Park Forest
 

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

7-1980

Abstract

This Home Maintenance Handbook is designed for Park Forest homeowners who are concerned about home maintenance and improvement. Renters and members of the Village's cooperatives also will find the chapters on housing code, energy conservation, and home safety and security, useful.

It is hoped the handbook will help residents address some basic questions surrounding home ownership. This is not a "how to" or a repair manual, but rather a guide to help homeowners evaluate their homes. Before homeowners can make constructive changes they must have some understanding of how a house "works". This handbook is concerned with home maintenance, especially in the area of identifying and/or preventing costly repairs. The handbook reviews common housing problems in the Village and suggests how they might be corrected. It is especially important that all homes constructed before 1970 receive preventative maintenance. This handbook includes common replacement schedules for the major elements of a typical Park Forest home.

A portion of the handbook is devoted to home improvements. Many people request help from the Village for ideas about how they can make their homes larger and more comfortable. More recently, people have requested information concerning energy conservation, home safety and security.

Many improvements require the services of a contractor, and the book outlines how to select and use contractors. The handbook.also includes suggestions for where to go for more information.

Elected and appointed Village officials are concerned about housing quality. It is the official adopted policy of the Village of Park Forest to encourage the maintenance and improvement of all existing housing, including structural maintenance, beautification, and general home improvements. It also is the Village's policy to promote energy conservation, as well as to promote a sense that the care and maintenance of each house affects neighborhood pride and the value of surrounding homes. (Resolution 79-15)

Both the Village and individual homeowners benefit from a continuing home maintenance program.

Comments

The preparation of this document was financed in part through a Comprehensive Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as administered by the Illinois Department of Local Government Affairs, under the provisions of Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954, as amended. Published in July 1980 by the Planning Division of the Village of Park Forest.

From the collection of the Park Forest Historical Society Archives.

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