An Elmhurst general contractor for additions, remodels, and new homes
Bofran Builders is an Elmhurst general contractor focused on the projects this town runs on: home additions that give a growing family room to stay put, whole-home remodels that bring a vintage house up to date, and teardown-and-rebuild projects that replace a tired structure with a new custom home on the same lot. We have built across Chicago and the western suburbs since 1999, with our own framing crews on every structural job.
What we build in Elmhurst
Four services cover most of what Elmhurst homeowners call us about. Each one runs under a single contract, with one project manager from drawings through final inspection.
Home additions
Room additions, second-story additions, sunrooms, and kitchen bump-outs. An addition is often the smartest move in Elmhurst, where a lot near downtown, the schools, or the Illinois Prairie Path is worth staying on. We carry the whole scope — design coordination, permits, foundation, framing, and finishes.
Home addition servicesWhole-home remodeling
Gut renovations and whole-home updates for Elmhurst's vintage housing stock — 1920s brick bungalows and Georgians, postwar Cape Cods, and mid-century ranches. We open floor plans, replace aging mechanicals, and keep the character details that are worth keeping.
Whole-home remodelingCustom homes and teardown-rebuild
Elmhurst has one of the most active teardown-and-rebuild markets in the western suburbs. When a remodel no longer pencils out, we manage demolition, site work, and ground-up construction of a new custom home on the lot you already own.
Custom home buildingStructural framing
We self-perform framing with our own crews rather than subcontracting it out. That is the reason our additions tie cleanly into existing rooflines and our second stories go up straight, square, and on schedule.
Framing servicesWhat an Elmhurst general contractor should know about your house
A century of housing on one street grid
Elmhurst's housing spans a full hundred years. Close to the city center and the Prairie Path you find 1920s brick bungalows, Georgians, and Tudors. Farther out are postwar Cape Cods, ranches, and split-levels. And on many blocks, new two-story homes now stand where smaller houses were torn down. Each of those types calls for a different structural approach — and a contractor who has opened up walls in all of them.
Growing families, staying put
Many conversations with DuPage County homeowners start the same way: the family wants to stay near District 205 schools, the Metra line, and the block they know — but the house is short a bedroom, a second bathroom, or a real family room. A home addition in Elmhurst solves that without giving up the location. When the existing structure cannot carry what the family needs, a teardown and new build on the same lot is the other path. We build both, and we will tell you plainly which one your house favors.
Permits and zoning at the City of Elmhurst
Additions, major remodels, and new homes in Elmhurst go through the city's building permit and plan-review process, and larger projects also get checked against zoning rules — setbacks, lot coverage, floor-area limits — plus stormwater requirements that can apply to big additions and teardowns. We factor those constraints in during design, prepare the permit package, respond to review comments, and meet the inspectors at every stage, so you have one point of responsibility from drawings to final.
One crew from Chicago's North Side
Our shop is at 3922 N Ashland Ave in Chicago, about 16 miles east of Elmhurst — close enough that the same project manager and the same framing crew show up for the life of your project. Every structural project we build is backed by our 5-year structural warranty, in writing, in the contract.
Recent work from our crews
Projects from across Chicago and the suburbs — the same crews and the same standards that would build yours. See more in our project gallery.
Elmhurst project FAQs
Yes. We prepare the drawings and documents, submit the permit application to the City of Elmhurst, respond to plan-review comments, and schedule inspections through final. For additions and new homes we check zoning items — setbacks, lot coverage, floor-area limits, and any stormwater requirements — before the design is finalized, so the project you sign off on is one the city can approve.
Often, yes. The answer comes down to the foundation and the existing framing, so we start with a structural evaluation before promising anything. Because we self-perform framing with our own crews, second-story additions are core work for us rather than a job we hand to a sub — and that shows in how cleanly the new floor ties into the old structure.
It depends on three things: the condition of the foundation and structure, how much of the existing layout you would actually keep, and your budget. If you would keep most of the footprint and the bones are sound, a whole-home remodel usually wins. If the plan changes so much that little original construction survives, a new build on the same lot often costs comparable money and delivers a better house. We price both paths honestly and tell you which one we would pick.
It depends on the footprint, whether you are building out or up, and the finish level you choose. Rather than quote a number that fits nobody, we publish a free home addition cost calculator that produces a realistic range from your square footage and finish tier, and we follow up with a written estimate after a site visit — no obligation either way.
Yes. Bofran Builders holds general contractor license TGC136082 and carries full insurance. Where the City of Elmhurst requires contractor registration as part of the permit process, we take care of it within the permit package — it is part of the job, not your homework.
Yes. From our North Side Chicago shop we serve Elmhurst and the surrounding western suburbs, including Villa Park, Lombard, Oak Brook, Addison, and Bensenville, along with neighborhoods across Chicago. If you are just outside that list, call — the answer is usually yes.
Start your Elmhurst project with a conversation
Tell us what you are weighing — an addition, a whole-home remodel, or a teardown and rebuild — and we will walk through the options honestly, including which one we would choose in your position.