Canoga Park, Los Angeles County
Footings, Additions and Retaining Walls in Canoga Park
Footings, room additions and retaining walls in Canoga Park, set below the soil that shifts on an inland lot and permitted through LADBS plan check.
Footings are the part of a Canoga Park house we watch most closely, because every deck post, wall and new room hands its weight down to them. On an inland lot, soil can dry and shrink through a long dry stretch, then swell after a heavy rain, and a footing set too shallow rides along with it. New footings go below that active layer and are tied into the existing foundation.
Joining an addition to the old foundation
An addition only performs if its foundation and the existing one act together. We expose the old footing where the new work meets it, record its width and depth, and give those measurements to the engineer. Steel dowels are drilled and epoxied into the old concrete so the new pour locks onto it, and the new footing is taken at least as deep as the original. Where the old footing turns out undersized or cracked, that section is replaced first. The framing above then lines up floor to floor without a step or a gap.
Retaining where the yard changes height
If a Canoga Park yard steps down from the house or toward a side property line, a retaining wall can hold the level areas in place. Block, poured concrete and timber each suit different heights and loads, and taller walls or walls carrying a driveway call for an engineer's design and an LADBS permit. Every wall gets a gravel drain and a perforated pipe behind it with a clear place to discharge. Jobs in Winnetka, West Hills and Woodland Hills are drawn, permitted and inspected in the same way.
Work we take on in Canoga Park
Each service is planned around the lot, sloped or level.
Building in Canoga Park?
Send the address and the job, and a builder will arrange a visit to read the lot.