Window sills and projecting courses
The masonry directly under and around your windows has deteriorated. It reads as a minor item on the notice. It is actually the road water takes into your wall.
- Do I need a permit?
- This can usually be corrected without a permit.
- Who actually does it?
- Our own crews. This is work we self-perform, so the schedule is ours to keep.
- Am I unusual?
- Not at all. This is one of the items we are called out for most, and it is rarely the only thing on the notice.
What the inspector was looking at
Sills cracked, spalled, or pitched the wrong way. Headers deteriorated. Projecting courses dropping material.
What happens if you leave it
A sill that holds water instead of shedding it will keep feeding the wall below it. Owners who defer this end up paying for the sill and the wall together.
How we get it closed
- 1Failed sills rebuilt or replaced with the correct pitch and drip
- 2Headers and projecting courses repaired
- 3The joint between masonry and window sealed properly
- 4The wall below repaired where water has already got in
Before you start worrying about the cost
This is one of the highest-value items on a typical notice. Small scope, and it prevents the expensive version of the same problem.
This is almost never the only item
Chicago inspectors write up everything they can see in one visit. Fixing this and leaving the rest means the case stays open and you go to the hearing anyway. We price and clear the whole notice: our own crews on nearly all of it, licensed partners on the plumbing, heating and electrical items, and nothing left dangling for you to chase.
See how the whole thing worksUsually on the same notice
If you see any of these on yours too, that is the normal pattern rather than bad luck. They tend to share a cause.
Rusting steel above your windows replaced before it lifts the brick any further. This one gets worse and more expensive every year you wait.
The joints get ground out and repointed to match, so the wall stops shedding mortar and the inspector stops writing it up.
Glass, sashes, frames and exterior doors made to work and lock again. The single most common item on Chicago notices.
Cited for window sills? Let us take it from here.
A quick call, then we come out and price every item on the notice in person. Free, and you are under no obligation to use us.
Licensed and insured. A person answers, Monday to Saturday.