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Architect for Northeast Ohio
James Kehl Architects works for owners across Northeast Ohio, from Cleveland's older suburbs to the snowbelt in Geauga and Ashtabula counties and the farm country around Canton, Wooster and Youngstown. The work is mostly additions and renovations to older houses, new homes on larger lots, and barns and garages built for heavy snow.
- Cuyahoga
- Summit
- Stark
- Lake
- Geauga
- Portage
- Medina
- Lorain
- Mahoning
- Trumbull
- Ashtabula
- Wayne
Which counties and towns do you cover?
Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Medina, Lorain, Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula and Wayne counties, including Cleveland, Lakewood, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Akron, Hudson, Canton, North Canton, Massillon, Mentor, Chardon, Kent, Medina, Elyria, Youngstown, Warren and Wooster.
How are permits handled here?
Most of Cuyahoga County's cities and suburbs run their own building departments, each with its own forms. Elsewhere it depends on the county. In Stark County, the Stark County Building Inspection Department enforces the residential code in the townships and villages it serves, while Alliance, Canton, Massillon and North Canton have their own departments; zoning comes first, from the township or the county's regional planning commission. For any other address, the state's building department map names the office.
What kind of work comes up in Northeast Ohio?
A great deal of the housing in Cleveland's inner suburbs was built before 1950: brick and frame houses on narrow lots, with attics and porches owners want to open up. Additions there have to meet tight side setbacks and, in many cities, a design or landmarks review. Farther out, in Geauga, Medina, Portage and Wayne counties, the work turns to new houses on larger lots and to pole barns, horse barns and shops.
What should I know about building here?
- Snow. The snowbelt east of Cleveland gets much more snow than the rest of the state, and design snow loads there are higher. Roof framing, trusses and barn purlins are sized for the load at your site, not a statewide figure.
- Older houses. Renovation sets need careful existing-condition drawings: framing that does not match today's sizes, knob-and-tube wiring and old foundations all affect what the addition can tie into.
- Review boards. Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Hudson and many others review exterior design. Their submittals often need elevations and materials before the building permit set.
How do we work together?
Remotely first: you send photos, measurements or old drawings, and the work runs through calls and shared drawings, with a site visit when the house or site needs one. See permit drawings for additions and renovations, new custom homes, pole barn drawings and zoning and site plans.