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Custom Vestibule Enclosures and Commercial Windscreens

Vestibule enclosures, patio windscreens, and outdoor dining enclosures designed, built, installed, and serviced by Chesterfield Awning. Serving businesses, architects, GCs, and property managers across Chicagoland and the greater Midwest since 1958.

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Design Options

Two Ways We Work with Our Commercial Clients

Contractors, Architects, Property Managers, and General Contractors

Specifying an enclosure system, bidding a commercial build, or coordinating a facilities retrofit? Send us your plans, RFP, or blueprints and we return quotes with clear scope, materials, and timeline by your deadline. Once you win the bid, we produce and install to your design intent.
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Restaurant Groups, Hotels, Hospitals, Schools, and End Customers

Working directly on a project? We come to your property, evaluate your entry or patio, and design an enclosure that fits your building, operations, and budget. From a single storefront vestibule to a full outdoor dining enclosure that turns a three-season patio into year-round revenue.
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Why Businesses and Property Owners Invest in Enclosures

Extended Season, Expanded Revenue

A patio usable May through September becomes usable March through November, and some restaurants run enclosed patios year-round. The enclosure typically pays for itself in the first season or two.

Real HVAC Savings

A vestibule enclosure blocks cold air infiltration in winter and cool air loss in summer. Lower utility bills, less HVAC strain, longer equipment life. High-traffic entries often see measurable savings in year one.

Better First Impressions

Guests shouldn’t be greeted by a draft or a wall of wind. A proper transition space signals a well-cared-for property before customers reach the host stand or reception desk.

Bid Reliability

For architects, GCs, and specifiers: quotes on your deadline, fabrication timelines that hold, installs that coordinate cleanly with other trades, and submittals that show up when your process requires them.

Quieter Dining in Urban Locations

A well-designed enclosure dampens street noise inside the dining space. Better guest experience, better conversation, a competitive edge on high-traffic corridors.

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Types of Enclosures & Vestibules We Build

The category covers a range of structures depending on the use case, the property, and the environment. Here are the main configurations we design and build.

Vestibule Enclosures

The classic double-door entry system that blocks wind and cold air from infiltrating your building. Permanent or seasonal, custom-fabricated to your existing entry.

Restaurant Patio Enclosures

Full-coverage enclosures that turn a three-season patio into a year-round dining space. Solid panels, clear vinyl windows, and screen mesh on custom frames. The enclosure product that pays for itself fastest.

Windscreens and Windbreaks

Side-panel systems that block wind on dining patios, pool decks, and amenity spaces. Fabric, clear vinyl, or combinations. Permanent or removable.

Storefront Vestibule Systems

Entry vestibules for retail, professional offices, and medical practices. Coordinated with your building, branded with your identity, engineered for your traffic volume.

Removable and Seasonal Enclosures

Systems that install for winter and come down for summer, with storage and reinstallation handled through our seasonal programs.

Custom Enclosure Configurations

If your project doesn't fit a standard category, we build custom. Every property's conditions are different, and enclosures are one of our most flexible categories.

Materials, Panels, and Design Options

Every enclosure is custom-fabricated for the property, use case, and operating conditions. Options include:

  • Aluminum frames engineered for Midwest wind and snow loads
  • Premium awning-grade fabrics treated for UV, water, and mildew resistance
  • Clear vinyl windows for daylight and sight lines
  • Screen mesh for warm-weather ventilation with insect protection
  • Solid panels for maximum wind and weather blockage
  • Retractable, roll-up, and removable panels for seasonal flexibility
  • Pantone color matching, sewn applique lettering, and printed graphics for branding
Design Options
Sunbrella Fabrics
Tempotest Fabrics

Where Enclosures & Vestibules Get Installed

Our enclosure work spans multiple commercial verticals:

  • Restaurants, cafes, and bars extending outdoor dining seasons
  • Hotels and hospitality properties with branded vestibules and pool deck windscreens
  • Hospitals, medical offices, and dental practices with high-traffic entries
  • Retail storefronts adding vestibule airlocks for energy savings
  • Multi-family and condominium entries and amenity spaces
  • Corporate offices, schools, and religious institutions
  • Municipal buildings and auto dealerships
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Also Building Enclosed Outdoor Spaces for Chicagoland Homes

Chesterfield builds enclosed outdoor structures for homes too: patio enclosures with clear vinyl windows, screened three-season structures, windscreens for decks, and outdoor curtain systems. Same design consultation, same fabrication quality, same crews as our commercial work.

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Permits, Compliance, and Coordination

Enclosure projects typically require municipal permits; storefront installs often trigger city design review, and here’s how we handle each.

Municipal Permits

We manage the entire permit process, from application through approval, across Chicagoland and the greater Midwest. We prepare the drawings, engineering, and specs your city requires.

Partner-Coordinated Permitting

When your architect or GC owns overall permitting, we provide the structural documentation, submittals, and cut sheets for your permit package and coordinate with your timeline.

Board Approvals

For multi-family and condo projects, the owner or manager typically handles board submission with our support. We supply everything your board needs to review.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Partners: Contractors, Architects, and General Contractors

Do you take on architect-specified projects?

Yes. Working from architect specifications and design intent is a significant portion of our commercial enclosure work. Send us the specification sheets, drawings, and design intent documentation and we’ll work within your parameters. We can also produce shop drawings, cut sheets, and mockups for your submittal package.
In most cases, yes. Commercial enclosure fabrication typically runs six to twelve weeks from design approval to install-ready, depending on complexity and material. Retractable elements and specialty products may extend timing. We commit to a timeline at quote and hold to it.
Yes. Submittals, shop drawings, cut sheets, product data sheets, material specifications, and structural load calculations are all part of our standard commercial deliverables. We produce them on the timeline your submittal process requires.
Enclosures are almost always retrofit or coordinated additions to existing structures. Our team evaluates the existing storefront framing, entry hardware, wall conditions, and drainage during design. We work with your architect or specifier to ensure clean integration – no awkward joints, no compromised weather sealing, no interference with existing operational hardware.

End Customers: Business Owners and Facilities Managers

How much can a patio enclosure actually extend our operating season?

For restaurant patios in Chicagoland, a well-designed enclosure with heating capacity typically extends the usable season by four to six months. Some restaurants operate enclosed patios year-round. The specific extension depends on your patio orientation, the enclosure design, and the heating solution you choose.
In most cases, yes, meaningfully. Entry vestibules block cold air infiltration in winter and cool air loss in summer. For high-traffic entries, the utility bill savings often show up within the first heating and cooling seasons after installation. Specific savings depend on your entry traffic, your building envelope, and your local energy costs.
The enclosure can be designed to accommodate lighting, heaters, or other electrical features you’d like to add. Because we don’t do electrical work ourselves, the actual wiring and installation would be handled by your electrical contractor. We plan the structure to accommodate these additions during the design phase so the routing is clean when your electrician does the work.
Yes. We build both permanent enclosures and removable systems designed for seasonal install and takedown. For removable systems, we also offer seasonal service programs where our team handles the changeover so your facilities team doesn’t have to.

General Questions

Do you handle commercial permits for enclosure projects?

For municipal permits, yes – we manage the entire process from application to approval. For projects where the architect or GC is managing overall permitting, we provide the structural documentation and submittals needed for your permit package. For multi-family and condominium projects that require board review, the owner or property manager typically handles that submission with our support.
In most cases, yes. We offer cleaning, repair, panel replacement, and other service work for enclosures throughout our service area, including ones installed by other companies. If you want to change panel materials, refresh branding, or update the enclosure configuration, we handle that as a product update, quoted based on your selections.
We provide a 12-month standard warranty on our installation work. Manufacturer warranties on materials generally range from 5 to 10 years depending on the fabric, vinyl, and hardware selections. Written warranty details are provided at the proposal stage.
Welded frames and structural components commonly last 30 years or more with minimal maintenance. Fabric panels typically run 10 to 15 years before replacement. Clear vinyl panels typically run 5 to 10 years depending on UV exposure and cleaning practices. When panel replacement time comes, we can replace panels on your existing frame to refresh the enclosure at a fraction of new-build cost.
Yes. Our primary service area is Chicago, the surrounding suburbs, and Northwest Indiana, and we also serve select areas of Western Michigan, Wisconsin, and the greater Midwest. Reach out with your project details and we’ll confirm coverage.

Ready to Talk About Your Enclosure or Vestibule Project?

Whichever side of the transaction you’re on, we’re ready to talk. Choose the path that fits your project.

Partners

Send us your plans, RFP, or blueprints. We’ll return a competitive quote with clear scope, materials, and timeline on your submission deadline.

Submit Project Specs

End Customers

Tell us about your business, your property, and what you’re looking to enclose. We’ll come to you, walk through your options, and design something built for your operations.

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Trusted Across Chicagoland Since 1958

From the homeowners who’ve counted on us for generations to the businesses whose storefronts we’ve helped build, our customers keep coming back.

The Chesterfield Maintenance Program

The Maintenance Program bundles cleaning, seasonal storage, priority repair scheduling, and inspections into one relationship. For homeowners protecting an investment and property managers coordinating across sites, it’s the smart way to keep every awning sharp without the coordination burden.

Our Maintenance Program