Gas lamps, slate sidewalks and pre 1939 houses define Glen Ridge. We design and engineer renovations and additions that respect them.
Glen Ridge is a borough of about one and a quarter square miles in Essex County, incorporated in 1895. About 73 percent of its houses were built before 1939, in styles from Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne to Shingle Style, Georgian and Prairie, with work by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Stanford White and John Russell Pope. It still lights many streets with gas lamps, with electric lines run behind the houses, and the Glen Ridge Historic District has been on the National Register since 1982. The Glen Ridge and Benson Street stations are on the Montclair-Boonton Line.
A Historic Preservation Commission reviews construction within the district, so additions and exterior changes need designs that respect the house and drawings ready for review. Our architects and engineers prepare both.
Licensed architects and professional engineers on one team, one contract and one set of signed and sealed drawings. See all of our services.
Rear, side and wraparound additions for kitchens, family rooms and primary suites, with the existing house evaluated by our engineers.
New floors over ranches, capes, garages and one story wings, with foundations and framing checked and reinforced as needed.
Whole house and partial renovations, wall removals and open plans, basements and attics, with structure and systems designed in house.
Ground up single family homes and teardown rebuilds, from site planning to sealed construction drawings.
Decks, covered porches, pergolas and garages engineered for footings, ledgers and loads.
Beam replacements, foundation fixes and engineer's letters for homeowners, buyers and insurers.
In New Jersey, most additions and structural renovations need zoning approval from the town before the construction permit, and the construction permit itself is reviewed under the state Uniform Construction Code. When a design needs relief from a setback, coverage or height limit, it goes to the town's land use board for a variance hearing.
Within the Glen Ridge Historic District, exterior work goes before the Historic Preservation Commission. We design additions that follow the original style, rooflines and materials and prepare drawings for that review.
Century old houses often hide undersized framing and past alterations. We evaluate the structure early so the design and budget hold up.
However your project is approved, we deliver signed and sealed drawings to you, support you and your contractor through the permit submission and answer the building department's review comments in house. Read how a project moves from consultation to close out on our process page.
If your home is in the historic district, exterior changes go before the Historic Preservation Commission. We prepare the drawings.
Yes. We design new work that follows the original architecture.
We deliver signed and sealed drawings and support you or your contractor in the permit submission.
See a fixed design fee in about two minutes, or book a consultation and we will visit your home.