Illinois · ASHRAE Zone 5A (Cold Humid / Midwest Winter Freeze-Thaw)
Illinois winter changes the adhesive note, not the room area
Chicago and much of Illinois sit in a cold, humid climate with freeze-thaw at the entries. Adhesives and self-levelers have substrate-temperature limits printed on the pail. A takeoff cannot assume a heated slab, and it should not invent a winter premium percentage.
Substrate temperature is a schedule constraint
If the spec requires the slab to be within the product’s temperature range, write that as a condition of installation. It may push the flooring later than the drywall. It does not add square feet.
Entries and salt
Vestibules that take road salt need the entry system drawn: mat, tile, or both. Measure that zone separately so a field carpet is not carried through the vestibule.
Industrial corridors
The state’s logistics buildings show the same joint-and-coating problem as other distribution markets. Use the warehouse method: joints in linear feet, coating by the specified build, offices subtracted.
Worked vestibule versus field
- Office plate 11,000 sq ft of carpet tile on the finish plan.
- Vestibule hatched as porcelain: 180 sq ft. Subtract it from the carpet.
- Carpet ordering area at an illustrative 4%: 10,820 × 1.04 = 11,252.8 sq ft.
- Porcelain in the vestibule uses its own module and allowance. It is not 4% of the carpet math.
The allowance is an example inside a band already published on this site. It is not a local price and not a required waste factor.
Place names covered by this note
Chicago, Aurora, Joliet, Naperville, Rockford, Elgin, Springfield, Peoria, Champaign, Waukegan.
Material methods that do not depend on the state: waste bands, moisture tests, estimating scope.
Questions from Illinois plan sets
Is there a Chicago cost index on this page?
No. Use a dated local quote. An index number without a cited series would be fabricated.
Do you assume union labor in Chicago?
No. Labor terms come from the bid instructions and the crew you will use.