Los Angeles limits the floor area of a single family house relative to its lot size, and on the smaller lots common in Valley Village that ceiling is often lower than owners expect. There is a specific number for your address. Getting it in week one is the difference between one set of drawings and two.

It happens, particularly where a previous owner added on. Existing nonconforming floor area limits what you can add, and the answer is usually to reconfigure rather than expand. That is not a consolation prize. It is often the better project.

Yes for anything beyond finishes. Moving plumbing, adding circuits, altering framing and changing ventilation all require an LADBS permit.

Usually, with an engineered beam and a permit if the wall carries load. This is the most common Valley Village project we do and the one with the biggest visible payoff.

It is a permitted alteration involving foundation, insulation, egress and electrical work. Note that converted space typically counts toward your floor area allowance, so it can affect what you are able to add later. Worth thinking about in sequence.

If you are opening walls anyway, that is the moment. Old galvanized supply lines lose flow as they corrode internally, and replacing them after tile is installed costs several times more.

Interior remodels move faster than additions. We give you a schedule that includes plan check time rather than only construction weeks.

Finish level drives part of it, and what the house needs underneath drives the rest. In this housing stock, that is often plumbing, panel and insulation. We estimate line by line after a site visit.