Palatine homes by the numbers
About 42 percent of its housing units are single family detached homes and about 16 percent are single family attached homes such as townhomes.1 The village's median year built is 1977, with the 1970s its biggest building decade: 7,727 of 28,469 units, about 27 percent, went up from 1970 to 1979.2
Garage doors in a townhome or condo
Ask which models, colors and window options the board has pre-approved. The answers set what a new door for a townhome or a house can even look like.
Doors on 1970s Palatine houses
Behind a 1970s Palatine house, the door itself may still be an original steel section set, or a replacement from the 1990s or the early 2000s. Springs on a 1970s door are a part a visit looks at.
Worn lift cables are a separate part a visit looks at.
The door between the garage and the house
One of the village's permit pages lists codes for a door we do not install: not the overhead door, but the entry door from the garage into the house. Palatine lists the codes for replacing the door between the garage and the home: a 20 minute fire rating, a solid core door with no windows that is self closing and self latching, and wood only as solid core of at least 1 3/8 inches.3 On a visit, we work on the overhead door and its opener.
Palatine permits and paperwork
Palatine's list of residential projects that do not usually need a building permit includes replacing a window or door with the same size and type of unit within the same framed opening.3
A different list on the same page covers driveways. Palatine requires a building permit for constructing or replacing a driveway, and the permit list names driveways in any material, including paver ribbons.3 Express permits cover smaller listed projects on detached single family homes and are valid for 90 days, with one of the Express handouts covering a concrete driveway, sidewalk, patio or garage floor.4 None of that work is ours.
Permit paperwork belongs in the contract. The Village of Palatine notes that most contractors pull the needed permits as part of the job and tells homeowners to spell that out in the contract.3 On a job that does need one, who files for it belongs in writing before the work starts.
Palatine's tips to avoid fraud tell homeowners to get more than one estimate or proposal in writing, confirm who is responsible for obtaining any required permits, and hold final payment until they are satisfied and all required inspections have passed.5
Checking a contractor in Palatine
Palatine's registration process is online. The village says all contractor registrations must be submitted online through its Citizen Self Service portal,6 and registrations expire on December 31 of each calendar year, regardless of when a contractor's bond ends.6 A homeowner can ask any company bidding on work about its current year's registration, which is one of several questions to ask any garage door company that the paperwork invites.
Pre-1978 homes in Palatine
Palatine's building permit page points to the U.S. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which since April 2010 requires contractors doing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities and schools built before 1978 to be EPA certified and to follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.3
Solicitors at the door in Palatine
In Palatine, anyone who goes door to door selling items needs a solicitor license from the Palatine Police Department.7 The Police Department is the office that issues the licenses.
Registering a premise alert with Palatine Fire
Palatine's Fire Department lets residents register a premise alert for their home: a resident calls the department with the information to include, such as a garage door code or lock box location, and the department enters it into its secure system so there is no delay in gaining entry to the home.8