— HISTORICAL RESTORATION | LUXURY INTERIORS | BUILDING ENVELOPE REPAIR
The Beverly
Mansard
PRACTICE AREA
Custom Residential | Remediation
LOCATION
Beverly | Chicago, IL
SCOPE
Envelope Remediation | Historic Restoration | Luxury Interiors |
RECOGNITION
Contractor of the Year by National Association of the Remodeling Industry
— THE PROJECT
A century of character
made sound
beneath the surface.
A French-styled house in Chicago's historic Beverly neighborhood wears the mansard roof that gives it away — a 17th-century form, hipped and gambreled on every side, unmistakable from the golf course beyond. The project began not with aesthetics, but with failure: ice had frozen to the interior walls at the front facade and the plaster had given way. What started as a facade restoration grew, through an extensive preconstruction process, into an exterior rebuild, an interior renovation, and a finished basement.
The cure ran deeper than the surface. The front dormers were rebuilt from the control layers out: air, water, vapor, and thermal barriers installed to a standard the original construction never contemplated — and new windows were set and flashed into the rebuilt envelope. The restoration demanded the same patience above the studs: masonry was matched by hand-selecting historic brick, a Level 5 finish was skimmed across century-old gypsum until raking light showed no variance, handmade tile was set to exacting pattern and grout lines, and the staircase was fitted with custom-fabricated ornamental steel handrails — the home’s daily touches made objects of craft.
Old-world craft governs the surfaces, building science governs the walls — and the house is, at last, dry, warm, and beautiful.
— CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION
The finished house reads as though it had never failed. The rebuild tells otherwise. These images and clips document the envelope taken back to its control layers, the hand-matched brick at the rear dormer, and the Level 5 skim worked across century-old gypsum. They show the building science and the patience that no finish reveals.
Exterior masonry consisted of hand-selected historical brick to infill new openings and compromised assemblies, the final product intended to look like it was always there.
Handmade tiles were custom modified for meticulous design intent. Fun fact: these tiles were selected as a quiet homage to the client’s maiden name. This fact made our duty for perfection even more important.
A level 5 drywall finish was applied over the historic drywall panels, and rake lights were used to reveal any remaining imperfections before the final product was considered complete.
Comparing design intent to uncovered conditions at the compromised envelope.
The existing drywall consisted of the original 2’x2’ gypsum which debuted in the early 20th century. This created severe unevenness of texture throughout the home.
Ally coaching the drywall team. Challenging work isn’t where we struggle, it’s where we thrive.
At Integro, we believe an ounce of pretention is worth a pound of manure.
The rear elevation, using the sidelight of the exterior door as the linear window for the new powder room.
The kitchen doorway sidelite was used to define the new interior powder room while keeping aesthetic cohesion at the rear elevation.
Demolition uncovered a personal religious shrine which none of our devout trades were willing to remove. Our CEO, Ally, had to remove it herself.
Chief Pupperintendent: Lucy.
Design drawings for custom tile installations.
— PROJECT IMAGERY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Dustin Halleck
PRACTICE AREA
Custom Residential & Remediation
This project belongs to our Custom Residential & Remediation practice, where a building's beauty and its performance answer to the same standard. A failing French-roofed house in Beverly was taken back to its control layers and restored surface by surface — proof that historic character and modern building science belong in the same walls.