guide to what to check outside first when buying a two-flat, what a home inspection misses on a brick two-flat, and the steps if you find open violations during a purchase. Our brick self-inspection checklist goes deeper on the walls. For the full buyer's picture see the landlord and buyer guide. When you want a straight answer on the repairs before you bid, our violations and repair team can walk it with you.