Palms, Los Angeles County
Structural Work and Additions in Palms
Foundation work, second stories, decks and retaining walls in Palms, planned for urban lots, shared property lines and LADBS plan check.
On an urban lot, the footings along the side yards deserve careful attention, because they sit near a neighbor's wall and carry whatever is added above. In Palms, an addition, a second story or a new deck begins with those footings: how deep they go, what they rest on, and how much room there is to dig beside them without disturbing the neighboring house.
Digging near a shared line
When new footings run close to a property line, the excavation has to protect the neighbor's foundation and fence. The engineer may call for shoring, underpinning or a footing shape that keeps the load inside the lot. We note where utilities enter, where the neighbor's structures stand and how much clearance a small excavator needs. If the side yard is too narrow for equipment, digging is done by hand and concrete is pumped in through a hose line laid along the house.
A second floor over old footings
A second story adds load to framing and foundations designed to hold a single level. We trace those loads down to the foundation and mark where posts or new footings will be needed. Shear walls and hold-downs are added to resist earthquake forces, and the floor framing may need deeper joists. LADBS, the City of Los Angeles building department, checks the structural sheets for Palms and for Mar Vista, Playa Vista and Brentwood. Culver City and Beverly Hills, also nearby, review plans through their own departments.
Work we take on in Palms
Each service is planned around the lot, sloped or level.
Building in Palms?
Send the address and the job, and a builder will arrange a visit to read the lot.