Home Remodeling in North Aurora, IL

North Aurora isn't one era of house. The median home was built in 2000, and about half of all homes went up between 1990 and 2009. About 1 in 3 dates to the 2000s alone, and nearly 1 in 5 to the 1990s. A little over 1 in 10 came in the 2010s.

There's an older layer, too. About 1 in 10 homes was built in the 1960s, and about another 1 in 10 in the 1970s. A bit over 1 in 4 homes went up before 1980, and a small slice dates to 1939 or earlier.

About 6 in 10 homes are detached houses. About 1 in 7 is a townhome, and about 1 in 6 is in a building of five or more units. The village had 7,232 housing units in the same Census survey, with a median home value of about $342,000.

What does that mix mean for a remodel? Two North Aurora homes can need very different jobs. A house from the 1990s or 2000s often has sound bones, so the work tends to be finishes: cabinets, counters, floors and fixtures. A house from the 1960s or 70s may need more, like a new layout, updated wiring or plumbing behind the walls, or a bathroom taken down to the studs. Share your home's build year when you first describe the project. It can change what gets checked and what gets priced in.

No one keeps a town-by-town list of remodeling projects, North Aurora included. The list below comes from the age and style of local housing: a big group of 1990s and 2000s homes, plus a real share from the 1960s and 70s. Your house may need some of these, or none.

Say your North Aurora house went up in the 1990s and the family has outgrown it, but you like the street and the yard. Room Additions off the back of a house can give you a bigger family room or a bedroom on the main floor. Here's how a typical one goes.

You start by telling us what the new space is for. Then comes a walk of the lot to see where the addition could sit and how it should connect to the rooms you have now. Ask how the new roof will tie into the old one and how heat and cooling will reach the new room.

Next, you can ask for a free written quote. The village's Residential Remodel/Addition application covers this kind of job. Agree in writing on who files it, and don't let digging start until the permit is issued. If you have an association, read its rules on additions too.

Then the build: footings and foundation, framing, the roof, windows, and rough plumbing and wiring, with inspections at each stage. After that come insulation, drywall, flooring and paint. The opening into the old house is often cut near the end, which keeps dust out of the rooms you're living in. Expect a torn-up yard for a while.

Permits in North Aurora go through the village's Community Development department. The village says electrical work, plumbing work and residential remodeling need a permit, while painting, new flooring, swapping an appliance and minor repairs typically don't. Its permit list also covers roofing, siding and windows, decks, patios, pergolas, driveways and sheds.

One thing that's different here: North Aurora stopped requiring contractor registration on December 20, 2021. The village no longer keeps a sign-up list of who works in town, so checking the remodeler falls on you. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent straight from their agent, and for the electrical or plumbing parts of the job, ask who holds the license for that trade.

Lots near the river deserve a flood check. Search your address on the FEMA flood map service before planning an addition or a deck.

Illinois law backs you up as well. Under the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, any job over $1,000 calls for a written contract that shows the total price and the contractor's business name and address. If a question isn't answered here, call the village.

A house built for one stage of life doesn't always fit the next one. If a parent is moving in, or you'd like to age in place, a bedroom and bath on the main floor can make a big difference. That might mean a room off the back of the house; our home additions page covers Room Additions and Sunroom Additions.

Working from home? A spare bedroom with better lighting, more outlets and a door that closes can do the job, or a quiet corner of a finished basement. Plan the outlets now, before drywall. Guests and older kids often end up downstairs, which makes a Basement In-Law Suite worth a look if you have the room.

Whatever you plan below grade, test for radon before the work and again after it. The EPA advises retesting after renovations, since new walls, floors and ventilation can change how air moves through a house.

North Aurora started out as "Schneider's Mill," named for the mill and dam John Peter Schneider built in 1834. It became a village in 1905. At the 2020 census it had 18,261 people on about 7.56 square miles of land.

The Hartsburg and Hawksley Saw Mill has a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the village is in West Aurora School District 129, with a few homes in the far northeast in Batavia School District 101. The Fox Valley Park District runs the parks. There's no Metra station, but Pace buses serve the village, and I-88 has exits 114 and 117 here. Each year in early August, the village holds North Aurora Days.

North Aurora shares its south and east borders with Aurora and its north border with Batavia, so if you live near either line, those pages may help too. We also help homeowners in Montgomery, Oswego, Sugar Grove, Naperville and Geneva. See every town on our service areas list. No matter which town you live in, the quote costs you nothing.

Pick a project to see what's involved.