Standards and Guidelines 2023-0607

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City of South Bend and St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Guidelines 11 Residential Standards: Doors Add a new door or entrance or restore an altered door or entrance • New entrances should be added to rear or alley façades . • New modern entrances may be developed when historic entrances have been removed and no evidence of the original entrance exists . • New entrances should be developed with proportions and details that are reflective of the period of the building . Starkly modern entrances should be avoided . • New entrances proposed for the main façade should be related to the façade’s overall design in proportion, materials, and window to wall ratio . • Historic main entrances and doors should be preserved . • When proposing the reconstruction of an altered entrance, the design should be based on historic images of the building and the missing element . • If images of the existing building are unavailable, historic images of similar age buildings from the district or the timeframe from the building’s construction should be utilized to guide the design . Widen a door for handicapped accessibility • Before widening the doorway and installing a new door, consider use of offset hinges to allow the door to open wider within the existing frame and install an electric opener to allow hands-free operation. • Install electric openers in locations that meet the requirement for ADA avoiding and minimizing the requirement to remove character defining features such as decorative trim. • If a doorway must be widened, the widened opening should be trimmed to match the original . The new door in the widened opening should match the original door that is being replaced . The original door should be stored on site . Replace or add a storm door • Historic storm doors should be repaired with matching materials . • If more than 50% is beyond repair, a new door should be compatible with the design and age of the building on which it is installed. • The use of traditional wood storm doors with details compatible with the age and design of the building it is installed in are preferred . • Metal storm doors with up to full window/screen inserts are acceptable with the final window size to be based on the character of door behind . • Storm and screen door frames and cross members shall match those of the primary door behind so that there is no obstruction of the door behind . • Doors and frames should be finished to compliment the door behind. The following is not recommended and generally not approved by the Commission: • Storm doors with silvery metallic finish. • Security screens and bars . • Replacement of ornate or intricate doors and hardware . • Vinyl doors . • Replacing a door with a shorter door or narrowing an existing historic door or doorway . • Replacing a historically double leaf door with a single door . • Narrowing an existing historic door or doorway . Administratively Approvable Storm doors that follow the Standards. Administratively Approvable Creating a new rear or alley entrance in compliance with the Standards. Return to the Table of Contents