Six Elevated Balcony Demolition & Replacement in Highland Park, IL

Six aging wood balconies on a multi-unit building in Highland Park had reached the point where patching was no longer a reasonable answer. Each one measured roughly 25 square feet, all six positioned directly above tenant garage doors and pedestrian areas — a configuration that made the demolition phase as much a logistics problem as a carpentry one. The existing joists appeared to run through the exterior masonry and into the building, so the full condition of those concealed connections couldn't be known until the old assemblies came down. Before any work began, the building owner coordinated tenant notifications and arranged for garage bays to be cleared; our team established restricted work zones beneath each balcony and used protective coverings over the garage doors and adjacent masonry surfaces throughout demolition.

Dismantling all six balconies was done in controlled sequence — materials were carefully lowered rather than dropped, and we worked section by section to limit disruption to the occupied building. During demolition we also cut and removed the deteriorated lower portions of the balcony side walls where the framing had broken down. The client handled the permit process directly with the City of Highland Park, and our scope followed applicable building-code requirements throughout. Where the existing balcony framing met the building, we worked only to the extent safely accessible without disturbing the masonry or interior finishes, and any concealed conditions that surfaced were documented and brought to the owner before we proceeded. Debris was hauled off site and the work areas left broom-clean at the end of each day.