Pasadena, Los Angeles County
Decks, Additions and Structural Work in Pasadena
Pasadena decks, additions and structural repair planned for an inland valley lot, with ember-resistant materials where a mapped fire hazard zone applies.
Pasadena lies inland, in the San Gabriel Valley, and an inland valley lot generally asks two things of a house. Exposed wood and sealants have to tolerate hard sun and dry wind, and the drainage has to cope when a heavy storm finally arrives. Parts of the city also sit in mapped fire hazard zones, so a lot there may face ember-resistance rules. We look up the parcel before any material is chosen.
Ember-resistance rules on a deck or addition
If the parcel falls inside a mapped zone, California's wildfire building standards apply to new exterior work. Deck boards near the house have to pass an ignition-resistance test or come from a listed product. Attic and underfloor vents need fine metal mesh or a listed ember-resistant vent. On an addition, the roof covering, the eaves and the siding are held to the same standards. In the scope, each requirement sits beside the product chosen to meet it, and upgrades the code does not ask for are listed separately, each with a short reason.
Piers, footings and changes in level
Where the ground drops away from the house, a raised deck or an addition may stand on drilled concrete piers, and a soils engineer reports what those piers will bear on. A flat lot can usually take a conventional spread footing. We bore or dig test holes where the drawings call for them, and the engineer's figures set the depth and the steel. Before concrete is ordered, the city inspects the open holes and the reinforcing. If the soils report changes the pier depth, the drawings change with it before any work starts.
Work we take on in Pasadena
Each service is planned around the lot, sloped or level.
Building in Pasadena?
Send the address and the job, and a builder will arrange a visit to read the lot.